Akron Marathon 2014

I had a press pass for the finish at the Akron Marathon this year because I was shooting for ReWorks to help promote their effort to make the Marathon a zero waste event. Since I had some friends running I decided to get there early and document more of the overall event. I arrived around 6:15 - I wanted to make sure I could get decent parking, watch some warm-up activity, and be in good position for the 7am start. I then made my way down to high street and watched the leaders and some of my friends pass(at roughly the 3.5 mile mark) before heading down to the stadium to get to work. The buzz, excitement, and action in Canal Park was awesome. I was able to alternate between getting the images I needed for the job and cheering my friends across the finish.

Home Light

Sometimes I stand out in the cold for hours to get some great light, and sometime I set up lots of heavy strobes for the same reasons - but today I just walked into my bedroom to get some socks....

In Good Light

Sometimes you're not sure what you are shooting - but you make it look good anyways!
(Today's Work)

Last Summer Weekend

What perfect weather for the 'last official weekend of Summer'. On Friday I had a fire with some friends, on Saturday I wandered around the Porch Rokr Festival in Highland Square, and on Sunday I had Laura's company picnic and then got a nice hike in that evening. I love Fall, but we all know, it goes way too fast....

Another Morning in the Woods

I've always had a preference for sunrises to sunsets - but I've been too busy with work to get out in the morning much lately. I decided I had to do it this morning. I headed north on the Towpath from Boston and turned around at Jaite and took the Valley Bridle Trail back just as the sun was coming over the side of the Valley...

Custom Frames

This is the start of my new series based on objects I collect, reuse, save, or find in the woods.  In other words - the things that make Laura say, "What are you ever going to do with that?"  I've had this idea in my mind for a while and this is kind of my brain storming/test shots.  I definitely figured out the lighting style I want to use...  I just think the overall concept needs some work.    

Weekend Things

I started off the weekend at the Emily Davis Gallery for the closing reception of 'Never Not Working: The Art and Influence of John Puglia' which included a silent auction - I picked up a few pieces. It was great to see such a strong turn out again to remember John - it was probably even better attended than the opening.

Main Street Modern

I usually don't post too much of my professional work here but I wanted to give my new clients a plug. I started shooting the inventory for the Canton business Main Street Modern, Ohio's largest Mid-Century Modern furniture dealer. I'm photographing their furniture that will be for sale online and also for a few of their affiliate vendors and partnerships. They are open to the public for retail sales on Saturdays from 10-3. Its one of those gigs where I need to be careful - they have so much cool stuff I could easily see myself walking out of there on trade and never getting paid!

I should have some more interesting news coming out of this deal very soon - I'll have photos and details about that at the appropriate time.  

Catawba Island(Road Trip IV)

With it seemingly switching to Fall over night I figured I better wrap up my 'End Of Summer Road Trip series' - before I'm no longer in the mood to look at Summer-y photos... we left off with Laura an I driving down the road after having our brake lines repaired....

Heading down Route 2 East you pass farms, orchards, and lake related businesses but everything is dominated by the gigantic cooling tower of the Davis-Besse Nuclear Plant - it was in this looming shadow that we decided on our next destination - Catawba Island Brewing. The small brewery and tasting room aren't actually on Catawba Island but right before you would turn off to get there. We walked in and bellied up to the bar and discussed the selections with bartender - when the words "its a black IPA" came out of his mouth Laura cut him off and ordered one of those - which was an excellent choice because it was one of the best we had ever tasted.

The Fall Hiking Spree

Summit MetroParks' Fall Hiking Spree is really nostalgic for me - for years my family(including my Grandma) all participated in it together. The fall air, the cookouts, the beautiful trails - they were all missed and left behind when I went to college. Later work(especially the farm) made it hard for me to complete the Spree - but last year Laura and I finished my first one since the 90's. Not that I need an excuse to get into the woods - but it is nice to have a goal and a specific place to go. This evening we started the 2014 Hiking Spree at the Chuckery...we were talking about how green everything is - but by the time we finish most of the leaves will be gone...

Random Analogue

Here are a few random leftover photos from my last two rolls of film. They didn't fit with my other blogs, but I liked them and wanted to share them with my legions of adoring fans... enjoy.

Heirloom Tomatoes

Martha Stewart Living is an amazing magazine - for the photography. I've flipped through it over at my parent's house multiple times - and she/or her editor is sparing no expense visually. I always particularly notice the food photography - be it the garden items or the cooked dishes - the lighting is always spot on perfect. Food photography is something I haven't messed around with too often - I always think of trying it after I cook something - but eating my dish warm usually wins out. So last week after I picked some tomatoes I decided to try and shoot them - the results came out really average. I emailed a copy to my friend Rick, a retired photographer, and he gave me advice in the way he often does, by asking "Why?" "Why that background?" "Why the pasta?" "Why is this there?" etc. So today after picking some heirlooms I decided to try again....and above is the result. Its definitely better but I still don't think its Martha Level yet.

- but there are more tomatoes ripening on the vine....

Ship Shape (Road Trip III)

OK, I'm ready to continue the saga of our fascinating, end of the summer roadtrip.  

On our way back from Maumee Bay Brewing Laura said the brakes were feeling squishy - by the time we pulled into the campground there was barely any brake left. I got under the car and Laura pressed the pedal - fluid went everywhere. After packing up camp in the morning we decided to try and limp the car to a mechanic - why do these things only happen when I'm away from my tools? Anyways, we made it to a shop and fortunately they were nice enough to give us a loaner - we decided to kill the afternoon at the recently opened National Museum of the Great Lakes. When we pulled up we were surprised by all the cars and action - turns out it was the weekend of the Toledo Classic Boat Show - there were a few different ticket options - "we've got nowhere to go" so we bought tickets for the whole thing - bands, vendors, boat show, tours etc...

Day Trippers

A few Saturday's ago Laura and I felt like getting out of town for a bit - and what better place for that than beautiful Canton, Ohio. We hit all the great sights. We stopped at the Joseph Saxton Gallery to see the Vivian Maier exhibition, strolled around downtown, got a beer at George's Lounge, climbed the stairs of the McKinley Monument and finished the day with a trip to the Meniru Meadery and Brewery. I've been down to Canton a few times this year and each time I've been impressed - I used to think it was quite a dump....

Rax Deconstruction

Here is the latest entry in my series, Restaurant Deconstructions. This time it was that Valley landmark known as Rax. I remember my parents taking us there on the way home from church on Sunday mornings - I think my Grandma was a big Rax fan too - she probably ate one half of the smallest sandwich.  I loved that salad bar.  But my best memories of the building are when it was El Canelo - the Mexican Restaurant that was most likely a front for a drug dealing operation. It often didn't matter what you ordered there because they would bring you whatever they wanted - as my friend Eric was fond of saying, "looks like I got the 'red' green sauce again" - but it was so cheap no one cared. There was the time Kyle, I and a few friends decided to make it through a pitcher of every kind of margarita they had - bad idea ....and the time Jung and I were waiting forever for our food - only to look out the glass atrium and see our waiter walking away down the street. Man, were those guys stoned. I was only in the deli that replaced El Canelo once - I think it was only open for a few months - they had a really good bottled beer selection though - before most places did....

Anyways - I could go on about this spot forever - leave me some good Rax/El Canelo/Ye Olde Deli memories here or on facebook...