7.1.26The YardWent to Louisville for work today. This residential building hosts several Airbnbs, and I photographed them for the management company. They needed some exteriors for the listing, and I was able to get a nice shot of the entire building with the Louisville skyline as the backdrop.

7.2.26Stops 4 SignsWhile in Lancaster, I pulled over to photograph this excellent sign for a shopping center.

7.3.26Participation TrophyI don’t know how much this little barrier is really doing for the street, but I appreciate that it showed up regardless.

7.4.26Justin and MaxI filmed an uphill novelty race this morning and then went over to Annie and Justin’s later for a chill 4th of July hang. Max, their rescue dog, is a temperamental pup who will most likely bite you if you touch him despite how adorable he is.

7.5.26Judy’s CamerasThe realtor who is going to sell Judy’s house has the unfortunate task of cleaning it out. As such, a large amount of Judy’s things are going to be donated. I offered to photograph the house for the listing for free as a way to honor Judy and help out however I can, so I went over to introduce myself to the realtor while she was there.Before I left, she asked me if I wanted a box tote of old cameras Judy had. Of course I said ‘yes’ and took them off her hands.When I got them home, I sorted through the box to see what she had. Among them was this Pentax Spotmatic F. It was dirty and looked like it hadn’t been used in decades, so I proceeded to give it a thorough cleaning. Once I replace the battery, I will run a roll through it.

7.6.26Do the Flowers Match the Door?Yes.

7.7.26Careful DemoI’ve had a second-floor balcony off my office since we moved into the house. I rarely use it, though, due to its condition; the flooring is splintered and weathered, the railing is a mess, and the paint over all of it is peeling. It’s not a pleasant place to hang out, to be honest.Later this week, though, I will be refinishing it with my father-in-law’s help. To prep for that, I need to demolish parts of it so we can begin refinishing it when he gets into town, but I can’t just knock the whole thing down. Everything has to be carefully removed to preserve the framing beneath.While I think the wood framing is salvageable, there’s a chance I will have to rebuild it. The support joists are okay, so I won’t have to worry about that part of it, thankfully.My dad came over to help me surgically demolish what we could. It took eight and a half hours to remove the decking, electrical, and railing. By the end of the evening, I was dirty and sore, but I feel like I’m in a good place to start the rebuild on Thursday.

7.8.26Farewell, MarioMario is headed out to Illinois for a while for a job. He’s been a barista at Unataza for a long time, and as such, I consider him a friend. I’m going to miss seeing him every week, but I’m happy to see him chase a new endeavor that will hopefully help him accomplish his goals.

7.9.26New PlanWell, the framing I spent so long carefully demoing around the other day ended up not being usable after closer inspection. I’ll head to the hardware store tomorrow to get a bunch of new wood to re-frame it. For now, we have scabs in place to keep the supports from wobbling while they stand loosely in the air.Working 10+ feet off the ground is difficult. Getting those boards up in the air and affixed to everything is going to be a challenge I haven’t personally attempted before. Nothing about the house is square or level, either, which only adds to the difficulty.

7.10.26Love Having a TruckThe Santa Cruz has a four-foot bed that extends to five feet with the tailgate down. Today I learned I can haul a 12-foot beam if I use the eight-footer as a support. This was a huge revelation as I didn’t think I could ever get anything into the back bed of this truck longer than eight feet. long.Anyway, today we spent the day building the frame and getting it situated on the support joists. It was a helluva process, but it’s done. Going to lay the decking tomorrow and hopefully finish this thing up in the next two days.

7.11.26In-ProcessMy last few days have felt like nothing but construction. We got the decking affixed to the new balcony between intermittent pop-up storms, and all that’s left now is the railing. It took all day to finish.Before I began working on the decking, though, I had to run out to the west side to photograph a construction site for a client. I used the drone to get higher up than normal for the interior photos. Having spent so long doing construction on my own house. I took a moment to appreciate how difficult this must’ve been for the guys who put it up. Of course, they have a whole team instead of just two dudes.

7.12.26Almost ThereA shot of the balcony with new framing done, decking done, and supports freshly painted. I won’t paint the new framing until later this year so the wood has time to dry out. Railing goes on tomorrow.

7.13.26Final Pool of the SeasonTaking a break from deck progress to go back to the previous trend: pool photography. I shot my last pool of the season today.We got the railing installed and the deck is done. I plan to photograph it properly once I get a chance, but honestly, I need a couple of days to focus on other things.

7.14.26Scott StreetPhotographed this freshly renovated, massive house on Scott Street today for a listing.

7.15.26Aerial WorkI really can’t give details about this one. As seen from the intersection of Mulberry and Vine Street.

7.16.26Down Come the WallsBoard members of the Cincinnati Observatory got to take the inaugural swings to kick off the impending renovation.

7.18.26Seth’s HouseSeth is going to rent out his Milton Street home and needed listing photos. The place is impeccably decorated.

7.18.26Deck RevealIt ain’t much, but it’s a helluva lot better than it was.

7.19.26Ziegler From AboveTaken for 8K Construction. I haven’t flown much in the urban core because I’m still getting myself acquainted to the drone, but that’s beginning to change.

7.20.26Heigold FacadeWent down to Louisville for work and had a little extra time to poke around. Decided to see a weird tree that apparently witches cursed as well as this weird lonely facade in the middle of a roundabout.

7.21.265151 ProgressJust some updated progress shots on the warehouse Jake’s building on the west side of Cincinnati.

7.22.26Unexpected ViralityUnexpected ViralitySo I bought one of those inner ear cameras that let you take a look at what's in there when needed. I used it, discovered I have far cleaner ears than I thought I did, and then laughed at the fact that the app had an album for storing photos and videos of past spelunkings. I got to thinking about ear photography in general as well as the album feature, and figured I should try to take other photos with the hilariously low-res camera on this thing.I went for a walk with Myrtle and photographed the neighborhood. Afterward, I looked at my shots, exported them, and posted them online. I didn't think it would resonate with many, but I thought the vibe of the shots turned out well despite the hardware limitations, so I shared anyway.In 24 hours, this post amassed half a million views and nearly 30,000 likes on Threads. Weirdly enough, the comments were overwhelmingly positive and encouraging, with people claiming that it was an example of true originality and inspiration.I still don't know what to think of all this. I've poured my heart and soul into projects in the past that have largely been ignored, but this one-off walk through the neighborhood using a novelty camera is what went viral.

7.23.26Mad Anthony’sPhotographed for Single Batch Designs.

7.24.26Locke CoffeePhotographed for Single Batch Designs.

7.25.26Morning on the DeckI like being up here in the morning, and I will like it even more when it’s not a million degrees outside.

7.26.26Cornerstone While in the basement of the Observatory, I could see the cornerstone that was laid when the whole thing was built. One of the staff there noted engravings and marks that may indicate the identity of the mason who cut and laid it.

7.27.26Louisville AirbnbsPhotographed for Casey Lodgings.

7.28.26A Portrait of JohnWhile shooting the interior of the Haile Foundation, I asked John Yung to pose for a photo at his desk and it ended up being my favorite portrait I’ve made in a long time.

7.29.26Judy’s ListedThe time finally came to photograph Judy’s house. As I’ve written about previously, Judy was our neighbor and friend who lived a few doors down from us. She was a special part of our street, and when she died suddenly in April, we could scarcely believe she was gone. Working with her distant relatives and the realtor, I offered to photograph her property pro bono as thanks to her for being such a wonderful person.It was weird being in there without her. The house had largely been cleaned out, but it still felt like hers. I can only hope the next person or people who move in care for her old house and our street as much as she did.

7.30.26John’s Fixer-UpperJohn bought a crazy huge house in Bellevue that someone lived in for the last 70 years. It’s a mess and not at all turn-key, so he’s taking this opportunity to renovate the whole thing. Before starting, though, he wanted shots of everything.This newell post lamp and stained glass on the main staircase will stay, thankfully.

7.31.26Art After DarkPhotographed for the Cincinnati Art Museum.