1.1.20(un)Happy TabbyThis little cat was chilling on a chair on someone’s porch in Bellevue. After I got it into Lightroom, I noticed his/her expression. Not sure if he/she was irritated or indifferent about me taking the photo.

1.2.20Mooie and ChewieI visited the Rising Sun History Museum in Rising Sun, IN today. While it has two historic boats and many artifacts that tell the tale of Rising Sun’s history, it was this two-headed, taxidermied calf that stuck with me most. I do not care for taxidermy; it’s horrible and awkward, and the two-headed calf was no exception. I didn’t get a photo of the didactic panel next to it for some reason, but I believe it said it was born in 1988 in Madison, IN on a July day. The calf only lived for 45 minutes before passing. Why it’s in a museum in Rising Sun is something I’ll continue wondering forever. It had to be today’s photo because it made me so uncomfortable. According to the director of the museum, the pair were named Mooie and Chewie.

1.3.20Rotolo Means ‘Roll’ in ItalianDid a shoot at Rotolo, a bowling alley and bar/restaurant at Newport On the Levee this afternoon. During the shoot, I assumed I was doing a poor job primarily because I couldn’t find the right angles on the time crunch while fiddling with my tripod. My frustration with myself culminated in sweating through my jacket, fumbling with my gear, and generally looking like I barely knew what I was doing. After spilling the contents of the card into Lightroom, I all but confirmed my suspicions. I have a long way to go before I can consider myself good at what I do. This bowling ball photo isn’t what I’d hoped it would be. It is what it is, I suppose.

1.4.20Inclined to Enjoy This ViewTravis and I went out tonight to grab shots of the city skyline from various angles after dark. We went to the Price Hill Incline District to get the east-facing angle of the west side of Downtown with the C I N C I N N A T I sign at one point.

1.5.20We Just Want It to Snow!Snow Banks at the Banks brought snow-based attractions to the riverfront using artificial and man-made snow. Every half hour, fans on Freedom Way blew (what looks to be) globs of soap into the air, creating a blizzard-like effect. While I was photographing the fan, a little boy wandered over and stuck out his tongue as if to catch one of the “snowflakes.” I saw him grimace for a second at one point—I imagine soapy “snow” (snoawp?) wouldn’t be tasty.

1.6.20A Court Street SunsetIt’s amazing how sharp a prime lens is compared to a zoom lens. I shot this with a 50mm prime. The detail in full resolution is very nice.

1.7.20My Friend MariaI took photos of Tower Room A inside the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal this afternoon for a story on the place, and my friend Maria let me into the space. The lighting was great, so I asked her if I could get a photo. She agreed.

1.8.20The Lady Before Lady LibertyI got word that one of the prototypes for the Statue of Liberty was in Cincinnati, so I drove to Oakley to check it out. The 4-foot-tall statue was made in the same foundry (Alvoiron) as the actual full-sized statue, but this one was made to be a lamp. Though it’s marked “#24,” there are only eight known to exist. The date on the base says 1875, but the curator told me this one was forged in 1878. It’s made of zinc and copper to mimic bronze. It’s hollow so wiring could be threaded up through the base to power the glass globe that would’ve sat on top of the torch. A replacement piece was made in the 1980s to cover the top since the glass was gone. I photographed it on film, as well.

1.9.20Home Sweet HomeWent up to the 11th floor of the William Howard Taft Center this afternoon for a job and caught a glimpse of my apartment from up high. I can see my desk from this angle. As I write this, I need only look up from my screen to see where I was.

1.10.20This Is the WayThey’ve ripped up a healthy portion of Fountain Square to reconfigure its layout. In the 5/3rd tunnel, a smaller tunnel of scaffolding was erected with signs that point to various attractions. I was there to scope out the 5/3rd Banking Museum to the right of the frame.

1.11.20A Helping HandPhotoshop offers tutorials on how to do different effects, and this week there’s a tutorial on how to do neon. They used a raised hand in black and white and built a triangle around it using the effect. I thought it might be fun to follow the tutorial and give it a go. It took some work, but I got the lighting just right on my hand and added the after effects.

1.12.20Drip!I put a Lume Cube 2.0 into the sink, turned on the faucet ever so slightly to create a rhythmic, steady drip, and rapid-fired away. This is a combination of two exposures put together. I cannot imagine trying to do this with film.

1.13.20I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching MeAn edited version of the photo of the day from December 27th, 2019 makes a return in the form of my desktop background. I believe this is the first time a photo of the day has been featured (kind of) twice. It always cracks me up when I see all three screens like this, and with it being 6:55 AM on a Monday, I cannot think of a better way to start my week than with a laugh. Also: look at that pretty little pup’s snoot.

1.14.20Glammed-Up On GreenupToday I had a real estate shoot on Greenup Street in Covington. It took me all day because I had to go back three times to get what I needed. The realtor needs the photos as soon as possible, so I spent the majority of the day shooting/processing them in between other life things. It's been an extremely long day and I'm afraid I may be getting sick.

1.15.20Museum DollsI checked out the Cincinnati Art Museum’s Fashion Archives today for a piece I’m working on for the site. While the archives were fully stocked with compressed storage containers that moved at the touch of a button, there were mannequins in a corner of the room that were unconcealed. These mannequins were designed to be the standard size of 18th- and 19th-century women. I did not realize women from those centuries differed so greatly in size from modern-day women, but apparently the garments the museum has in its collection were made to fit a specific type of body that mannequins post-1915 do not illustrate. Because there are so many garments in the collection, the museum needs an army of these mannequins should they ever put them on display. I would guess there were around 50 of them total standing neatly in phalanx formation.

1.16.20I visited Dixie Union Station this afternoon for a story on the Mason store. It sells miniature trains, both new and old, to casual and hardcore train set hobbyists around the region, as well as internationally. It’s an extremely cool store to visit because of how specific it is about its craft. Randy, one of the employees of the store, was sitting in a back room fixing up a train component with new wheel parts while I was there. His little maintenance room was cozy and calming; I could see myself gladly spending hours in that space working on hobby trains if I were in his position. Sometimes I wish I could rid myself of my internet-based job and just settle down with something simpler that’s more aligned with my introverted nature. Then again, I wouldn’t have met Randy and seen this room if I didn’t do what I do.

1.17.20Some Serious ScaffoldingMyrtle was getting groomed neared Findlay Market, so I worked in Deeper Roots for a couple hours, got lunch at the Market, then took this photo of a building that’s under construction while in the parking lot.

1.18.20Dead on a HillWe were in Fort Thomas burning some time before a scheduled haircut and dropped by a dying antique mall. Across the street was a cemetery on a dramatic hill that seemed to foreshadow the inevitable closure of the nearby mall. Because the scene was so bleak, I waited for a particularly bright vehicle to roll into frame before hitting the shutter.

1.19.20It Is So ColdThe feels-like temperature is 4°F tonight. I’d forgotten what 4°F feels like. I was moody and uninspired today, so we made this last-minute photo on the way back into the warmth of the building. I plan to sleep and reset immediately after publishing this (at 9:50 PM).

1.20.20Steve Shoots the ShootersI worked with RESLV this evening for six hours doing behind-the-scenes photography while they filmed a commercial. Steve was there filming content while everything was happening. I didn’t feel comfortable sharing any of the production stills from tonight without permission, but this photo of Steve doesn’t give anything away.

1.21.20Self PortraitI have entered my mid-Thirties and I’m quietly anxious about it. Well, I guess not-so-quietly anxious now that I’ve committed that feeling to this description.

1.22.20Perfect PerspectiveA flag ceremony that involved Steve Chabot took me inside the Hamilton County Courthouse this morning. After that, did a little extra photo work for Judge Marsh, then saw myself out. On the way out of her courtroom, I stopped and made this photo of Central Parkway and the Alms & Doepke Building across the street. Because I was on the third floor, the perspective didn’t need to be adjusted.

1.23.20Bourbon and BitesTonight I shot an event at the American Sign Museum in Camp Washington called Bourbon and Bites. It was a tour of the museum with stops for breaks to enjoy New Riff bourbon with food by The Phoenix. Before the tour began, I went into the main room and got the classic photo everyone enjoys getting when they’re there. I used a very small handheld tripod and set my ISO as low as it would go.

1.24.20Juvenile CourtSince I started working at 10 AM this morning to now (11 PM), I have been working non-stop on freelance projects while squeezing in Refined between tasks when I can. It has been an incredibly long day. One of my jobs was to document Judge John Meyer William’s courtroom and personal office for Hamilton County. I met with the judge in his office, learned about him and his family history with the building, and made the best photos I could with the small amount of time I had to do it. I would prefer to publish a photo of his office here, but I do not feel comfortable doing that without permission and will instead publish this depersonalized courtroom photo in its place.

1.25.20Taking My Own AdviceI wrote a piece that published today on Refined about things to do in Cincinnati when the weather sucks, and one of those list items was to visit Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park. Ashley’s mother is in town for the weekend and (surprise!) the weather is atrocious, so we all got in the car and headed up to the conservatory to enjoy the plants.

1.26.20Dave’s Happy About CakeWe celebrated Dave’s birthday today. He’s Ashley’s grandfather and he’s 78 on Tuesday.

1.27.20Domestic Still LifeAnother very long day at the laptop in both my home office and up at WKRC. Didn’t have much time to do anything else but work on Refined stuff. It is 9:15 PM and I’m exhausted. This is a scene from my home at the moment.

1.28.20Mesa LocaLuminaut hired me to photograph Mesa Loca in Hyde Park—a restaurant they worked on that recently opened within the last few months. It replaced Cock & Bull when that closed a while back. Stupid me forgot my memory card to the Z6 after setting up and had to run home, grab it, then run back. It was very unprofessional. No matter how long I do something, I’m always reminded of how far I still have to go.

1.29.20Get the MailAfter we take Myrtle out for her final potty break for the night, we tell her to “go get the mail” and she runs to the mail room. I snapped Ashley and Myrtle coming out of the mail room along with Extremely Unfriendly Dude getting into the elevator with a Bird scooter?

1.30.20Desolate Elm StreetMy monthly project takes me up to Findlay Market and the surrounding area, and as I walked past this stretch of Elm Street, I decided to document the completely vacant scene across the street. I liked how the colors of the mural stand in stark contrast to the off-white paint of the building behind it. I wish I’d gotten a body in frame, and I wish I’d taken this on film, but digital and empty are fine alternatives.

1.31.20Going UpThey removed the corner banner from the side of our apartment building using a hydraulic bucket. Myrtle went a little nuts at first when she saw someone at eye level, which I can’t blame her for since we live several stories from the street. I set up my phone on the ledge and used my Apple Watch from the other room to get a photo of the worker ascending. I have mixed feelings about doing it this way; clearly I felt uncomfortable just taking his photo normally, which suggests I feel like it’s wrong to capture his image without consent. On the other hand, his face is distorted from all the rain spots on the window, and he’s just outside my living room window, so his being so close to my personal space might give me permission to take his photo? I’m posting it so I must not feel it’s more wrong than right. If you have any feelings on this, I’d like to hear them.