1.1.24

1.2.24

1.3.24

1.4.24

1.5.24

1.6.24

1.7.24

1.8.24

1.9.24

1.10.24

1.11.24

1.12.24

1.13.24

1.14.24

1.15.24

1.16.24

1.17.24

1.18.24

1.19.24

1.20.24

1.21.24

1.22.24

1.23.24

1.24.24

1.25.24

1.26.24

1.27.24

1.28.24

1.29.24

1.30.24

1.31.24

1.1.24Quiet LossA friend who's been extremely important to me for many years seems less interested in our friendship these days. Somewhere along the way last year, I think something shifted. I can't pinpoint what happened or why. Regardless, I believe I’m slipping into a depression over it.I haven't felt this kind of loss and sadness in ten years. Waking up sick to my stomach about it every day sucks. The only thing that really helps is being around other people and Ashley.The last thing I want is to make this worse by approaching them about it. I genuinely love them and never want to upset them. But I also can't keep muscling through pangs of nausea every day as the texts and DMs I sent to spur conversation about common interests or inquiring about when we can get together are left on read while their social media feed updates regularly. It doesn’t take a scholar to understand what’s the priority.Writing this out and publishing it here helps me process my feelings. It eases the pressure of sorting through everything in my head. I’m going to try not to mention this again here, but please bear with me while I navigate this. I’m not myself without them.

1.2.24Bath TimeLiters of last year’s grime circled the drain so this pooch could have a fresh scent for the new year. All clean and neat now. She’s the sweetest little dog.Last night, as I lie awake in bed, she cuddled up to me, plopped down in the crook of my neck, and proceeded to lick my forehead for about 10 minutes. I read somewhere that dogs do this because it reminds them of being a puppy. No idea if that’s what Myrtle thinks, but I let her do it when I know I’ll be showering in short order. And truth be told, it was comforting to have a small creature give me her undivided attention for a few minutes.

1.3.24First Shoot of ‘24It felt really, really great to get back to photographing places for people today. Getting out of the house and distracting myself with work and a new location was hugely beneficial. GBBN did more work at TriHealth Bethesda North and needed photos for their portfolio before it opened to staff and the public.The spaces are what you’d expect in a modern hospital, but the design team ratcheted up the lighting and finishes without going overboard in several key areas. I don’t know how they’d describe this style, but to me, it felt like a fusion of Scandinavian design and a hint of the USS Enterprise, especially in areas with a central desk. This image doesn’t precisely illustrate that description well, but it was the easiest to edit and publish for today’s post.We planned to do a one-point of this space, but I suggested we pivot to two-point for a more interesting shot. With consensus reached, I did a clean version and placed the models. Blended the two in post for a finished image.

1.4.24Mirror Trick: RevisitedIn the world of rental and real estate photography, the person behind the lens is often left uncredited. This doesn’t bother me personally because the paycheck and the satisfaction of doing the work are all I ever want. The only time I ever get a nod is when something hits the media and the realtor or owner is kind enough to include my name.Elusive credit aside, one thing I do as a sort of signature is what you see above. I take a photo straight into a mirror, then remove the camera afterward in Photoshop. I imagine most people will scroll past it without noticing, but my goal is to get at least one person to stop and wonder about it for a minute.There are other photographers doing the same work will take the shot just below the bottom of the mirror frame, and I don’t blame them. Sometimes, I don’t bother with it myself. It’s a lot of extra work for no monetary benefit. But this is the only way I’ve found to inject my own personality into an otherwise straightforward and rigid corner of the industry.

1.5.24Will Work For ArtMy office is in the process of being rearranged for the 40th time, though not to the degree it has been in previous years. It is just too tempting not to move things around to feel a sense of excitement about its freshness. One of the biggest things I’m excited about, besides once again having a corner with a lounge chair where I can read, is the chance to fill half a wall with art I’ve yet to procure.In the meantime, I’m putting in the hours to fund this initiative. Today I put down the video work for a couple hours and did a very quick and easy job on Madison for a developer—an empty storefront in need of quality photos for its listing. I plan to spend every penny I earn doing this quick job on artwork. Instead of going out tonight, I stayed in and processed all the photos so I could get them back to the client ASAP.

1.6.24We Were Promised SnowIt’s an exciting time before the first snowfall of the season. When meteorologists name the storm, it’s even more exciting. For the last several days, they said we’d be getting at least an inch starting in the early hours of the morning. The promise of waking up to snow-covered rooftops, railings, and trees loomed large in my imagination, as was the promise that the streets were too warm for it to impede travel. That, to me, is the perfect winter storm.But when I woke this morning, the familiar grey of January, complete with its signature wet dullness, met my disappointed gaze. The meteorologists were right about one thing: the streets were decidedly too warm to hold snow.We took Ashley’s grandfather to Union Terminal to see the model trains and watch the Omnimax film about the Rocky Mountain Express. Seeing the snow-covered miniature was about as close as I’d get to real winter today.

1.7.24A Tale of Two JunglesApathetic about the Bengals as I am, a trip to Jungle Jim’s during their final home game proved successful. Normally, a trip to this place (the original Fairfield location) on a weekend could be reasonably categorized as pre-meditated self-harm, but going during a football game or other major local event thinned the crowd such that it was bearable. Still, as a rule, no matter where you stand in Jungle Jim’s, you are most certainly in the way.We got out of the store with a load of good food and wine for less than $80. The bargain aisle with items about to reach their sell-by date was an essential stop. Among several great finds, we snagged a yardstick-length baguette for a dollar from that section.I think we’re going to make it a habit to visit at least once a month instead of once a year.

1.8.24Over-Engineering Simple SolutionsMy Godox flash and Z9 battery chargers sit side by side on a table in my office. The Godox charger (left) can stay plugged in without a battery with no issue, but if there’s no battery on the Z9 charger (right), the base makes an annoying rhythmic clicking sound when plugged in. As such, I have to either unplug it at the outlet or disconnect the cord from the base and risk losing it down the back of the table, which always happens.I managed to keep them together using a twist tie for a while, but that was inelegant. I needed the satisfaction of wasting an hour or two fixing the issue. Could this first-world problem be solved by playing with my tools? Of course, it could.This square piece of Bastogne walnut had been collecting dust in my scrap pile for two years. It was the perfect specimen to act as the decorative base that would solve my problem and also prove, yet again, that saving scrap proves useful at some point.I traced the profile of the Z9 charger, added an extra 10mm to the length, and carefully spent an hour delicately routing a channel a half-inch deep for it to sit within. Then, I switched to a smaller bit and routed a channel for the cord off the back. The channel is tight on the profile of the cord, holding it firmly in place. That extra 10mm allows the base to slide away and toward the cord within the confines of the channel, disconnecting and reconnecting it without it moving or dropping behind the table.I also routed a spot for the Godox charger because why not. Rounded the corners for decoration, softened the edges, and sanded it to a buttery smooth grit. Now I have a custom, dedicated charging station instead of a twist tie.

1.9.24The ShellRebecca said she had a shell of a house for me to photograph for an upcoming listing. “It’ll take you 20 minutes,” she said. No stranger to shooting vacant places, I’m not used to shooting houses in that condition for her. She usually sets me loose on expensive houses that are either magazine-worthy or could be magazine-worthy if given some updates.The shell was located on Greer Street in Covington. I’d shot a couple of other places on Greer over the years, but none in this condition. It was as she described: stripped down to the original beams with natural gaps in the original wooden slats to the outside. Plywood patched several busted windows and shored up deadly gaps in the floor. The ceilings were high and airy on the first level; I could easily imagine how a spiral staircase would be the centerpiece of the front room if a renovation included it.While on the second level, I looked down at the floorboards and noticed inked text on an old piece of paper. I pulled it out and discovered a small mass of old pieces of newspaper featuring ads and articles, ripped to shreds but still legible. The fonts looked like what the Enquirer used for several decades in the middle 20th century, the shoes and top hat seemed to be from around that era, and the bus looked like it was from the ‘40s. I googled the “Brownie 620” (more commonly written out as Brownie Six 20, I discovered later), and all but confirmed these were probably from the late 1940s. It was only after getting home and looking at the scraps on the bigger screen that I noticed the "1948” near the left side tear on the shoe ad.I thought it was notable that 75 years ago, a camera flash’s selling point was that it “enables you to take pictures indoors as simply as snapshots outside,” and there I was aiming an advanced optical computer at this old ad for defunct tech while indoors and without flash.

1.10.24Clean SlateWhen I updated to an iPhone 15 Pro earlier this month, I brought all my iPhone 13 Pro baggage with me. Normally, I’m good about offloading my photos and videos onto an external drive, but I got away from it over the last year. The annoying “your iCloud storage is full” message was driving me nuts enough to sit down and just transfer everything.It feels great to have a totally clean phone with the possibility of filling it up again with brand-new images I’ve yet to make. After offloading everything, I went down a rabbit hole of watching old videos I took of friends and family from 10 years ago that I saved on the drive. Instead of feeling good that I’d captured all that I did, I fixated on the fact that I didn’t record more. Maybe this year I’ll spend more time recording my surroundings in addition to photographing them.

1.11.24School With a ViewHub+Weber did the 3rd-floor renovation of Newport Central Catholic. While it isn’t 100% ready and requires a return trip this upcoming Monday, we took advantage of the good weather (hard to come by this time of year) and got a few staged shots around the lingering construction that included the absolutely incredible view.Had the views from my own high school been this breathtaking and not of woods and a parking lot, I’m fairly certain my GPA would’ve been far worse as I’d have surely spent the majority of class daydreaming.

1.12.24Afterthought to Hold a CoffeeI needed a very small side table to set my drink on next to my chair, so I went down to the workshop, dug through my scrap, and found a nice chunk of monkey pod and a plank of red oak. I cut them into circles on the band saw, beveled the edges with a 45-degree router bit, sanded everything to a nice smoothness, drilled a hole in each piece, and stuck a dowel between them. Added a medium stain so the oak would better match the monkey pod, and finished it with Danish oil.

1.13.24The Night of the TreeThe forecast called for high winds as a winter storm approached the Midwest. When I went to bed, I opted not to turn on the white noise so I could keep an ear on what what happening outside. My relationship with violent wind has never been a good one; it’s always scared me to varying degrees, and deep down, I think I had a feeling something was going to happen.Around 1:30 AM, I awoke to still silence. Feeling more comfortable with the seemingly calmer situation outside, I reached to turn on the white noise. Within a second of my reach, I saw a bright flash and felt an enormous bang from next door. I swore it hit me in the head for a split second. The power instantly went out. Ashley awoke and asked worriedly, “What was that?”To be honest, I thought our neighbor’s house got hit by lightning. I got up to check the house by iPhone flashlight. When I got to the front window, I looked out and saw a flashlight bouncing over branches I didn’t recognize in a place I’m not used to seeing them at the end of the street. Suddenly it hit me: the old, impossibly tall tree next door had fallen.I went outside and saw my neighbor already out with a flashlight. The wind picked up, and flurries of snow swirled around downed wires and a heavy transformer on the sidewalk—the reason we no longer had power. That wasn’t lightning, I heard; it was the flash of electrical systems being brutally severed from the pole as the tree barrelled toward Earth. Thankfully, no one was hurt, and no private property suffered significant damage. The tree had fallen on a sign and a chainlink fence and barely crossed the train tracks. Emergency crews responded. Duke came out hours later and got our power back on. A train loudly obliterated the dead wood on the tracks around 3 AM without losing momentum.I slept for maybe 2 hours overall. The next morning, I surveyed the damage. The tree was blocking the public steps, but aside from that, it wasn’t posing much of a threat. It was the talk of the street all day. I’m going to have an abundance of firewood.

1.14.24Needy PuppyThe chaos of the tree falling might’ve given Myrtle temporary trauma. She watched in confusion and fear from the storm door window as Ashley and I were out in the street during strange hours the night before and couldn’t relax until the following morning. Ashley’s unfettered anxiety about the situation was also contagious to our empathetic dog.She spent yesterday and today more clingy than usual. I couldn’t sit without her periodically coming up for reassurance that everything was okay. This is an observation, not a complaint. It’s no trouble soothing a fearful dog.

1.15.24Return to ClassWe returned to Newport Central Catholic to get additional classroom shots for Hub+Weber this morning. This image is comprised of eight different frames using a combo of focus stacking and HDR. Every pixel in frame was adjusted to reflect optimal color and exposure in order to come up with a highly polished photo.

1.16.24Vine Street Kemba16 Points Solutions combined two different storefronts on Vine Street into one space for Kemba Credit Union. Their existing branch on Vine Street, a few doors up from this space, will be moving to this new address within the coming weeks. The time was right to get in and grab photos before IT installed 50 miles of computer wire that I’d inevitably have to Photoshop out.The space was perfectly clean and arranged, which cut down on the shoot time considerably. I also didn’t have anyone forgetting that photos are being taken and walking into every shot (a more common occurrence than you’d think on most shoots).Oddly enough, the color scheme for this project looks similar to that of the school I posted yesterday. Same architect, so I guess there’s a reason.

1.17.24Splitting Logs at SunsetGrabbed some of the leftover tree from the street, cut it with a chainsaw, and split the logs with an axe before filling up the rest of the wood rack. By the time I was finished, the sun was beginning to set.

1.18.24Nary a Granule WastedBellevue Animal Hospital made sure only the width of their storefront was properly salted. The narrowness of the deliberate dispersal pattern made me laugh. Absolutely no one will be slipping here unless they step one inch outside of this exact profile.

1.19.24iBirdingI set up a semi-elaborate way to watch the birds using my iPhone, a tripod, and my Apple Watch. While the image quality leaves a lot to be desired, I still think it’s a nice scene overall. Fun little experiment using ones and zeros!

1.20.24Western BowlWe went with friends to Western Bowl for a few games of ten-pin. Everyone, with the exception of Brendan, was bad at it to various degrees. I don’t think anyone scored above 100 except him. The guys did better than the girls, but not significantly.The alley itself was great mainly due to its unchanged decor. It seemed to be in various states of disarray depending on where you looked, but the late ‘80s and early ‘90s aesthetic persists in key corners. Some very fun neon behind glass block was a standout, as was the carpeting and locker areas. I’d like to go back sometime with a proper camera.

1.21.2438For whatever reason, I get sad around my birthday. Yesterday, I felt it growing, and today, the feeling peaked. When I woke up, I had no desire to talk to anyone or do anything. The thought of staying in bed and sleeping until tomorrow was more attractive than any other activity. But I knew I couldn’t do that. The texts were already coming through, and I should be lucky to have anyone remember let alone care enough to acknowledge it.Anyway, I won’t go into all that here. Just recognizing the feeling so I can move on from it.I knew my melancholy would prevent me from doing anything photographically interesting, so I forced myself up to an irresistible and familiar perch with a camera in my bag. Tomorrow will be better, I think.

1.22.24When Patience Pays OffI returned to NCC for Hub+Weber one final time to get the remaining images they needed without construction hampering every shot. This time, I got there after school had let out for the day. The goal for this final round of photos was to capture a sunset in the new corner classroom and adjoining communal study area.Tanner from H+W met me there at 4 PM. We did a few other shots on the list during the waning hours of the afternoon, but our efficiency led us to post up without anything to do for about an hour before sunset. It wasn’t a big deal; I set up my phone and ran a 4K timelapse into my 2 TB SSD while we waited.Finally, as the sun set on a perfect winter day, it illuminated the city and the rooms with a beautiful golden glow. I was glad we waited.

1.23.24Important Flower BusinessSunshine Bouquet had more videos for me to film for Kroger. I met them at the Newport store this rainy, miserable evening.We did a few how-to videos for the floral employees. Talmadge had planned every shot, so I just had to execute his vision. We did a piece on color-blocking displays (pictured), among other things. Overall, I think it went well using a combination of the Z9 and my iPhone 15 Pro recording ProRes to the SSD. I feel more confident about videography now that I’ve done it a bit and have good enough tools to do the work.

1.24.24Metal TablesA custom metal table Single Batch Designs made for a client in Las Vegas. John said he’s not driving it out there. It’ll be third-party shipped there this week. Seems like a missed opportunity to go to Vegas.

1.25.24Office BuddyIt’s been raining for days, and everything’s sopping wet. Even the porch, which is totally under cover, is damp all over. Despite the rain, the air is warm enough to crack the windows, letting in much-needed fresh air.All my work was at my desk today. Myrtle had a very lazy, very boring day as a result. She was so bored she got up in my chair and stared at me for about an hour toward the end of the day.

1.26.24V2 Gallery and a Night OutWent up to Walnut Hills to photograph a gallery opening for ArtWorks. Afterward, I met Ashley, Chelsea, and Vince at the new food hall at the Levee, and I was honestly impressed with it. The burger I got from Four Mile Pig was excellent. The bar made me a lackluster drink, and the service still had some kinks to work out, but if they manage to get those two things fixed, I think it’ll last. At least, I hope it lasts. The more food halls, the better.Afterward, we walked to a brewery and went to Coaches before finishing the night at The Fill Inn. We did our usual four games of bowling on the 1969 Champagne bowling machine, and the girls did Shania Twain on karaoke. I recorded all of it on VHS-C with my family’s old camcorder and plan to digitize it tomorrow during my downtime.

1.27.24Worth the HangoverHungover today. We had too much fun last night. To make matters worse, Ashley scheduled an annual vet visit for Myrtle at 8 AM on a Saturday morning. As I summoned every ounce of will power to not lay down on the check-up table and close my eyes as the doctor told us all about our beloved dog’s health, I fantasized about the moment I’d get home, undress, and get back into bed to sleep this off.When I awoke in the afternoon after living the dream, the weather had taken a turn for the worse. No big deal, though; we had planned to stay in, save money, and relax inside. The cold, blustery, rainy night worsened as the evening went on, reinforcing our decision not to bother going out.I connected the camcorder to the TV, loaded old tapes Ashley’s family recorded in the early 90s, and we enjoyed laughing at how Ashley tried to get the spotlight from her younger brother (a toddler at the time), and was routinely scolded for it.The photo is of the myriad digital storage options I have sitting in my desk at the moment.

1.28.24Nostalgia for Sumer ReadingOne summer, when I was young, I spent summer nights reading Goosebumps stories in my bedroom under a booklight after my parents thought I’d gone to sleep. The streetlight from the cul-de-sac outside let in a little extra light, and I remember laying on my stomach close enough to the window to feel the breeze gently passing through. To add even more sugar to this sweet memory, what seemed like thousands of fireflies off at the edge of the woods across the street blinked in a chaotic and calming pattern, totally out of sync with the chorus of crickets and a few frogs echoing in surround sound. It was one of those things that, even in the moment, felt special, and I still think about it often all these years later.When I accidentally stumbled upon this scene tonight, that memory came back once more. No, I wasn’t reading in my bed in my parents’ house in 1995, nor was it summer or firefly season, but the lighting was very similar. Were it not totally weird, I’d return to that house, stand on the porch, and take a photo toward the street during the summer months to more accurately capture that feeling again. This will have to do, though.

1.29.24PlugsEvery variation of cable in my office, individually photographed and edited together. (I didn’t leave the house today.)

1.30.24Unknown StoreIt rained all day again. I had to go to Harbor Freight to pick something up. This store was next to it. I have no idea what this place sells, and I’m not going to Google it.

1.31.24MementoWhen the tree next door fell, our neighbors asked if I could cross-section one of the larger branches for them. They wanted to use it as a centerpiece for their table and as a memento of what was once right outside their living room window. I cut it, sanded it, and finished it with Danish Oil.

info

prev / next

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·