Grow Green Compost Giveaway

Reworks gave away 8 cubic yards of food scrap compost to 6 community gardens this week. There was an application process and then the winners were randomly selected. One of Reworks' goals is to reduce food scraps ending up in landfills and this helps demonstrate one of the much better uses for all those fruit peels and veggie stems. It was pretty cool to get to check out these gardens. This is the kind of shoot that makes me love my job - getting to work with the passionate people at Reworks and meeting the great people who were enthusiastic about receiving this product.

Marathon Weekend Vid

This is my Marathon weekend video - kind of in the vlog style.

Akrun & Crawl

I shot the Akrun & Crawl hosted by Torchbearers on Saturday evening. For the second year they held it at night as a 'glow run' with glow sticks, lights and DJs on the course. I didn't stick around for too much of the "crawl" part of the event as I was running in the Cleveland Half--Marathon the next day.

Common Threads: North Hill

This episode of the monthly Common Threads took place at the North Hill Library and focused on the diverse people of the North Hill neighborhood. The intimate group led to an interesting and free-flowing conversation. After the conversation we wandered over to the Exchange House for a reception with food from the Western Fruit Basket. We were also treated to a short play that was coordinated with the Gum Dip Theatre.

Night at the Races

Last Saturday night my family attended a fundraiser for WABL(West Akron Baseball League). It was a 'Night at the Races' event where you can bet on pre-recorded horse races. There was also a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, other games, wine pull, Swenson's Food Truck, drinks and more. It was a fun time and you don't feel bad about gambling ....for a good cause.

Brewed

Last Sunday morning Akron Coffee Roasters and HiHo Brewing put on a joint tasting. We started with some tastes of coffee and then moved on to beers infused with that coffee. Albert explained the coffee's origin, processing and brewing method and then Jon discusses the special beers he had brewed for the event. There were also local pastries - sweet with the coffee and savory with the beer.

More Shiny Things

I recently started photographing for a new company in town that makes extrusion machines and their parts. Being that I shoot for another company in the business I wanted to do something to set the two apart. Usually I shoot product photography with a long lens and even use Photoshop to keep things square. In this case I decided to use my 35mm lens, use high-key lighting and more dramatic angles for effect.

Jane's Walk Weekend

Last weekend I attended and photographed three of the Akron Jane's Walks. Jane's Walks take place all over the world and describe themselves as, "...a movement of free, citizen-led walking tours inspired by Jane Jacobs. The walks get people to tell stories about their communities, explore their cities, and connect with neighbors.". The three I attended were: Main Street Revitalization(about the Tiger Grant to update Main), Ohio & Erie Canal(about the Cascade Locks and Mustill Store area), and My City Was Gone(about the Rock and Roll History of Akron). Akron2Akron Neighborhood Walking Tours collaborated on many of the walks. I would have liked to attend even more but my schedule didn't allow for it.

PechaKucha

PechaKucha is a quarterly speaker series where each speaker gets 20 slides and 20 seconds to talk about each. It's a cool format and I've thoroughly enjoyed everyone of them - this was episode VII. The location is always different and Greystone Hall had the perfect atmosphere. I wasn't working - I just snapped a few photos from my balcony seat. If you haven't attended one yet I strongly recommend that you do - and they sell out - so follow them on Facebook so you can grab a ticket when they announce the next one.

Akron Coffee Roasters Birthday

Last night we went downtown to help Akron Coffee Roasters celebrate their one year anniversary. They put on a happy hour with coffee beer, coffee drinks and more. When I first tasted the coffee Albert roasted a few years ago I didn't know what to make of it - now I can't live without it. ACR has been such an awesome addition to the Downtown Akron neighborhood - I'm proud to call the owners and employees my friends.

Scales

Did you know that some tow motors(lift trucks) have scales built in? Neither did I - until I had the job of photographing them. I've shot at this location a number of times now - product photography, videos, portraits, how to images and more. Shots like the above one will be "cut out" and used in spec sheets, on the website, and for banners & manuals. I've made an episode of my show about the gear I bring with me for shoots like this - it is a lot of work - but I still enjoy it. It also takes bit of hustling - I'm trying to be in and out and get my job done as quick as possible so I'm interrupting the regular work of the company as little as possible.

Bluebell Remnants

Yesterday I went for a hike along Furnace Run in the Cuyahoga Valley to photograph the Virginia Bluebells. I've been shooting and blogging about the bluebells for a long time so I try to mix it up each year - using different cameras and film stocks, shooting at different times of day, and in different weather conditions. The differentiating factor this year is that I came far past their peak - no big field of blue shots. I pretty much had to track down the late bloomers. This challenge though, does set these images apart from the blue-out conditions of other seasons.

Anyways - it was good to get out for a hike with my camera. With all the cycling I've done the last few years nature photography has really taken a backseat.

Wadsworth Brewing Company

Erin and I went to downtown Wadsworth to check out the recently opened Wadsworth Brewing Company. It was a cozy and comfortable space in a historic building. Everything we drank was really solid and there was a wide range of beer styles available - there are snacks but it is not a restaurant. The husband and wife team that own the brewery were working and very friendly - we always enjoy being able to discuss the beer with the brewer.