2.1.22Some Things Never ChangeAt 14, I started working at Meijer. I did it for three years straight—practically a lifetime to a teenager’s developing, stupid brain. I made barely any money, made a lot more friends, earned a couple enemies, learned how to drive a car in the parking lot, met my first girlfriend and did first-girlfriend stuff in that same car, learned how to navigate messy interpersonal relationships, and lived the normal life of a suburban teen hell-bent on figuring himself out in that airplane hangar of a superstore. While I didn’t go back to my home store tonight, I visited another location that looked almost identical to it even though it’s been 22 years since I first clocked in. This hilariously out-dated sign still hangs proudly (?) from the ceiling as if to reassert Meijer’s grasp on modernity. Even though I was only in there for one item, walking through the aisles, it still managed to conjure unconscious hints of every conceivable emotion within me simply because when I originally forged my relationship with it, I was feeling the full spectrum constantly.

2.2.22Low ISO, High GrainThe monkey pod table Single Batch Designs recently finished was in need of some high-resolution photos taken before being shipped to Jacksonville. I did my thing for about an hour and made some quality content for use on the website and Etsy shop. This one, a study of the grain on the most intricate part of the table, is probably my favorite of the bunch; I had to cover the area with a piece of plywood clamped between two ladders and several packing blankets before being able to get the glare off it for the photo, and lit it by bouncing flash off the wall.

2.3.22Nope.It has been sleeting the entire day. Thankfully, both of my appointments were cancelled so I didn’t have to brave the roads in these conditions. While I don’t like to not leave the house for an entire day, I keep telling myself that I’m doing my civic duty by staying home so as to not become a burden to others. I intentionally focused this shot on the pillars to make the background in the “frame” out of focus to emphasize that staying in was my intention today.

2.4.22Snow TrekHaving to make it to the shop this morning wasn’t as easy as usual. After yesterday’s colossally obnoxious weather event, it snowed several inches, compounding the ice problem with a thick layer of heavy powder. Not having much faith in my car’s ability to navigate the roads, I decided to hoof it through Bellevue, Newport, and Covington on foot. The walk is 3.1 miles from my home, and it took me about an hour to get there. As expected, the roads and sidewalks were horrible, and I was glad I didn’t take the car out of the garage. Crossing the MLK bridge between Newport and Covington was the worst part because I had to walk in the street due to snow piles on the sidewalk. I left the shop later on and walked back home, making the journey a satisfying 6.2 miles round trip. It felt great to get some physical exercise like that in.

2.5.22Polishing My KnobI refinished the garage door’s knob and plate hardware this afternoon. Years of dirt, oil, and grime had marred the steel considerably, leaving otherwise functional decor in a less-than-appealing state. I gave them a CLR bath, scrubbed them with wire brushes, and polished them off with Brasso. Even did the screws! This is a before and after. I’m going to be doing this to all of the door hardware that’s original to the house.

2.6.22Skeletal RemainsYesterday’s DIY project spurred another one today, this time with the bathroom door hardware. I got a little ambitious and pulled the old mortise lock out of the door, too, just to see how it operated. Upon removal of the top plate, I noticed a loose piece of metal stuck in the lock and realized it was the tip of the skeleton key. It looks like someone many years ago snapped the key in the lock and no one bothered to remove the tip from the hole. That’s honestly awesome for me because now I have the template for making a new one, which I intend to do once I get a blank skeleton key. Looking forward to trying to recreate it and make this a usable lock again.

2.7.22NKY TransitAshley rides the 12 bus home on Mondays. I was nearby her stop when she was being dropped off.

2.8.22Back to Memorial HallThe LAS series fired up again, so it was back to Memorial Hall for the first show of the year. They bands sounded good, and the crowd was noticeably younger this time around. If there was a show to see in this series, I think I would’ve chosen this one.

2.9.22Minor PrepI modified a simple wooden box that we got in the mail for a delivered item so it can serve as a cheap and easy tool chest for the car. Sometimes when I’m out, I run into a situation where I need a tool of some sort and I just don’t have the right one. Since I have spares in the workshop, I threw the more commonly used tools into the chest that might be useful later. It will probably get a few more before it goes to the trunk of the car.

2.10.22College HillThe old Hollywood Theatre in College Hill. Had a shoot out nearby there today.

2.11.22Delivered!We started the van at 4:15 AM and hit the road by 4:30. Joe and I drove this monkey pod table from the shop in Covington to Amelia Island—a sleepy coastal city about a half hour outside of Jacksonville, Florida. Though we didn’t get there until 7 PM, the trip was pretty easy despite being hung up in traffic a few times and seeing the end of a high speed chase in Atlanta. Joe and I talked the entire time and I got to know his story about life in Scotland as well as what he’s been doing the last few years here in America. He took the first leg of the trip before I took over and hauled us the rest of the way. John and Brittany met us at the client’s property to help unload the table, which took two hours from parking the van to pulling out of the driveway. It was a long day, but we finished it with a pint and a plate at a beachside restaurant near the hotel they’d booked for us. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I didn’t wake up until 7 AM the next morning.

2.12.22Amelia IslandDespite the leftover fatigue from yesterday’s long day, I awoke early to walk the beach just outside my hotel for a half hour. There were few people around, the air was about 60ºF, the sea lapped peacefully at the shoreline, and I empathized with the people who go south for winter in that moment. I like looking at, smelling, listening to, and absorbing the beach just shy of actually going into the ocean. I met up with the rest of the crew and we walked to a Cuban coffee shop for a cup and a breakfast empanada. We did a little quick sight-seeing around town before hopping in the van for the return trip back to Covington at noon. Instead of going back through Atlanta during rush hour, we rerouted through South Carolina. It snowed as we made our way through the Blue Ridge Mountains in the dark, and the air returned to a familiar stinging iciness the closer we got to home. Joe and I rolled into the shop at 2 AM, deposited the van, and each went home. Bed rarely looked so nice.

2.13.22Diseased BrainJoe mentioned that Menard’s has a good lumber yard while we were driving yesterday. Having never been to one, I put a pin in that and resolved to visit one when I got back home. I woke up in a funk I couldn’t shake—likely partially due to residual fatigue from driving and socializing so much over the course of the previous two days, and likely because I have a diseased brain that sometimes can’t think or act like a normal, positive person without medication. Anyway, instead of joining the city in the communal celebration happening, I decided to take this stupid brain to Menard’s for a bit and check out that lumber yard. Joe wasn’t wrong about it. When I got home, I felt ill and I’ve been sort of haunting the house doing little things here and there to keep myself busy until inevitably passing out sometime soon. Maybe tomorrow I will feel better.

2.14.22Accidental PlansAshley and I don’t care about or celebrate Valentine’s Day, so we didn’t have plans to go out to eat tonight. In fact, I stayed home from work today because I was feeling under the weather (it’s not COVID), resulting in even less of a chance of doing anything special. After feeling better, I decided I needed to be productive and got cracking on some household projects I’ve been meaning to do, one of which was snaking the shower drain to improve drainage. In the midst of that process, I discovered a plumbing issue that resulted in having to cut water at the main to the entire house until I could fix it. Long story short, we went out to eat because the house didn’t have running water for awhile and we both needed to use the bathroom. Another romantic one for us.

2.15.22The CrosstrekHonestly, I’m not a car guy. Sure, I like to look at some older cars and admire the design of neat concept cars from past and present, but almost nothing gets me excited about standard vehicles. Like football, it just doesn’t hit me the same way as others. That said, owning a new car with all the features of a new car in 2022 is…something to behold. I don’t actively dislike getting into the car anymore. We traded in the Elantra for a new 2022 Subaru Crosstrek, which we picked up today after ordering it in December of last year. We plan to use this vehicle to travel the US and camp where we can with Myrtle when we get the opportunity to do so. Its first big trip will be to Philadelphia and DC this spring.

2.16.22The Perfect Bagel SandwichSorry for the food post. Lil’s Bagels on Greenup Street has this wicked good bagel sandwich called The Lil. It’s an everything bagel with lox, chive spread, capers, red onion, and fresh dill. It’s one of those menu items that I think about even when I’m not hungry because it’s so delicious. I don’t know who originally figured out this wonderful combination of flavors, but if I ever do, I’ll be sure to eat another one in their honor.

2.17.22Destructive DownpourSteve’s had a really rough go of it lately. Today, he discovered his car’s wiper blades weren’t working and had to Uber to work since it was raining. I picked him up at 5 PM so he didn’t have to Uber back, and while on our ride home, the rain started coming down with increased severity. Thankfully, we’d already exited the highway and made it to the streets of Bellevue when it happened. Then, after several minutes of wet hell reigning down on the car, the storm eased and we watched rivers of brown water gush violently down the sidewalks and through intersections, finding their way into sewer grates and holes in the ground. A little up the road, we saw the very old retaining wall by the elementary school had collapsed under the deluge of rain water. It was especially unnerving because those steps to the left of it are where I sometimes take Myrtle to play off leash to let her run. I hope we don’t have rains like this going forward…

2.18.22DissatisfiedI’m trying to prep for tomorrow’s big shoot and this one will not leave me alone. She’s already been walked, fed, exercised, and gone on a car ride.

2.19.22BoardroomHad a pretty big shoot out in West Chester today. This isn’t the final edit for this particular image, but it’s close. I’m going back to it tomorrow to do exteriors.

2.20.22Two Good JobsLegit nothing makes me happier than doing photos or building something for someone. That feeling of being useful in ways I know how has become more and more crucial to maintaining a positive daily mood. And today I got to do both. Our neighbors had their son baptized this morning at the Catholic church down the street and asked if I’d document the ceremony. They’re great people with big hearts, so it was more a treat for me than anything else, plus I got to spend some time observing a culture I wouldn’t normally get to see. Their little baby is cute and seemed interested in my camera’s flash, which made it easy to get him to look up at me no matter what was happening. Then, I went up to my sister’s house and built some basic shelving in her garage with my dad so she has more storage. It felt really good just to spend a day doing projects like that. If I didn’t have to worry about making money, I would just do this type of thing every day.

2.21.22Got the Bike OutIt was warm today. So warm, it became a bike-to-work situation. Having not ridden my folding bike for over a year, I had to literally dust it off and pull it out of storage. Took me 20 minutes to get to work, and aside from the bridge over the Licking River, the ride went well.

2.22.22AirBNB DayThe rain cancelled one of my morning shoots, but I managed to keep the other two on the schedule. Shot two AirBNBs—one in Pendleton and one in Covington—for the same company. The one pictured was on the third and fourth floors of a building on 12th Street in Pendleton. It had five beds in it, three of which looked to be queen-sized. The place was decorated well and had nearly everything one could want in an urban dwelling.

2.23.22Little Jobs Before InvasionWe were able to ship four of five pieces of countertops back to a job site for a high-profile client. I spent the morning sanding the remaining trim pieces while Joe sprayed lacquer on the rest. Then, I had to shoot an event at the Cincinnati Art Museum tonight. Two hours photographing people in nice dresses and suits and the new exhibits upstairs. I got home to process everything and checked the global news to see if anything was happening in Ukraine, and it sadly looks like everything’s kicking off. Can’t really believe this is happening. Feeling tremendously sad for the people of that country while also selfishly feeling fortunate we do not border Russia. Not looking forward to reading about how this will unfold in the coming days/weeks.

2.24.22LangsamHad a shoot in UC’s Langsam library for a client today. We staged photos. I’m not usually a director, but occasionally it’s fun to do.

2.25.22Wrong way!I took a similar photo back in the early days of camera phones but lost it to the ether at some point. Had to pick up a table in a small town east of Detroit and bring it back the same day. 8 hours in the van in total. Michigan was about 10 degrees colder than NKY. A nice guy named Bill who I’d not met until we hopped in the van together shared my love of 90s ska and punk, so we listened to that and we ate at a drive-in A&W. Not a bad day of work overall.

2.26.22Not a BanksySpongejoe isn’t my jam, but I like that someone turned this hunk of concrete into him. Covington is good.

2.27.22And They Don’t Stop ComingI had three shoots today—a Sunday. After a very, very busy week and weekend, I’m pretty tired. This image may look pretty straightforward, but it isn’t. Good interior photography accounts for all the clashing light sources both within and from outside. Inside light is generally orange/yellow, and outside light always registers blue. To make the image look “correct,” you have to manually adjust the white balance for each surface, which takes a lot of masking. Thankfully, almost everything on-trend is black and white, so the edits are a little less complicated. Regardless, one image can take upwards of a half hour to manually correct, and that’s why professionals in this field charge what they do; it’s not about simply taking a photo.

2.28.2215th and ScottThis building is less than a block from the shop. The light was hitting it just right on my bike ride home.