FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — Ed Lawrence's love of photography began with a Kodak Brownie.
A gift from his parents when he was a kid, followed by some confusion on what he chose to point it at.
"They were always kind of mystified I never wanted to take pictures of people. I was always taking pictures of things that interested me," Lawrence said.
That interest came in the form of landscapes.
Whether it be open scenes of nature or stand out pieces of architecture.
Lawrence is drawn to the environments that allow his creative to take hold.
Making a photo rather than simply taking it.
“You can either take a photograph or make a photograph," Lawrence said.
"It's kind of a transcendental experience that you can just sit there and then the photographs kind of come to you and you make the photograph. It takes some time to do that."
Photography has come and gone from Lawrence's life.
Raising a family and moving different places for work led to some gaps along the way, but now in his early 70's he's excited to take on new projects through his camera lense.
One of which began with the year 2020.
"I made a commitment to myself to take a photograph every day. The reason was 2020 seemed to be a play on perfect vision," Lawrence said.
Lawrence is likely not the only person to make that connection when 2020 began and certainly not the only one proven wrong early on.
When the COVID pandemic hit, it cut off so much of the world from itself, many people forced to be in isolation for their safety.
While safety and health was a priority for Ed, it did not stop him from being able to be out in open spaces in nature to continue his project.
One that has very little evidence of a pandemic.
“In a certain sense, where you’re taking a photograph everyday, you’re essentially documenting the day," Lawrence said.
“I’m pretty positive in my outlook so I didn’t really want take photographs to remind us of the tragedy.”
This year long portfolio is not without some examples of COVID's effects.
The most prominent, at least for Lawrence, is a wedding gown hung up in his home.
What would be worn by his now daughter-in-law as wedding plans needed to change due to the pandemic.
“My son and daughter-in-law a huge wedding planned for May and they, of course, couldn’t do that because only 10 people could gather at a time so they got married in our back yard. For me, it’s like a personal diary," Lawrence said.
Lawrence is now posting his photos to Facebook and his website.
One photo a day in correspondence to the same time two years ago.
It's given Lawrence a feeling he strives to get out of every day.
SOA. Sense of accomplishment.
“That’s kind of my mantra, end each day with an SOA. I’m 73 years old and I think as long as I keep feeling like I’ve accomplished that I’ll just keep living.”
If you'd like to see Lawrence's full photo catalog for yourself, click here.
