Christmas 2008 at the Flateaus

What a wonderful evening it was with all of the Marcinko / Sdao family gathering at the Flateau residence for our annual, traditional Christmas dinner / gift swap. We had many more present this year than last. My best guess is 40 total present. It was a very nice, calm evening with everyone catching up on the year's events. I am so glad we are able to have this event in our home. Thanks everybody. It was fun.

From 2008-12-25 family Christmas

The Smolinski Family

I had a riot last night photographing the Smolinski Family, Missionaries to the Jewish people of Buffalo, NY. The kids were really well behaved. I used the green screen, and placed them in the Garden Place (Salvatore's) I thought it was a nice background. Hope you like the photo guys.

From 2008-12-16 Smolinski Family

Wolgast - DeRose reception

Hi folks! sorry it took so long to post these. I hope you enjoy them. I have a few more photos that I would like to add, but I would like the opportunity to edit them.

From 2008-11-22 Wolgast reception

Thanksgiving at the Phillips'

As has been our tradition for the past...10? years, we spent a very nice day at the Phillips home for Thanksgiving. Our contribution, as usual, was the vast selection of homemade pies. The biggest hit of them all was the blueberry pie, baked from scratch by Joy. she got rave reviews. Only wish we had more! We watched the ball games and the kids went over to First Baptist Church for a game of volleyball, during which time, the ladies searched the "Sacred Scrolls" for bargains they would go for on Black Friday, which WE did after doing our paper delivery. Then, it was back to the Phillips (also our tradition) for pizza and wings and a movie. All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving weekend. The only tarnish on the whole weekend was the fact that I had to go to work Sunday evening.

From 2008-11-28 Thanksgiving dinner

Chris, Wendy and friends

These guys are tons of fun! They are fun to photograph, even more fun to be with. Hope you like it!

From 2008-11-7 Marriage Conference

Our trip to Hawaii

Jonah and Brittney were helping me set up for the Marriage conference this evening. Jonah helped set up the green screen and Brittney helped by posing for me. This is my first attempt at "Chroma-keying". I just couldn't bring myself to use the "make a scene" decorations for this event. Besides, it's a good exercise for me. What do you think of this?

From green screen exercise

2008 Volleyball Championship NLCS Vs TBS

New Life Christian School defeated The Baptist School in this year's championship game. It was a tough battle, requiring all five games to determine the winner. Congratulations New Life!

Here are the photos. I am still experimenting with indoor settings, so, please bear with me.

2008-10-30 Volleyball NLCS Vs TBS

2008 Harvest Party

Our annual harvest party gave the children of Lighthouse Baptist Church an alternative to Trick or Treating. Fun, competative games were held for the children, each of whom seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. Pie eating contest, sack races and more were the activities of the evening. Incidentaly, I think they went home with more treats than if they had gone trick or treating! Hope you like the pictures.

2008-10-31 Harvest Party

Lighthouse Baptist Church 5Km walk/run

Lighthuose Baptist church held our 2nd annual 5k walk/run on Saturday, October 25th. All morning long the weather threatened to wash us out. The LORD saw fit to clear the skies for us and we had us a race! Our attendance was down from last year (probably due to the weather, and the fact that we had to postpone the race from last week). All in all, I would say that our day was successful. The runners got to run in another sanctioned race, and the youth of Lighthouse Baptist church were the recipients of some much needed donations for winter camp. A big THANK YOU to all of our sponsors this year. You've helped our young people more than you know. We look forward to working with you again next year

2008-10-25 5k Run

2008-10-23 Volleyball Playoffs NLCS Vs Amherst

Congratulations New Life! It's on to the championship game for you! Amherst made a good showing, and as usual, showed great character during the game and after. Here are your photos, I hope you like them. It was very tricky lighting in the gym, that's for sure. I did my best for you. Let me know what you think.

2008-10-23 Volleyball playoffs Amherst Vs New Life

Volleyball Playoffs - TBS Vs Center Road Baptist Church

It is difficult, sometimes, to feel glorious about defeating the opposition, especially when you feel as we do about Center Road Baptist Church, and in particular, the girl's volleyball team. They are a great example of the "Christian Spirit". So it is with the greatest amount of respect that we say "Great game!" to Center Road, and congratulations to TBS!!! It is now on to the finals next week against New Life Christian Acadamy. GO EAGLES!!!

2008-10-23 Volleyball playoffs TBS Vs Center Road

International Fibre fire

International Fibre suffered a tremendous loss of property on Sunday, Oct 19th. Not only did the company loose millions of dollars in property loss, employees lost jobs that probably will not be replaced. Firefighters were called in at 6:45 AM to battle the blaze that engulfed several buildings at one time. The fire was under control by 10:30 am, but firefighters remained on scene until well into the night.

2008-10-19 International Fibre Fire

Our Annual Fall Drive

Our annual fall drive to Letchworth State Park was probably one of the best drives we've had since we began this tradition 15 years ago. Though I would have preferred it to be a few degrees cooler. The high was around 80 degrees, which made climbing up and down the gorge a bit warm, but, it was fun regardless. Michelle and the baby in her tummy were real troopers, making it all the way down and up! Nathan brought his friend Bekah, and Leah brought her friend Tabitha. I hope they all enjoyed the day as much as I did. Days like this brings the best out in us. The only disappointment of the day was, as is our tradition, we travelled to Earl's drive-in for dinner. Upon arrival, we found that it was closed. (place sad face here!!!) Bekah suggested we go to the Brick Oven in Boston, NY. What a wonderful suggestion. We enjoyed the food and our fellowship was just outstanding. I was really glad to have Tabitha and Bekah with us. They helped make the day even more special!

2008-10-13 Letchworth

Ernie Green

We're sad to report that Patty's husband Ernie passed away last week. His wake and funeral were on Saturday, October 11. He had been very ill for the past several years, and Patty was there taking care of him all these years. I had the opportunity to take a few photos of the family in attendance, however, I was unable to get Tommy or Johathan. Hopefully I'll get them before Tommy heads back to Iraq.

Ernie Green

Congratulations Don and Lori! 25 years together!

Don and Lori celebrated their 25th anniversary last evening at the "Over the Falls Restaurant" on Goat Island at Niagara Falls, NY. The evening was a great surprise for Don and Lori, with friends and family arriving from all over the country. What a blessing to see you celebrating with your many friends! I attempted to get some good shots for you. Some venues are more difficult than others to shoot. I attempted to take some long exposures, painted with flash. Some turned out nicely, others didn't. Any way, I hope you like them as much as I enjoyed taking them. I was excited to have been invited to be there to help celebrate your day.

Congratulations.

2008-10-05 Barrett Anniversary

2008 Lighthouse Baptist Church Revival Meetings

Here are some pictures of the 2008 revival meetings, where Bro Don helped us to Iron out the wrinkles of our christian life. Hope you like them!

From 2008 revival meetings

Labor Day at Fantasy Island

Several of us from Lighthouse Baptist church went to Fantasy Island on Grand Island, NY. The weather was great! Looked like summer had returned just for us! Praise the Lord for the day! We all had a great time, and I got to take some pics. Experimentation tends to increase knowledge, and I was able to do quite a bit today. The biggest dissapointment I had today was that I just can't get the roller coaster the way I would like. But any way. Hope you like the pics.

From 2008-09-01 Labor Day @ Fantasy Island

Kaylea's Birthday Party

On Saturday, we celebrated Kaylea's 9th Birtday at Mike and Becky's home in Cheektowaga. The weather was GREAT, and we all had a wonderful time. Hope you enjoy the photos!

2008-08-30 Kaylea's Birthday Party

Our Hero's are home from Iraq!

The men and women of the 107th Security Forces, from the Niagara Falls, New York ANG Base arrived home safely from Iraq Saturday, August 22nd. Praise the Lord for their safety while on duty, doing their part for Iraqi Freedom. WELCOME HOME STEPHEN!!!

2008-08-22 Steves Home!

Storm Clouds

While driving home from the Marcinko family Reunion, these storm clouds followed me home. The produced quite a bit of lightning and thunder. looked more ominous than the actually were.

2008-08-09 Storm Clouds

Marcinko Reunion 09 August 2008

Despite weather forcasts to the contrary, we enjoyed a wonderful day of golf at the Hyde Park Golf Course in Niagara Falls, NY. It was a joy to see Ted and Cheryl again (Love you guys!!!) It is a wonderfully close knit family to which I am proud to be a part of. Here are the photos Taken during the day. I have not altered any of them yet. I have included every photo taken (250+ for the day). Select the "Slideshow" option, then press the "F11" key to get the best view of the photos. Feel free to download any or all photos. Printing them, you should be able to get good quality up to 5" x 7" prints.

Once again, thanks for a wonderful day! Kudos to Lori and Don and all others who may have had a part in organizing the day!

2008-08-09 Sdao reunion

Allegany Vacation

We spent the last week in Allegany. What a wonderful week it Was! The weather was great! We had such a great time, Debbie and the girls are thinking about going for 2 weeks next year! Check out the photos...especially the water war! Oh, then there are the triplets, and the lake in Red House. There are a couple hundred photos. help yourself. If you like, download what you want and print them. I have many more (over 800) photos of the week but have put only a sample of them here.

Waltz and Tracey wedding

Had the distinct pleasure of shooting Vince and Sarah's wedding. I hope you like your photos. Here are just a few; I am still working on processing them. It was a wonderful day for a beautiful wedding. As I watched you two during the course of the day, I could see the love you shared. Thanks for letting me share it with you! Debbie and my prayer is that God will bless you both. And Vince, I will pray for your safety, especially, as you serve both God and your country. Oooh - Rah!

Independence Day!

What a wonderful day we had on July 4th! We spent the day at Oppenheim Park, in the town of Niagara. The weather was just great. Not too hot, not too humid. It was great. I didn't get the camera out until late, so, not too many pics.

2008-07-04 July 4th

1st Responders Day at Lighthouse Baptist Church

Lighthouse Baptist Church paid tribute to our local first responders on Sunday, June 29th. All local Fire, Police and EMS personnel were invited to attend. Our special guests also included NY State Senator Maziarz, NY State Assemblyman Shimminger, and Rev Duane Motley of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedom was our special speaker. One of New Yorks most wonderful Choirs presented their rendition of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". It was most powerful and very well done.

Ladies and gentlemen, it was a job well done!

2008-06-29 1st responders day

Mrs Spauldings Music Students Recital June 20, 2008

What a wonderful evening at Old Time Baptist Church, where Mrs Spauldings students performed in an annual music recital. Let's see, Piano, Flute, Guitar, Violin, Sax, Cello... Is there anything I missed? It was a blessing to see the fruits of their labor as the musicians demonstrated their levels of skill after what appeared to be much, much practice.

2008-06-20 Recital at Old Time Baptist Church

I am personally thankful for Mrs Spaulding. She has enabled my girls to continue their music education. Joy will be with her for at least 3 more years (Perhaps adding the guitar to her repertoir) and Leah leaves Mrs Spaulding for Crown College, where she intends to continue her music education.

Thank You Mrs Spaulding!

Please feel free to download and print any and all photos you would like to have!

Ralph's Artistry

Bro. Ralph Stone says: "Ken, take a picture of this (the grass) no, no, take it with this (the stick) behind it" and here it is, Ralphs artistry.

LBC Homeschool class of 2008

Leah and Natalie graduated on Sunday evening. Bro Rawls spoke at the ceremony. Congratulations girls! Here are a few photos. I'll put some more up later.

2008-06-08 LBC Homeschool graduation

TBS Graduation

We attended the graduation ceremony at The Baptist School. What a wonderful evening it was. There were no girls...so you can obviously assume that things went smoothly and on time. Here are a few photos.

2008-05-30 TBS Graduation Ceremony

More of Memorial Day at Lake Ontario

2008-05-26 Memorial Day with our friends

Memorial Day at Lake Ontario

2008-05-26 Memorial Day with the kids

We went to Lake Ontario on Memorial Day (Monday)... had a great time. The weather cooperated, my bald head got burned, naturally, and the kids...about 25-30 of them I would say, had a wonderful time. Nathan and Joey, from the time they arrived, were throwing something...a ball or a rock or something. They never stopped. We got some photo time in as well. I'll post the slide show after this. I just wanted to get this up so Steve (in Iraq) could see them quickly. We missed you Steve! We're counting the days until you come home! This day was celebrated for those who served and are now serving. Thanks for the sacrifice! We all love and appreciate what you and your fellow servicemen are doing. God Bless You!!!

RU Ministry at Lighthouse Baptist Church

Here's a photo of the billboard advertising the RU Ministry at Lighthouse Baptist Church in North Tonawanda. Lord willing, we'll see lives changed and folks come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

At the Marina with the pastors

Today, Jonathan and Lori became Mr and Mrs Jonathan Ferland. Congratulations to you both. It was a very beautiful wedding. I have never been to this location before. It lent itself very well to photographs! Unfortunately I didn't feel at liberty to bring out my camera, as there were very capable photographers on hand to do the job. I must say that I lusted for what they had in their bags !!!! Our prayers are with you both, and trust that you will have a happy life together.

After the wedding ceremony, Debbie and I went to the Erie Basin Marina with Pastor and Mrs Costantino and Pastor and Mrs Bern. What a beautiful day it was (though a bit chilly with the wind coming off of the lake). We had lunch and enjoyed each others company. We ran into His Honor Myron Brown, Mayor of the city of Buffalo. I thought he had a very pleasant spirit. We then went home and rested for a while before going to the reception at Salvatore's. Mmmm Delicious! What a great location for a reception. We certainly enjoyed it.

Area Wide Revival Meetings

Area wide Revival Meetings were held at Fontana's Grove, here in Buffalo NY. The Meetings will last 2 weeks. The first week is completed, and we've seen several souls saved. We look forward to what God will do in the following week. If I can get off work, I will try and get more photos. Here are a few of the many photos I took on Wednesday and Friday evening.

2008-05-17 Freundschuh prom

Had a blast shooting you guys... in spite of the rainstorm you guys were really great. All in all, I'd say we've got some wonderful photos here. There are more, but space requires that I limit the selection to these. I hope you enjoy them!

Tri-State formal Dinner pictures

As promised, here are the photos of the teens in their formal wear.

Tri-State formal Dinner

Leah and Joy attended the Tri-state Formal dinner at Grace of Calvary Baptist Church in Erie, PA. The girls all looked beautiful. Yes I am biased, but they are MY girls. The boys looked...ok, well alright they looked pretty good...ok, but they were not better looking than me. Alright already, they were a little better than me. You can judge for yourself when I put the slide show together. Here is my favorite.

Lighthouse Baptist Church Choir

Here's a photo of our choir in action. Just one of the best choirs in the country!

Missions Conference, Friday 5/3/2008

Mrs Hardman, Janet and Jacqueline

Hope you like it, ladies!

The boy

Inside of every boy is a dark, evil monster. There are times when this "Thing" exposes himself for what he truely is.

What a doll!

I can't resist taking photos of this precious, precious little girl. She poses for me, and endures my endless attempts at creating a well composed photo.

Photos from Thursday Night

Took a few photos before and after the Thursday night service... hope you like them.

Jessica

I like this photo. f/1.4, 50mm 1.5 feet

Fill Flash Exercise

Went to the river today... had to buy dinner for the girls first... to practice taking photos against a bright background (the sun) The exercise was a success, and I feel pretty confident about obtaining good results under these conditions. take a look.

Sunday school and Church 12 Apr 2008

Took some shots of Debbie presenting her classes missionary (to Niagara Falls). While I had the camera in hand, I took some liberties and shot a few others as well. Hope you like them!



Download and print all you like! Thanks for looking!

Ken F.

Experimenting with off camera flash

I have been experimenting with off camera flash. The cupcakes seemed to take on a bit more depth with the light coming from the upper left. Joey's pics were taking with various locations from in front of him with me to the left, then moving the flash around to his left side. I think the results are interesting. I like the effects and will incorporate these in future portraiture. Check them out:

Buffalo Marina

I went to the Buffalo Marina today. This is one of my favorite places in all of Buffalo. In spite of it being downtown, I find it very peaceful.

Lighthouse Baptist Church Hockey 2008-04-07

Watched The LBC hockey team play this evening. What a great game!... of course, my team won. Thouroughly enjoyed the game!... But I refuse to watch the final game of march madness! I HATE BASKETBALL!!! Okay, maybe hate is a strong word. Perhaps if I just say that I prefer working on my pics and blog to watching basketball, it would be less offensive.

Enjoy the pics!

Easter Sunday 2008

Hi Sandy!

Here are the pictures I took after the Sunday PM service. I hope you like them! I could have sworn I put them up earlier... Oh well. Age has its price!

Hockey Game: Lighthouse Vs Bobcat of Buffalo

Had the opportunity to go to the boy's game tonight. It was an exciting game, pitting brother against brother, Uncle against nephew etc. It was fun anyway. Lighthouse came away with the win 5-3. Here are a few pics



Enjoy

Some of my favorite photos

I am going to post some of my favorite photos, edited, cropped or otherwise changed from the original form by me in some form of software. Hope you like them and return sometime soon to see others that I will be adding to the collection. Please feel free to comment on the photos. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Stephen in Iraq

As Stephen sends photos, I will post them here.



I would appreciate it if you wouldn't download or print these without his permission. Thanks

Our trip to Knoxville, TN

We drove Leah down to Knoxville to visit Crown College. We met a lot of very nice folks at Crown as well as Temple Baptist Church. We ran into Mrs Troell... she is so nice! I had hoped we'd touch base with Steve... hate to intrude in their busy lives though. We made it to Gatlinburg...It rained like crazy most of the time, but the windows of dryness allowed me to take a few photos.



Hope you like them.

Kevin Everett

Debbie and I stopped by Barnes and Noble for a cup of coffee, and noticed alot of confusion in and around the store. News camera crews were buzzing around and their vehicles made it clear that something was going on that was big news. We went in and found that Kevin Everett was autographing his book "Standing Tall I went to the car and got my trusty 30D and was able to snap these. Hope you like them. Sorry Chief Wiencek, your photo didn't come out. I called your name and snapped the picture. It was blurry. (OOOPS!!)



As usual, feel free to download and print what you like. Thanks for looking. Please leave a comment about the photos. I appreciate constructive criticism.

107 Security Police Squadron Deployment to Iraq

I never in my wildest imagination dreamed that my son would ever go off to war. I was fortunate enough to spend 22 years in service to our great country, and never faced an enemy. I am extremely proud of all of my children, but in times like these, I stand a little bit taller, knowing that my boys are helping out. It is a just cause that they are participating in, and I know that God is watching their every move. When history is recorded of these and coming events of the war on terror, these brave men and women will have their part in history, no less than those who fought for our independance, the civil war, world war I and II, Korea and Viet Nam. Their task is to help preserve our way of life. Freedom isn't free; God bless them for being willing to pay the price! Our prayer is that all of them will come home safely



As usual, please feel free to download any and all photos and use them as you wish.

Ski-Tacular

So, the kids left this morning for Ski-Tacular. They actually left on time! They should arrive this afternoon around 4 or 5 pm. Debbie and Joey are leaving right after Joe gets off work. Stephen arrives home tonight (actually tomorrow at 2 AM) and leaves again on Monday morning for Iraq. Debbie, Leah, Joy and Joey will leave ski-tacular early so we can be here together to see Stephen off.



As usual, If you'd like to print any of these photos, please feel free!

TTFA Bills Photos

I had the opportunity to take some pics at the Cataracts Vs Bills game this past fall. Once I got home, I had to change memory cards for another venue, and I misplaced the card. I recently found this, and I hope you like them George. Sorry I took so long getting this up. I have a lot more pics, many of the Cataracts and some of the cheerleaders (They're cute)



You're more than welcome to download and print any of these photos. Click on the image and a larger photo will appear. Right click on this one, and you will be able to save it to your computer for printing. Enjoy!

Church Photos for our Web Site

I am taking photos for our web site... www.lighthousebaptistnt.com, I hope the are ok. If you like anything, feel free to download any and all images you like.You may also click on the link on the upper left of this page and you will be directed to the Picasa Web page where I keep my images. First click on the image you want, then right click and download the image. Hope it works out for you!

Mr Joe Diamond, Holocaust survivor

Mr Joe Diamond gave a very compelling account of his survival in a German Concentration camp during the days of WWII. His message is important, and the purpose of his being here at Lighthouse Baptist Church, is to help young people today to remember what happened to his family, his people. His hope is that we will never forget!