Photographs by Pavla Zakova-Laney are on display through Friday at the Albany Senior Center, 489 Water Ave. N.W.

A native of the Czech Republic, Zakova-Laney received her first camera in 1980 as a birthday gift. She worked primarily in black and white for many years, and published her first photos in the school magazine at Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts.

Zakova-Laney earned a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College in 1995 and joined the Peace Corps, where she taught biology in Cameroon for three years. She followed that work by founding Educare-Africa, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving living and learning conditions for students in Cameroon.

She settled in Albany with her husband after the Peace Corps, and has written a yet-to-be-published book about her spiritual journey.

Her exhibit at the senior center is her 12th public showing after more than 20 years of photography. Profit from any photos sold will go to her continuing volunteer work in Cameroon.

Democrat-Herald