The Observation Deck

It was a very nice event this morning as Council Members Mary Louise Madigan, Tom Bullock and Kevin Butler, and newly elected mayor Ed FitzGerald were sworn into office.

The future looks bright I have to say. This past election brought the worst out of a handfull of folks, but it's nice to see how much good was brought out this fall as well.

Today's event was reassuring that our city is in good hands. The council members gave speeches of working together, for the common goal of making the city even better. Ed FitzGerald spoke about what he plans to do in his four years as mayor, his influences, and spoke with confidence about what makes the city of Lakewood the best place to call home.

The turnout was nice as well, and Dr.Lisa Hansen and the Lakewood High School Choir did a wonderful rendition of "America the Beautiful".

It's days like this where I'm proud to call this city home. It's days like this where I'm proud to be a citizen, where democracy at it's finest is on display.

Inauguration Photos

Congratulations again to the Council Members and Mr.FitzGerald on being elected.

I just have one question.

What was on the ceiling that was so interesting? (note the photo above)

Great pictures as always!

Thanks Ivor. The photos are great. I was upset that I was going to miss this being that we are out of state, but your photos as always make me feel like I'm in the midst of it all.

Great job Ivor,

And you beat me to the posting-up by a few minutes too!

Looks as if the youth of America are starting to take over!

Keep up the good work!

Gary Rice

Great pictures Ivor! You got the money shots!

Rhonda

Great job Ivor and Gary!

Thank you both.

Between the three of us I think we covered it well.


photo by Ivor Karabatkovic



photo by Gary Rice



photo by Jim O'Bryan

I am so glad you two were there!

Gary I am surprised you took any photos with the amount of help you were given the audio crew.


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Gary,

great job. thanks for not posting that photo you snapped of me! haha, we wouldn't want the deck to go blind.

Jim,

I was surprised that you stuck to the back wall, I was expecting you to tackle, wrestle and muscle your way to the front where us photographers were battling for a clear view.

thanks all on the nice comments!

Thanks Jim and Ivor!

The photos/show must go on, I guess!

As I understood what the one guy said, it was the church's PA system that was used. I also understand that their regular sound guy was not there when the mike died. They had the wrong replacement batteries for the mike, too, so I went out to get some. The mike then worked for a few seconds more and that was it. I THEN went out (feverishly snapping photos all the while) and got my OWN mikes from out of my car and attempted to attach them to the church's stage snake, only there was no sound to be had. The mikes could have worked from the back of the temple- but by then, Ed was finishing his address. Fortunately, he is an excellent speaker with good diction, so as you are aware, little was lost. I do wish we could have taken care of the problem better for him.

I did however, get a great start on my new year's exercise plan...

A few more....

I recently had the pleasure of purchasing Ivor's new book "Ars Longa, Vita Brevis" containing some of his masterful photography.

I've worn many hats over the years, as some of you know, including that of professional photographer and photojournalist. I'll tell you real quickly that there are the record-keepers of that business, and then- there are the artists.

Photography students can learn all they want to about composition points, the rule of thirds, color, lighting and so on, but then those students must apply their knowledge, and that's where artistry truly begins.

This young man is truly a gifted artist in the finest sense of the word. I would certainly recommend his book to anyone the least bit interested in adding a true touch of class to their coffee table.

Ivor -

Great pictures!

I don't think they're looking at the ceiling. I'll bet someone stuck a post-it on the back of Ed's head before he got up to talk.

I was surprised about the turnout. It was standing room only. All of the extra seats were taken.

I also thought that Mayor Fitzgerald gave an excellent speech. He did an impassioned advertisement for why one should live in Lakewood. He also said that he wasn't afraid to risk new things, that some would fail but some would succeed.

I was pretty impressed as were the other individuals to whom I spoke.

Great pictures Gary and Ivor. Thank you.

Lynn, I second your post. Especially about Ed's speech and how good it was.

But I do have to say that I spent the day kicking myself over the angles that I chose to take the actual inauguration photos from, and how many other (maybe better) possibilities there were.

It's a never-ending battle with me and my brain.

At some point I'll stop day dreaming of all the possibilities, and actually execute.

Gary, thank you for the kind words about the book and my hard work. You probably know better than 99% of the people that know me just how much I put into this passion; financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually and time.

This morning I woke up at 10:37, got dressed, brushed my teeth, grabbed my book and camera, and went to the temple. Gary gave me the advice that "Man does not live off photos alone!", in other words, take time to eat a proper meal. He was kind enough to save me a seat in the front row. But the point of having a seat was quickly lost, for both Gary and I!

I must say that I enjoy this. It sucks that I have to go out of the city to get financial support, but I guess it's something all businesses do. "You don't know what you have until it's gone" they say, but sometimes it's also "you don't know what you have when it's always available".

What a great day for Lakewood. Even St.Ed basketball won tonight. Those photos are up as well.

Sorry Jennie & I couldn't make it - we were cake tasting!

Great photos, Ivor & Gary!