Garrick Lapusnak says he loves the art of photography — the way light, color and a camera produce a portrait that can make people say, “Wow. That's beautiful.”

But the bulk of the photographs that Lapusnak takes daily will never be framed on a wall or taped to a refrigerator. They're art and science of a different sort all together: forensic evidence.

Photographic documentation of crime scenes is one of Lapusnak's main responsibilities as a state trooper, first class.

Lapusnak, 47, of Butler is one of three full-time Forensic Crime Unit investigators for Troop D, which covers Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties.

In addition to a camera, he uses a host of tools and chemicals to find, gather and preserve evidence at crime scenes.

And, with the popularity of television shows related to crime solving, Lapusnak is aware there is a demand for and scrutiny of the work he does.

“Juries want to see forensic evidence,” he said.

Lapusnak was just 5 years old when he realized he wanted to be a police officer. An officer visited his school, he said, and he was hooked on the idea.

After graduating in 1986 from Valley High School in Westmoreland County, Lapusnak earned a bachelor of arts degree in criminology from Indiana (Pa.) University. He returned to graduate from the same school's municipal police academy.

Lapusnak spent six months as a police officer in Fawn Township, Allegheny County, before being hired as a state trooper in 1993.

Like all new troopers, Lapusnak started his career as a patrol officer with duties of being a first responder to vehicle crashes, domestic disputes and traffic accidents.

Stationed first in McConnellburg, Fulton County, Lapusnak also was a firearms instructor, troop education officer, a CPR and First Aid trainer and an alternate community service officer.

In 1997, he transferred to the Kittanning barracks, still as a patrol trooper, to be closer to his and his wife's families.

He said he loved his job, especially the excitement and the wonderful people he met along the way.

But at the same time his career was moving and so was his interest in his favorite hobby: photography. Lapusnak trained under three professional photographers and has had some of his work published.

“It's just a passion of mine,” said the married, father of two.

So when a retirement prompted an opening in the FSU unit at the Butler barracks, Lapusnak applied, interviewed and was accepted.

He's been there three years now, responding to up to three crime scenes a day, which can include residential burglaries, robberies, thefts, homicides and all vehicle crashes where prosecution is possible.

In addition to the state police, he sometimes is called on to help local police departments.

Every crime is different and therefore his duties can vary. But taking documenting photographs is almost always part of the job.

He can do a lot of the work often portrayed on television crime shows, such as using a forensic light source to identify substances like blood. He can use chemicals to test tiny spots for substances like blood or semen. He can lift fingerprints off a coffee mug.

He also attends autopsies in cases where the death may be suspicious. During the autopsies, he takes photos and collects any evidence if it is there, such as a bullet still in the body.

When he does have “free” time at work, Lapusnak processes latent fingerprints in a fuming chamber for investigators through his five-county area of responsibility.

From the items he collects, Lapusnak works with investigators to determine which evidence gets sent to the crime lab in Greensburg for further testing. That lab does the finer details, such as DNA testing or running the fingerprints that have been obtained against a computer database in search of a match.

Lapusnak said burglary is the crime he responds to most often, and generally he spends about an hour or two processing the scene.

But in other crimes, like a homicide, it wouldn't be unusual to spend 26 or 27 hours combing over every detail.

Lapusnak's job, he said, is heavily dependent on a theory called “Locard's exchange principle.” It holds that the perpetrator of a crime will bring something into the crime scene or leave with something from it. Either or both can be used as forensic evidence.

“I like the challenge of going to a crime scene and finding that one piece of evidence that can speak volumes about a case,” Lapusnak said.

He also is in charge of storing the evidence so that it is safe from contamination and ready for trial.

So far he's had to testify in only three criminal trials: A case in which a police officer was shot in Beaver County; a sexual abuse case and a fatal collision in Mercer County.

Lapusnak said there are three types of evidence that can be presented during a trial: testimony from witnesses and victims; identifiable evidence such as DNA or shoe and tire impressions, which he also does; and class evidence, meaning the evidence can be placed into a class but not definitively pinpointed.

Soil is an example. Investigators can say soil found in a shoe is exactly the same make up as that at a crime scene. But they couldn't definitely say it is the same soil.

Because of the popularity of crime dramas, there's a growing demand for the identifiable and class evidence he can produce.

Lapusnak said jurors know that sometimes suspects lie or witnesses forget.

“But forensics, it is what it is,” Lapusnak said. “One thing about evidence, it tells no lies. It can exonerate suspects, corroborate testimony and prosecute perpetrators.”