laurelight.com

Welcome to Laurelight.com

the Balko — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 16:25:44 +0000

It’s all about the light. You can’t take a photograph without it. Welcome to Laurelight.com: presenting lightscapes and landscapes of the Southern Highlands region of Pennsylvania, covering greater Johnstown, Cambria and Somerset Counties, the Laurel Highlands, the Southern Alleghenies and beyond. Comments are invited and registration is not required. Enjoy the photos.

Protected: Christmas Party

the Balko — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:33:06 +0000

Windber Dog Run 2008

the Balko — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 16:26:10 +0000

Excellent coverage of the Windber Dog Run once again by Tomm and Bev Chapman. I’ve included some representative pics here, but you can see the entire shoot on Laurelight’s Picasa gallery.

Thanks to Tomm and Bev for their contributions here and for their community involvement.

[View slideshow]

Sam’s Run and Moxham’s Buttermilk Falls

the Balko — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:33:08 +0000

Big thanks to Brian @ the Johnstown Cafe for reminding me that Sam’s Run runs through the backyard of my life. Llaurels also go to my big brother, the ‘other’ Balko, who taught me more than a few things, not least of which were the ways around Belmont Hill and the paths to Sam’s Run and Buttermilk Falls.

This is Buttermilk Falls in Moxham, not to be confused with the falls in Indiana County or the town just below Idlewild Park. Either up from the bottom or down from the top, the climb is pretty much verticle, and don’t think it’s easy scrambling up or down while humping 30 pounds of photo equipment on your back (soon to become a recurring theme on LL). I’m planning to get back, though, when there’s more water running or snow falling. It’s worth the effort, especially if you enjoy the photos.

Lancaster’s “Lady in White”

the Balko — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:01:29 +0000

Just in time for Halloween, and in reference to my recent Grandview post, there stands, in the Lancaster Cemetery (at the intersection of Lemon and Lime in Lancaster, PA) above the grave of one Augusta Harriet Bitner, a statue referred to by the locals as “The Lady in White.” The story is told that on New Year’s Eve, while in preparation for her wedding the following day, young, tragically hip Augusta tragically tripped over her nightgown, fell down the stairs, broke her neck and died. (If she was a horse, they’d have shot her.) But no, my friends, the story does not end there. The legend has grown that each New Year’s Eve since then, at midnight, the statue comes alive and walks down the steps at Harriet’s grave.

Having lived around the corner, I had the opportunity to spend many evenings with Augusta, (discretion prevents me from telling you exactly why I spent so much time there) and I can say that I have never seen the statue walk down the steps, up the steps, or over to Clipper Stadium to catch a Barnstormers’ game, but the statue does have it’s own haunting, if not supernatural, quality. As Augusta’s gravesite is “lovely, dark and deep” and the cemetery is final resting place for several minor historical figures, I would recommend a visit there if you happen to find yourself roaming around Amishland tiring of outlet shopping and Amish gazing.

[View slideshow]

Grandview

the Balko — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:19:07 +0000

This one’s inspired by, and posted for my friend Karen, whose check is in the mail. I happened to also stumble upon a shot I’ve included for my friend Dave who reminded me a while back that we all live in, indeed, a small world.

On a side note, there are 2 photos below of a Grandview statue that I refer to as the Lady in White (not to be confused with the White Lady of Beulah, or the White Lady of Ghost Town Trail, or the White Lady of Wapsononock Mountain). I know of 4 other identical statues across the Northeast and Midwest: one in the suburbs north of Boston, another in upstate New York, a third in Wisconsin or Michigan (everything was a blur) and, the one I’m most familiar with, a fourth in Lancaster, PA. As the statue in Lancaster is somewhat sheltered from the elements by trees and an urban setting, and not placed out in the open on top of a mountain; and, since she comes with a real, if not necessarily true ghost story, I’ve added a post and gallery on Lancaster’s Lady in White to illustrate the poignancy and craft of 19th century memorial sculptors.

Requiescat in pace.

Windber Dog Run 2007

the Balko — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:06:11 +0000

My sincere apologies to my friends Tomm and Bev Chapman for the extended delay in posting the photos they providced of the 2007 Dog Run. Here’s hoping they give me another chance with 2008. There are 6 pages of some interesting shots here. Enjoy.

[View slideshow]