10.1.20I See YouPretty self-explanatory.

10.2.20WOW.That’s what I said when I saw this master bathroom. This is from a shoot I did this afternoon for an upcoming listing (freelance gig). I am fairly certain this bathroom hasn’t been updated since the home was built in 1987. The aesthetic choices made here were made in ALL CAPS.

10.3.20Train ManWe went to Metamora, IN this afternoon. The little town is located on either side of an old canal and leans hard into its history with preserved 19th century architecture, retro trains, and canal boats that still operate (when there isn’t a pandemic). While there, I was taking a photo of a train when the conductor waved me over. I climbed the train, he put on a mask, and we spoke briefly about the train. He said it’s a 1942 GE 65-ton switcher (had to look that up because I couldn’t remember what he said). Volunteers run it up and down the tracks out of sheer love for the machines. His name is Chester and he’s from Dayton. He kindly posed for a portrait.

10.4.20We FestiveOur very spooky, seasonal house with ghost flag, pumpkins, ceramic jack-o-lanterns, and purple mums. There’s also a sign in the bedroom window that says “Boo!” but I didn’t expose for it.

10.5.20Just a StencilMade a stencil for a project, used it once, decided it wasn’t what I needed. Oh well, still fun!

10.6.201 YearWhen I woke up this morning, Ashley gave me my one year anniversary present: this roll of toilet paper.

10.7.20Taunting MeWe bought Halloween candy for the trick or treaters too early and now the Almond Joy are taunting me. This photo’s white balance looks off, but it’s not; the yellow stained glass window behind the camera gives the room this warming effect.

10.8.20A ThomassonMy favorite Bellevue Thomasson: the missing house of lower Lafayette. I’ve been trying to photograph this piece of vestigial infrastructure for a couple of weeks now, and while I do not think I’ve captured it yet, this photo comes as close as I’ve gotten.

10.9.20Donut KingWent out to get exteriors of Holtman’s in Milford and the owner gave me a box of free donuts!

10.10.20Two WalkersPhotographed a $2M mansion on the river this morning that has a view of the Ohio River. It sits within probably 150 feet of the river up a short slope right next to a public park. As such, there’s a lot of pedestrian traffic on the street. While setting up for a shot, two people improved the image by walking into frame outside.

10.11.20Dayton’s SkylineMy friend from Dayton picked me up today and we drove out to Clifton Mill in Clifton, OH. We checked out the grist mill there, walked some extremely autumn trails, then headed to Yellow Springs. There, we walked through the business district and found our way to another hiking trail that led us to the yellow spring the city’s named for. After passing by Antioch College, we then drove around Dayton, landing in the Oregon District first before heading to other neighborhoods. After a meal at Taqueria Mixteca, we drove up to Woodland Cemetery & Arboretum where I got this shot of the skyline as the sun set.

10.12.20C O F F E E SI photographed 1737 Vine Street for a developer today, and while leaving, I saw an opportunity to shoot this faded ad on the north side of Elder Street. Of course, the intent was twofold: get the faded ad, but also get that Pepper Lounge Pepsi sign in the background in there, too.

10.13.20Our Paws on O'FallonIt’s a gorgeous day outside and I was feeling antsy. The dog hadn’t walked or played for a significant amount of time in days, so we went on a two-hour walk around Bellevue. As we traversed the streets, Myrtle sniffed the bushes and lunged toward tree-bound squirrels while I enjoyed everyone’s Halloween decorations. This is her on the O’Fallon bridge.

10.14.20Porch With a ViewThe neighbor cut the trees back off the power lines today and now we have a little unobstructed view of a bit of Downtown from the porch. I can’t wait to see what it looks like in the winter.

10.15.20Ready For ItAs soon as Halloween is over, I’m getting myself an entire pumpkin pie and eating the whole thing in one sitting.

10.16.20It SteveDoing BTS photos for Steve’s Cincy48 project this year. He caught me taking his photo for a split second and it ended up being an accidental COVID-era headshot.

10.17.20A Little Foggy On Projection These DaysSteve’s doing the Cincy 48 Hour Film Festival and secured Bellevue’s Marianne Theatre as a location for filming. I snuck up to the projection booth and got a photo of it all lit up with red lights and filled with fog from a fog machine. I’d been inside the theater years ago with a camera, so I didn’t worry too much about documenting it this time.

10.18.20Yellow SpringsI took my Z6 with me to Yellow Springs and didn’t end up taking it out of the bag the entire trip. This is with an iPhone. I was so pleased with the portrait mode on this, it ended up being my favorite photo of the day.

10.19.20Impending GloomWe got our first taste of the overcast, rainy, generally gloomy winter that’s on the horizon. It wasn’t enjoyable last year and will certainly be worse this year due to the pandemic. Not looking forward to it at all.

10.20.20Night On the TracksJust a walk along the rails in the mist.

10.21.20Retreat StreetWalked to Steve’s house and took a quick photo of some houses on Retreat in good light. I had a bad day so I didn’t feel much like trying today.

10.22.20You Are HereCMC has a new permanent exhibit and part of it is this custom mural projection thing you can do. It takes your photo, you add stickers to the photo, add a filter and background, then it projects it onto the side of a “building,” which is just a black and white drawing of an inner-city scene that vaguely represents Cincinnati. This was my contribution.

10.23.20Electric ConversationTravis and Ronny came over and sat on the porch outside. We drank beer and ate pizza while a storm rolled through. Thanks to the covered porch, we were able to hang out safely outside without getting wet. I was trying to capture a bolt of lightning while we were talking and successfully nailed one in the background thanks to iPhone’s Live Photo feature.

10.24.20Up the HillI published a photo from this same perspective on the 1st of October, but I wanted to go back and get it at night with a tripod. I felt self-conscious with the tripod at night on the corner, but thankfully no one seemed to care.

10.25.20I made a rack for our firewood. Now all I need is more firewood to fill it up. I’m going to add a cover to the top, and I may paint it, but it’s functional in its current state.

10.26.20Bad DayHad a shit day. Sitting in my living room relaxing and trying to unwind.

10.27.20Feeling BadBeen feeling tremendously bad lately, both mentally and physically. With the weight of the virus and the election and everything else happening in the world, it’s hard to wake up and feel anything but sorrow about all of it. On top of it all, I’ve been finding less motivation to do my work, and mistakes and errors make me ashamed of the work I do get done. It’s all been adding up and I now have this pale pallor and grey bags under my eyes. Really hoping some good news will come our way soon. Everything feels so bleak. I took this photo of myself brushing my teeth because I have no motivation to use my actual camera and wanted to document how utterly stressed I am for posterity.

10.28.20UnicarnationAshley didn't want to carve a pumpkin so she painted hers to look like a unicorn, made it a floral crown, and added a horn to it. She's submitting it to a work contest. Fingers crossed she wins. We took a studio photo of it for her to submit.

10.29.20Anxiety ProjectI made a shelf for the plants in our bedroom because I couldn't stand to be at my desk any longer.

10.30.20 Studio SpaceI toured an art studio in the West End today. Artist Spencer van der Zee gave us an interview and snowed us his work.

10.31.20The Candy ChuteHalloween was perfect. The weather was the best it could be, the candy chute I made to send candy to the kids worked splendidly, sitting on the porch with snacks and tunes playing was relaxing, and seeing our neighbors out and about was so nice. We went through almost three bags of candy. Just a really good night. I needed that.