Life ever switch gears on you?
Switch gears too!
Getting a pony at seven years old began a life long love of horses. I look back now and think how lucky I was to have that experience. It was my mom who made that happen.
I started teaching when I was nineteen. My first major purchase was a ‘72 truck that cost $3000. Hard to believe that my annual salary back then was $6000 (CAD!) so 50% of my gross salary went to purchase that truck! I was lucky enough to sell it for $2500 after five years of ownership - yup, the good old days.
I got married and moved to Toronto from North Bay, and the adventures continued! I remember being out on a school night (!) and watching the Toronto skyline from a ship in the harbour and thought, this is my life! Wow!
Life changed when I least expected and once again, it was time to regroup. Another new beginning, the toughest and, strangely now, most rewarding, brought photography back into my life.
My camera became my best friend. I started a photography meetup group in 2012 and it soon grew to 600 members.
Reinventing myself as a life long learner kept me grounded.
Thomson Photography Group - or TPG - was where I received a lot of support from fellow photographers and they helped me get my life back on track. I appreciated each and every member! They helped me more than they know! I had co-organizers who helped to manage in person events and online ones - my thanks to A.KC., F.J., R.C., and B.B.. It became a full time job, well, almost, so I decided it was time to close it down and focus more on my own photography. I started to travel.
Have camera will travel! One of my first trips was to New York City at Christmas - and yes, I emailed the hotel to find out if the restaurant was open for Christmas dinner!
I found a list of the top ten equine photographers in the world and saw that most offered workshops. If the location felt like a good fit and I liked the photos, off I went. I look back and wonder how I did it! I travelled solo to new countries.
After a ‘special’ birthday (a 5 and a 6 were involved), I decided to move to London, Ontario partly to downsize and partly for the change. Did I know anyone there? Yes, two people! I know more than two people now!
Life gets better even with all its ups and downs!
I found a meme that said “I shop therefore I am”.
And thought that is so me!
Then, my life changed to “I photograph, therefore I am”.
I created a photography meetup group and joined life again.
Next, my life changed to “I am here, therefore I am”.
Took me a while to realize that just the act of ‘being’ brings value.
Now, “I am me, therefore I am”.
Welcome change,
Accept change,
Live the change.
Laurie’s Biography
Laurie is a retired teacher who taught grades kindergarten through Grade six and retired in 2006. She attended Teacher’s College in North Bay, Ontario in 1971/72.
She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1978 attending university full time for one year and then completing her degree with night courses while she taught school full-time. She qualified as a Primary Education Specialist and obtained certificates for teaching Vocal Music and English as a Second Language. On sabbatical leave, she completed her Masters in Education in 1986. In 2018, she obtained a certificate for the national judging course for CAPA ( the Canadian Association for Photographic Art).
She became interested in photography in her twenties and created many displays of her students for Education Week and for the community newspaper by the local school board. Candid memories of her students were well received by the community. With her love of horses, she photographed local horse shows and parades and used her darkroom to create all her images. At that time, her 8×10 B&W images sold for $2!
High Arctic Explorer with Adventure Canada, 2024.
Have Camera, will travel…check out the pics!
Blogs are Us…
Yes, I travelled to Newfoundland on our way to Sable Island, (and in case you were wondering, those are paper bottles of beer...). I have weird friends - not that it was my idea for the photo but I digress…
I decided to write blog posts about some of my adventures and maybe throw in a tip or two if you are a photographer. If you aren’t a photographer, you might find some of the stories interesting?
This is where you’d normally be asked to sign up for a newsletter however I’m inviting you to drop by when you can and see what I’ve been up to. Grab some popcorn and maybe get caught up on some of my adventures .
Not saying I won’t ever ask you about signing up but not now. You could follow me on FB or Instagram and that would be cool , too!
https://www.facebook.com/laurie.thomson.96
https://www.instagram.com/lauriethomson.ca/
As noted elsewhere on the site - images are currently not for sale.