9.1.21Local GuideWhen I have downtime, I like to hop on Google and review businesses and places I’ve been. Whether it be a small coffee shop or a well-known landmark, if I’ve been there and had an experience worth remembering, I will likely write about it and include photos. The reason I do this is to boost the places and small businesses I like with positive reviews so the owners feel good and hopefully get additional customers. Sure, I’ve written a few reviews that weren’t glowing, but those are the exception to the rule. Simply leaving a Google review can help or hurt a small business in a big way, especially if you add to a cacophony of like-minded reviewers. Because of this diligent pursuit of opining online, Google sent me a little pin to commemorate my contributions. I’m often unaware of what I will review before I write about it, and often forget what I’ve reviewed in the past until I go back and look at my contributions. To illustrate this point, I made this photo using the pin itself. The “man” faces away from the frame where the viewer cannot see to represent my own inability to guess what I’ll review next. The long shadow is representative of one’s ability to cast a relatively big impression on a small business when they review it on Google.

9.2.21ReshootsI returned to the mansion in Fort Thomas today for reshoots. The stager apparently didn’t satisfy the realtors’ expectations, so some rooms were redecorated and new photos were required. There wasn’t much to stage in the master bathroom, but I did miss taking a photo of the pocket door up there the first time.

9.3.21Aerial SurpriseFirst Friday in Bellevue was dog-themed this month. While a few places had offerings for dogs, the overall event was relatively lackluster. We still enjoyed a burger and beer while out, and we saw some people Ashley knew, so it was worth it. We decided to just walk home and have a beer on our porch once we were satisfied we’d gotten everything out of the event we wanted. On our walk home, we saw a cat at the top of a roof, then realized there were others hanging out up there, too. In total, we saw four kittens hanging out up there. It looks like they get up there by way of a tall fence next to a lower roof at the back of the house.

9.4.21Longworth-Anderson SeriesShot a pre-show cocktail hour and some of the show itself at Memorial Hall. The lighting in the lobby on the first floor was atrocious enough to make me work double time to get a single image in focus and crisp enough to pass along to the client. Not a fun one.

9.5.21A Pleasant SurpriseThere were no Labor Day fireworks on the river in 2020, so we didn’t know if the house we moved into had a view of them. This year, while avoiding crowds, we figured we’d stay home and answer that question. The worst we could do is not see them for one year. We were pleasantly surprised that we could, indeed, see them after all. We often remark how much we love our house, but tonight it was the gift that kept on giving.

9.6.21Bender MountainFor Labor Day, we got up early and went out to Bender Mountain in Delhi for a hike. Since neither of us had been before, it was a new experience that led us through the woods and along trails of varying levels of difficulty. While not the best-maintained preserve we’ve been to, it was great to explore uncharted territory with Myrtle. This woman was meditating at what seemed to be the highest point on the hill.

9.7.21Summer Nights with the GirlsSince buying our home in Bellevue, one of my favorite things is to sit with Ashley and Myrtle on the porch in the evenings. We drink beer or have ice cream and watch passersby as they come up and down the steps. Deer and rabbits frolic and forage before settling down for sleep in the empty lot’s tall grass across the street. The wind gently rustles the leaves above and around us while lightly spinning our hanging ferns. I often lay on the swinging bench while Ashley sprawls out on the couch. We don’t work on the porch. We don’t worry about anything on the porch. The porch is just our little space to watch the sunset and bask in the moment sans-responsibilities. It’s our own little corner of the world with a view of downtown in the distance, and it’s perfect for us.

9.8.21Lafayette Bloom’s EmptyA job took me over to the West End this afternoon. After doing what needed done, I took a stroll up Baymiller to get fresh photos of the school there. Lafayette Bloom was never my school when I was the right age to attend it, but it’s one I feel a connection to despite our lack of personal history. When I first started exploring the West End, it was the crown jewel of places that intrigued me. How could such a massive, architecturally beautiful building designed barely a hundred years earlier be so devoid of life today? The reasons, from what I’ve read, are many, and it officially closed its doors to what little students remained in 2006 after attempting to stay open from originally shutting down in 2000. Now it just sits waiting for either redevelopment, demolition, or years of continued neglect.

9.9.21Machine-Like PrecisionI was hired to photograph a machine that makes pins for a well-known device. The machine’s newness needed to be captured before it becomes scratched and greasy through daily operation. Using the method of photo stacking, I hit every point of focus from the tip of the ramp to the back of the drill and layered it all in Photoshop. I positioned the metal pins at several points along the ramp using heavy magnets stuck to the underside of the ramp to keep them still while giving the impression of a downward slide without the motion blur that would call for a higher ISO to get right. The shot took awhile to set up, but I’m really happy with the end result.

9.10.21Untitled Armstrong ProjectsMy neighbor fosters dogs. When the shelter she works with has dogs who need homes, they contact her to see if she can take them in. Yesterday she received a call about a four month-old puppy, and when she went to pick her up, a box of seven very young dachshund/beagle puppies came in while she was there. Seeing no other choice, my neighbor took them in with the intention of finding them homes. My parents, who lost their dog in March, have been considering if they wanted to get a new dog, and seeing an opportunity to put one of these puppies into a good home, I asked them if they were interested. Much to my surprise, they wanted TWO puppies—one to keep the other company! They came over this evening to meet the litter and picked these two little girls out from the pack. They’re thinking of naming them Lilly and Rosa, but that could change. We’re going to take them to my parents’ house on Sunday where they’ll stay.

9.11.21IntentionMy intention was to spend today doing things that made life worth living. Small things that mean a lot, like walking Myrtle with Ashley down by the river and getting coffee from two different shops in the morning. Methodically scouring the Cincinnati ReUse Center and buying hardware for future projects I haven’t yet started for a low price. And, of course, picking up Steve and going to my sister’s house for a birthday party for her 10 year old dog in Washington Courthouse. I barely looked at the internet, nor did I listen to much radio or watch any TV specials—there’s no chance any of it would make me feel good. I acknowledged what today was in private and proceeded to not let it define the rest of the day for me. In this photo, Myrtle and Kiran, my sister’s step-daughter, posed along the fence. Both of them are adorable and filled my day with happiness.

9.12.21A Familiar-ish FaceDog and cat photos end up being my photo of the day so often because they are always a delight. This one came up to me while on a walk this morning. I gave him/her a little attention and moved along after snapping a quick photo.

9.13.21Five In OneFive images of cyclists enjoying the Loveland Bike Trail shopped into one image by the Peters Cartridge Factory Apartments. Before I was finished gathering the necessary material to make this composite, a woman came up and told me she was going to call the police on me for taking photos of “nude people in their apartment.” She was kidding, thankfully, and just needed help removing her bike from the rack on the back of her car.

9.14.21Seen Better DaysPhotographed a place today that at one time looked to be a beautiful, magnificent house built for a single family. Today, it’s subdivided into multiple apartments. While the apartment I photographed left much to be desired, it did have a few touches of character that I thought were pretty, such as the floor in the bedroom.

9.15.21Decisions, Decisions…Myrtle and I sat on the floor and played with a bunch of her toys while we watched TV tonight. I gotta train her to put all this crap away.

9.16.21Fat HeadMy shot list included getting images of the food and drink at the event tonight. Instead of shooting it in the tub, I asked the bartender to hold up a can for a more interesting composition. Fat Head’s is a Cleveland-based brewery that started in a little saloon in Pittsburgh in 1992. Ironically, today’s photo is #992!

9.17.21The Evening ExpressWe took a walk up O’Fallon hill this evening to catch a glimpse of Cincinnati at sunset. It was absolutely beautiful but I wasn’t able to properly capture it because I left my damn memory card in the computer, rendering my Z6 useless. Instead, I opted for a grainy image on my phone. On the way down, we crossed over the Van Voast bridge and I caught the train rolling through.

9.18.21Ericka’s ElopementEricka, a friend I used to work with regularly when I ran Refined, eloped with her fiancé, Jared. They got married in Spring Grove Cemetery in a hidden spot I didn’t even know existed until I got there. I don’t normally photograph weddings, but I agreed to photograph hers because it was so relaxed. It was literally just myself and the person marrying them. Afterward, we took a few photos around the area. I think I was there for 20 minutes total. Fastest wedding ever.

9.19.21What’s Not ThereI have a tendency to maximize a space’s efficiency. Having lived in small spaces for the majority of my adult life, it’s been necessary to utilize every nook and cranny if I want to hold onto my things without cluttering it up. When we bought the house, we suddenly had double the amount of room to fill with our lives—and things. I put an heirloom side table into this small corner next to my office door when we moved in. The little table fit perfectly and became a rendezvous point for my wallet, face masks, magazines, AirPods, and other mobile essentials throughout the day. As many times as I’d clean it off to avoid it looking messy, my items would respawn the next day. Today I took a long, hard look at that table and wondered if I truly needed it there. Having determined I didn’t, the table went into the closet. The corner was meant to be empty. It’s meant to be a zone where clutter won’t exist and the path from the hallway into the office is less obstructed than before. I placed emptiness in this corner the same way I did a side table. It’s an intentional absence that adds to the overall aesthetic and vibe of the room the same way a painting on the wall or a chair would. It is intentional, intangible, functional decor.

9.20.21Overcast ShootDid some exteriors for Luminaut of an addition they made for a church in Mt. Lookout. Unfortunately, the sky was overcast and there’s a good chance I’ll need to reshoot it.

9.21.21The NautsLuminaut office photo taken inside the Courtyard Marriott, which they designed. This was the fun take.

9.22.21Bayhorse ReunionMet up with Travis, Ronny, and Justin tonight for a couple of beers at the Bayhorse. Had to convert this to B&W because the lighting in the back room isn’t ideal.

9.23.21UndergrowthI have a tendency to look down at my shoes when not moving. If I didn’t, I’m not sure I would’ve noticed this trapped sewer plant.

9.24.21Number ErrorI spent the day thinking it was a milestone for the daily photo project. I thought today was going to be my 1000th post. Another image was supposed to mark that special occasion after carefully considering what I should do halfway through the evening and making the trek up a hill to capture it. But after I’d made both the post and the image, I realized I’d messed up the count somewhere along the way and today was actually only day 998. I’m honestly embarrassed that anyone may have seen it through an RSS feed that snatched it before it was deleted. But I figure it’s best to be up front about failures like that, so now you know. Here’s a sunflower from a trip to a farm I went to today. I lit it with a flash so I could get the face of it while backlit.

9.25.21Iconic Work NightSpent over 5 hours shooting at ICON tonight for GBBN. Show shoots are usually kind of a tough thing for me to do because the lighting is all over the place and crowds can be unpredictable, but everything about tonight was good. I had a great time shooting this space with show goers in it while two excellent bands provided the soundtrack to the evening. This was one of my final photos of the night. The group pictured wanted their photo taken together. I was running an interval at the time and let it take their photo then cancelled the interval, but not before miming my finger on the shutter. One guy caught on and yelled, “he faked it!” Of course, he was right, but I was delighted to prove him wrong since the interval actually did take their photo, just seconds before I mimed it. One of the girls snapped my LCD screen with her phone to “save” the image. It was all pretty funny—both the situation and proving that guy wrong even though he was technically, kind of right.

9.26.21One Thousand DaysI made a photo today using a split diopter that I thought was fun and creative. However, I didn’t choose it for today’s photo. The image you see here was made two days earlier, when I thought I was on day 1000. However, I realized I had miscounted somewhere along the way, and instead I was only on day 998. The intentionality was there, but my accounting was not. I still made a photo today and preserved my daily goal, it just won’t be seen here. This image was made for day 1000, and I cannot let my accounting error ruin that. I chose this scene for two reasons. First, the inaugural daily photo was taken from my window in the city at night, and I wanted to pay homage to that image by incorporating the city after dark. Secondly, I wanted to invite my new home into this moment in my life. By filling the frame half with Cincinnati and half with Bellevue, I feel like both places are equally represented. No matter who comes into or leaves my life, no matter what my career looks like, no matter the state of my mental or physical health, and no matter what life throws at me, I know I get to make a photo. Much is different today than it was over two and a half years ago, but this daily photo project has been one of the only reassuring constants in an ever-changing world.

9.27.21Sleepy GirlsMy parents’ puppies are staying with us overnight. This is them cuddled up in a corner of their crate. They always have to be cuddling with each other when they’re resting.

9.28.21A 1928 BeautyI’m shooting this Covington house tomorrow. Due to a tight deadline, I needed to get night photos of it tonight. I did a quick walkthrough and it was gorgeous with loads of character intact. It would be easy to gut this house and white box it, but they didn’t, and I really love how much century-old charm is still has.

9.29.21Phone Booth ShowerLast night, I published a photo of a house I was going to shoot the next day. This is from that house. There’s a lone shower in the hallway, apart from the nearby bathroom, which has a shower of its own. I photographed it this way to illustrate how it’s just in the middle of a hallway instead of inside a bathroom. I’m guessing there was a layout change sometime during the course of history that alienated this shower from the original bathroom because I cannot imagine why it would be placed here otherwise. Regardless, I think this is the thing I love the most about this house. This isn’t something I’ve ever seen during my years of photographing old homes, and I’m fairly certain I will not see this again. Because of its peculiar placement in the hallway, it has the vibe of a phone booth over a shower. Personally, I think the tile is both inside and out is spectacular.

MiscalculationsI wanted to build an upright rolling cabinet that could slide under my bench. The design is simple and I was able to use a fair amount of scrap wood to cut down on the cost. However, after I’d assembled it and rolled it up to the edge of the bench, I missed the mark by a half inch. Normally I’d be irritated with myself, but it made me laugh aloud. After taking this photo, I flipped it over and rethought the mounting situation to lower it just enough to fit.