2.1.26Self-PortraitSet up the backdrop for something and shot a self-portrait while I was at it.

2.2.26A Lovely Green StaircaseLove the color 8K chose for this staircase. The preserved green tile and black and white motif work beautifully with this shade of green.

2.3.26A Quick OnePerry Contracting had me photograph their work at a dentistry office this morning before the next round of snow hit the Tristate.

2.4.26Full BarsAs seen walking out of the Cincinnati Art Museum this evening. I like that they’ve lit the trees so prominently along the new driveway up to the roundabout.

2.5.26Indoors and OutHad an apartment shoot this morning that took me to a building in Ludlow, KY. Two of the apartments featured lovely colorful stained glass windows (pictured) that enlivened the room considerably. With these being monochromatic, empty apartments, a bold splash of color like this adds a strong sense of character that makes the mood in the room considerably warmer and brighter than the dreary cold beyond. I managed to photograph someone crossing the street as I lined up for a straight shot on the tiny window.

2.6.26Mahler Symphony No. 4Tabita Berglund conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra through Mahler Symphony No. 4. Photographed for Fanfare Magazine.

2.7.26Sunset On MulberryWhile waiting on Lammi to come out of his house, Travis, Ronny, and I sat in the car chatting while the sun set to the west. Though it was in the single digits and uncomfortable to spend time outdoors, the warmth of that sunlight on the undisturbed areas of snow at the bottom of frame is undeniably beautiful.

2.8.26Sketching SFSketching buildings is tedious and I kind of hate it, but it’s the only thing I want to draw. Wish I preferred something else.

2.9.26Bar ProgressNot sure what’s going into the Plymouth Street space in Mt. Washington, but it will have a bar of some sort. I think it’s a coffee shop? Anyway, I’ve photographed the progress on this place on and off for years and it’s wild to see how far it’s come during that time.

2.10.26The Great ThawAfter what feels like an eternity below freezing without a break, we randomly got a 60ºF day in February. The thaw has begun. Sidewalks have begun reemerging. The streets are no longer lumpy with ice and snow. The air doesn’t burn your lungs when breathing deep. The sun feels like it’s accomplishing something for once.We loved it so much, we went for a walk, stopped for a beer at Darkness, and ended up doing steak night with Chelsea and Vince at Hometown Heroes. It was delicious, cheap, and put me in a meat coma when I got back home.Unplanned, fun evenings like this are essential to fighting winter blues.

2.11.26New PlazaClosing down Plum Street and building this plaza next to the renovated convention center is a good move. There is so much more life on this block after removing the Millennium Hotel and making use of that bit of land that was formerly fenced in for years. As I typed that, I realized how empty this photo is. Rest assured there were more people present just out of frame.I dressed improperly for my walk with Myrtle around this stretch, so I didn’t linger. I’ll check it out again once it gets a bit warmer. Curious to see how this block competes with Fountain Square for programming.

2.12.26Documenting Kumasi MCYou’ve seen this place from Central Parkway before. The Obama mural on the south-facing side makes it instantly recognizable. This place has been empty for over a decade at the time of this writing, but before it was cleared out, it was home to the Kumasi Motorcycle Club. After a series of shootings culminated in the unsolved murder of a man outside the building in 2014, the city shut it down for good.The owner today says the club was started by some Vietnam veterans. After some time, it became a regular hang-out for neighbors. If you search for it, you’ll come across a really good Flickr album of photos of the club and who I assume are its regulars from the mid- to late-2000s.The first floor has a load of hand-painted murals on several walls and part of the ceiling as you walk in. Though a lot of the building’s interior has deteriorated and is in a state of renovation, the amateur quality of the remaining murals is endearing and gives you a sense of what the club used to feel like. The two floors above it are primed to receive new apartments.

2.13.26Vitamin DAisle 4 treats seasonal depression if you stand in it long enough.

2.14.26Empress ImpressesI love all Cincinnati chili and don’t subscribe to the “Skyline is the only good one and everything else is an affront to God” thing half of Cincinnati pretends to believe. Honestly, when someone says Gold Star is trash and Skyline is amazing, I know their opinion can be disregarded; they need attention more than a coney.Neither Ashley nor I celebrate Valentine’s Day, especially now that Ashley’s work is so centered around it. Going to a nice restaurant on Valentine’s Day is a headache, so we normally find something alternative to do every year, if we even remember to do anything at all.This year, we decided to go to a neighborhood chili parlor figuring it wouldn’t be busy. We debated a few options before landing on Empress—the oldest still-operating of the brands with only one location left in Alexandria.The photo sums up the decor perfectly. It looks like an old Taco Bell inside, the food is delicious, and we got out of there having spent $30 total. Definitely headed back sooner than later.

2.15.26Assistive AccessAshley’s grandmother has inherited her late grandfather’s iPhone. As she’s never used technology more sophisticated than a TV remote in her life, we needed a way to dumb down the smart phone for her. The reason she’s not using a plain dumb phone is because her family would like to send her photos and keep tabs on her location now that she lives alone, so this phone is necessary.There’s a setting on iPhone called Assistive Access that essentially strips down the UI to large, simple icons with limited functionality. Before turning on Assistive Access, the user chooses which apps they want to use and a few other small customization options. When activated, it looks like this. Not all apps are offered in this mode, but nearly all of the primary Apple apps are.Honestly, if I didn’t need access to several third party apps, I think this would be a great way for me to curb looking at my phone.

2.16.26RepurposedI built this shoe rack for Ashley a couple years ago. In an effort to declutter the basement stair landing and make use of our alley door, we removed it from that area and relocated her shoes by mine near the garage. As such, we suddenly had a handmade shoe rack without a home.I wondered if I could make use of it in my office to hold my camera collection, and sure enough, it worked. The low profile shelves were perfect, and I’m glad I could make use of it once more even if its intended purpose was originally different.

RebrandingI’ve spent the last several days totally rebranding my business. With design help from Jake Staubitz, we came up with this logo to represent my professional work going forward. Embracing color and a serif typeface was a little scary at first, but his vision coupled with my preferred color palette ultimately ended up with something I never would’ve dreamed up myself.Of course, you’re probably looking at it like, “so what?” And you’re right. But to me—someone who’s stuck with various Helveticas for years—this is a big step in another direction.I didn’t originally want to geolocate my brand, but so much of my work is based here, so I’m leaning into it. Several of my repeat clients know me this way, and it’s snappier than my actual name. Jake’s choice of font flavorfully highlights my irregular schedule of work while maintaining a thoughtful structure overall. I like the offset nature of the ‘c’ and ‘y’, as well as the shrunken ‘i’ in both words. The tail off the bottom of the loop on the ‘p’ is fun, too, and I like that I have two primary colors as well as a monochrome option to both represent where I’ve come from and where I’m going. The logo is simultaneously professional and casual/flexible, accurately describing who I am in this field.Regarding the Pantone image, I knew I wanted my primary color to be green, but I didn’t yet know which shade. Ashley has a massive Pantone swatch set in her office cabinet that I figured I could use for direction. When I sat down with it, I flipped to the greens, and (I’m not kidding you) ‘Myrtle’ was the first one I noticed. I’m not a believer in fate, but when serendipity like that happens, I know not to ignore it.

2.18.26Edge InnI liked this bar well-enough. Fine for a Miller Lite. The neon sign outside is too photogenic to ignore.

2.19.26Double ExposurePlaying around with an in-camera double exposure.

2.20.26My Two LovesChicago hot dogs and Myrtle. Does it get any better?

2.21.26The Kind You Find At a Second-Hand StoreBecause I’ve been light on work, I’ve been knocking out a lot of mundane stuff around the house that I’ve been meaning to get to for the last few years. Painting the stairwell, caulking around windows, re-laying floor tile, etc. Since I was on a roll, I figured the upstairs hallway and stairwell could use a fresh coat of paint, too.While we didn’t end up choosing ‘Prince Purple,’ for our hallway, I appreciated Behr’s attempt to avoid a lawsuit and Spirit Halloween this color. I had Raspberry Beret stuck in my head the rest of the day.

First Financial CenterWe went to the Home and Garden Show today to look at several contractors we might want to work on our house this summer. While Ashley was excited to look at the booths, I was mainly interested in seeing how the new convention center looked inside. I’m a big fan of the redesign, specifically the corner that looks out on 5th Street.

2.23.26CMD+ZA past owner of our house painted nearly all the trim in the house white. It kills me because I would much rather it be sealed natural wood. I’ve been considering whether or not to undo all of this without the use of paint stripper, so I’m seeing how difficult it is on a small section of the house.The spindles on our staircase were painted, but the rest of it wasn’t. I figure I’ll start here and see how it goes before committing to other areas of the house. Remove the white paint, sand it down, and reseal. I’m using a heat gun and a scraper to remove the paint in little sections at a time. It’s not a fast or easy process, but I find it oddly meditative and kind of like that it’s going to be involved. It will make the whole project sweeter when it’s finished.

2.24.26LombardyJust a nice doorway on West Fourth while I was getting coffee at Deeper Roots.

2.25.263MTPhotographed the Three Minute Thesis event up at UC today.

2.26.26St. JosephI’ve done a lot of lifestyle stuff for organizations and businesses, but I did my first Catholic school today. St. Joseph Catholic School in Crescent Springs needed new marketing images and asked me to work on a list of shots for them. The images they have currently all feature students who’ve moved on to high school and no longer attend their school.I photographed mass first, then went into the school to make images of kids in classrooms and doing different activities. Thankfully I had a guide with me at all times to let me know what they needed image-wise. I ended up with a gallery of about 100 images for them at the end of the day, and overall it went well.I’m posting this one because it’s back-of-head only.

2.27.26Late-Night Dogs And a Bar FightSenate in Blue Ash is closing, making Holiday Spirits the last place it’ll exist going forward. I like the bar well enough, but I think I go there mainly because I can get two corn dogs for less than $10 while I drink a beer. What’s better than that?While we were there, we witnessed the beginning of a bar fight. It quickly got tense around the pool table mere feet from our group, so we closed out and left. We managed to leave before anything really happened besides the standard chest-bumping and a ready-to-strike pool cue was raised in a threatening manner. It’s a bummer when wannabe macho dudes ruin the fun.

2.28.26Beethoven & RavelPianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet on stage with the CSO for the evening’s Beethoven & Ravel performance at Music Hall. I noticed he played the piano with one hand only to learn later that the piece was written for Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein who lost his right arm during World War I.