Buttermilk Falls

Yesterday I was out hiking at Blue Hen Falls in the Cuyahoga Valley. Every time I've gone hiking here I've had really bad light and have never been able to get a good photo. Yesterday wasn't that different - the bright mid-day sun on Blue Hen falls made it impossible for me to get something I was happy with. A little farther down the trail I captured this photo of the 20 foot high Buttermilk Falls which I liked a little better. When it gets a little greener out I would like to head back out to the park at a better time of day and really capture some of the sights on this trail.

Went to the Chapel

My sister, Kari, married Andy Knoll at Bath church on Saturday. I brought my camera to get a few "candids" -mostly for myself but also to hopefully catch some moments that the pro might not. I didn't bother bringing my camera into the reception - I figured between the hired gun and the tons of other people taking photos the event would pretty much be covered - and I wanted to focus on having fun....

80 and Sunny

I don't think I've ever missed this many Cavs play-off games....but who can sit inside when its like this out?

Canon Canonet 28

I'm not a huge camera collector but every so often something catches my eye. Today I stopped by the thrift store on my way home from work and this little Canon Canonet 28 jumped out at me. After some internet research I found out this 35mm rangefinder camera was originally produced from 1971-76 and is a cheaper consumer version of the Canonet QL17. It has a fixed 40mm f/2.8 lens with fully automatic exposure(and it came with a sweet 70's style camera strap).
Its the third Canon in my collection.

Country Drive

On Saturday afternoon my friend Lindsey took me for a drive. We spent most of the time following back roads through beautiful rolling farm land. A few of the places we stopped included the Ashery Country Store in Frederiscksburg, the Pleasant Hill Dam in Perrysville and Malabar Farm in Lucas.

It was fun to get out of Akron for a day and explore the country side and small towns in the area. The drive was the most fun part of the trip - instead of just hopping on the freeway and waiting to arrive at a specific destination. Traveling must have been a lot more interesting in the days before the freeways and interstates ...and it made me realize how much there is to explore in our own backyard.
(I have more photos from the day on my flickr page.)

The Signal Tree

I went for a hike the other day on the Chuckery Trail down at Cascade Valley Metro Park. After the hike I sat for a while on the bench in front of the "Native American Signal Tree". There are many legends about this 300 year old burr oak. The Metro Park's website claims it was "shaped by indians" - even though this is extremely unlikely. The tree does sit near the northernmost point on the Portage Path which was supposedly where indians would pull their canoes from the Cuyahoga River and carry them 8 miles to the Tuscarawas River(but I've also heard this disputed). Either way it is a cool looking tree. (the plaque is legible if you click the photo and view the larger size)

I Brake for Photos

On Saturday my friend Justin gave me a hand redoing my front brakes. His dad is a mechanic so we went over to his place to take advantage of his extensive tool collection.
I find the more I take photos the more obsessed I become with having my camera everywhere. As Kyle and I often say, "if we don't get a picture its like it never happened." I've started to see most things as a camera would - checking out the perspectives and light. So as I was looking under the car it hit me - this would make for a cool shot - "hold on Justin, I'll hand you that 16mm socket in a second...."

Jump!

My girlfriend Laura and I were sitting on my porch the other day enjoying the nice weather. I had some of my camera equipment with me(we had just been hiking) so I decided to show her how some of it worked. In the picture to the right I was holding my camera in one hand and my 580exII flash hooked up to my Pocket Wizard in the other. It was a simple set-up that made for a fun/cool shot.
When I was taking the shot to the left the sun was setting and there wasn't quite enough light to get a good exposure. I set the flash on the ground to the right, behind a planter. I still wanted a natural looking shot - some messing around with the flash power and camera settings got me the desired results(and I thought it was pretty good for not using a light modifier such as an umbrella or softbox).

Enjoy Gabe

I took this photo of Gabe Schray last August. It was one of my first attempts at studio-style lighting. Even though I feel my abilities are far improved for this kind of thing(scroll down to Robot post) I do like the feel of this picture for Gabe. The random shadow from his glasses that came out looking like an eye brow is my favorite part.
Anyways - I was reading the Enjoy! section of the Beacon today and this photo appeared in Malcom X. Abrahm's weekly column. The article was a review of Gabe's album 'Chronicle of Nonevents'(which I also did the photos for). The photo looks better in newsprint than it does on screen - it was shot with all hard lighting.