Year in Photos 2018

I just posted the annual 'Year in Photos' blog. Same as every year - two of my favorite photos from each month of the year. Check it out an let me know what you think HERE. Above is a honorable mention from our April trip to France.

Tall Tales +

Otis, Ben and I rode out to the Whiskerton Holiday Party and then onto Akron Glassworks to see Tall Tales play(where we met more friends). What a couple of super cool spaces! After that I headed to Highland Square to see a few old friends who were in town. An all-in-all awesome evening. I brought my Canon 6D with a 24mm f/1.4  - not wanting my 5D on the bike ride and all around town(even though I always miss the 5D and lens selection when I don't have it). 

Fat Bike Delivery

Downtown Akron Partnership had ordered a couple of fat bikes from Dirty River Bicycle Works so they could start up a bicycle food deliver service in their footprint - it should be helpful to businesses on both sides with all of the construction. I do work for DAP and Dirty River so I was on hand to cover the event. 

Deck the Hall 2018

Going to see the lights at Stan Hywet has become a family tradition. There have been a few years where I couldn't make it because of work but I think the rest of them have been doing it for over a decade. This was a cold one - there have also been snowy nights and warm nights - it is Akron - you never know what you are going to get. This year we did go a little earlier though so I ended up running around a bit and catching some sunset light before we all wandered the grounds together. 

Wooly Pig Farm Brewing

Erin had bought me a gift card for Wooly Pig Farm Brewery for my birthday last August and we finally made our way down there on Saturday afternoon/evening. It is kind of out there in the country, down 77s and 36 with West Lafayette being the nearest town. To be honest I expected about four average beers on tap in a cool, rustic location - but it was so much more than that - they had a big selection of interesting and fantastic beers(in a cool, rustic location). ….and of course - wooly pigs. 

10 Years

So 10 years ago today I launched this blog with the above photo and this text:
"My new blog - about photography. I'm going to try and post a picture everyday....and write some other stuff."
I didn't ever quite keep up with my goal of one post everyday but I did always work to find something new to post - a new technique, camera, film, place etc. Through that process I ended up learning and growing a ton as a photographer.

Shammas Kick Off

My friend Shammas Malik is running for Akron City City Council - Ward 8. The current council woman is giving up her seat to run at-large. It is a short campaign season because in Akron the primary is pretty much the election(since a republican has a very hard time winning here). Shammas asked me to photograph the kick-off event at Akrona Gallery(I had also shot his campaign promo material). Having someone as intelligent, thoughtful, and with a younger fresh perspective on Akron City Council will be awesome and I fully believe he will do a fantastic job if elected. 

Shade in Ann Arbor

My friend Rick and I headed up to Ann Arbor last weekend to see Pete Souza speak- he was Barak Obama's Whitehouse photographer. We went the day before to have some time to do a little bit of exploring and we stayed with Rick's niece and her husband. They have a beautiful home in the woods just a few minutes from downtown. Pete Souza was promoting his new book 'Shade' where he juxtaposes the grace, humor and intelligence of President Obama with the current guy, which he calls "Minus". This book actually started as Instagram posts where he would post an image of Barak that contrasted with the current news - go give him a follow on IG - it is worth it. 

Thanksgiving Weekend: Part One

On Thanksgiving we did something a little bit different - we went over to my sister's father-in-law's house. Most of our two families know each other fairly well and it was a really good time. I had my portrait lighting in the car from the job the night before and set it up and took some family portraits for everyone. I'm not posting those here but I did post some of the fun test shots. On Friday my family started at the Northside Marketplace(which was also hosting Crafty Mart) and then bounced around to a few breweries. We finished off the day with the tree lighting fireworks. 

The Dreemers & White Lighter

Last Wednesday we went out to Annabel's to catch some of our friends' bands. I had come directly from a job so I had my camera with me - although I only photographed the first two bands - White Lighter and The Dreemers. I shot some images with my flash but most of them high ISO. There were a few good ones in there - check 'em out. 

Back to Boston

I returned to Boston to visit my friend Eric and his fiancé Martha - we also met up with Colleen(Erin's best friend) who had recently moved to town. I had a good mix of solo-exploring, going out with the friends, and some relaxing as well. Boston is a really fun city to roam and photograph - I think a life there would be tough though. 

Museum in Autumn

On Friday I was walking down High Street on my way to my car after a long day of shooting when I looked up at the beautiful, changing leaves in the garden of the Akron Art Museum. I really wanted to get home as I was pretty beat....but then I also noticed the dramatic sky over the building. I couldn't help myself - I spent the next 45 minutes or so taking photos around the garden. The colorful trees and plants looked so great against the grey backdrops of the museum and the sky. I haven't shot very much Fall foliage this year because I have been too busy with actual work - I guess it is kind of funny that I ended up doing it in a downtown instead of the woods like years past. Anyways - here are a few of my favorite images. 

Halloween Charity Ball 2018

The Halloween Charity Ball is always one of my favorite events to shoot. It is fun to photograph people in costume dancing and having fun and it also makes a bunch of money for great charities. The costume contest is always a highlight to as the contestants work the crowd(see above). Here is a small slice of some of my favorite images - check out their website for them all:
Halloween Charity Ball Website

Marietta by Backroads

I had only ever been through Marietta for work and never really had the chance to check it out - so I suggested it to Erin for a quick Fall get-a-way. We set Google Maps for "no highways" and took off on Sunday morning. It was a beautiful drive roughly mirroring the path of the Ohio and Erie Canal. We made a few stops on the way down and the way back and took in Marietta's long history on foot and on the bicycles. 

Bike Packing to Massilon

On Saturday afternoon Erin and I loaded up our bikes and rode down to River's Edge Campground a few miles outside of Massillon. The campground is only for Towpath users and its a really nice spot with a firepit and benches overlooking the Tuscarawas River. We made a few brew and diner stops along the way. It was a fun but short getaway. 

Akron2Akron: Kenmore Loop

The last Akron2Akron neighborhood walking tour of the year was a bit different - it was a biking tour. We took advantage of the great new bike lanes on Kenmore Boulevard and some of the other lanes around the neighborhood to explore. As always there were interesting stops and conversations. We ended up at Live Music now on the Boulevard for Kenmore's Bikes & Brews. 

Towpath 50

I photographed the first Towpath 50 event for the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition - which was a new fundraiser for the organization. It was a supported ride from Lock 3 in Akron down the Towpath to Canal Fulton and back. There was an after-party with food and drinks back at Lock 3. The event was a ton of fun to cover and ride - and since it ended up exceeding fundraising expectations I would assume it will be back next year. (It also helped that the weather was perfect!). 

Akron2Akron: Middlebury Extended!

The latest Akron2Akron walk was kinda a Remix & Extended Version of the last Middlebury walk. A lot of Middlebury history and a few different sites along the way. Even having had been on the first one I still learned new things this time. These walk are so well organized and so much fun!

Akron Coffee Roasters Metric Century

Akron Coffee Roasters held there second Metric Century ride a couple of days ago. It was a group organized group ride with SAG support and a number of great stops with coffee, snacks and other beverages. We started at the shop with coffee and took a lunch break at MadCap Brewing in Kent. This year they had two pace groups - a fast pace and a more chill group - though we all tended to reassemble and hang out at the stops. Last year they had cycling caps for purchase and this year it was cycling jerseys. 

GAP Trail

For Erin's birthday I planned a bike-packing trip along the Great Allegheny Passage Trail(GAP Trail) from Cumberland to Pittsburgh - but not in that order. I found out you could bring your bikes aboard the Amtrak Train so riding the whole thing in one direction would be possible - 150 miles. The problem was the time of the trains didn't work out with our schedule - so I came up with a solution. We parked in Connellsville on Tuesday morning and rode 60 miles into to Pittsburgh, the next morning we caught the train to Cumberland and spent the next two days getting back to the car. With some side stops we ended up riding 172 miles and really enjoyed all the great scenery and small towns along the way. I brought my Canon 6D and 50mm lens which has become my bike riding go to - its a great balance between size and quality. A lot of people combine this trail with the C&O that picks up in Cumberland and goes to DC - that is something we would love to try eventually if we have the time. 

Akron2Akron: North Hill

The latest Akron2Akron neighborhood walking tour took place in North Hill and it was a fun one to cover as most of the places we went to I had never been before. These walks are such a great way to learn about some of Akron's hidden gems. As always I recommend checking out the Facebook page and making sure you are at the next event. 

Sigma 105mm Art

A few weeks ago I bought the newish Sigma 105mm f/1.4 Art lens. My goal was to have a better portrait & product lens and also something that would be a little longer for shooting at events. I haven't had the chance to use it a whole bunch yet but I brought it to my friend Kyle's to show it to him and try test it out a bit at his son's first birthday party. Most of these images were shot at f/1.4 and they are pretty brilliant. The lens is super sharp and the separation with that shallow depth-of-field is pretty awesome. The lens is also known for its pleasing "bokeh" which is a word that describes the quality of the out-of-focus blur in the background of a photos.

Earthquaker Day 2018

Yesterday was the third Earthquaker Day - I have been to them all and it has gotten better every year. So many friends, great bands, demos, artworks, cool vendors and great food and drinks. If you don't know, Earthquaker Devices is a guitar pedal manufacturer in Downtown Akron. This "festival" is kind of their open house. Many of the EQD employees are longtime friends of mine and others have become friends more recently. I do photography work for the company but on this day I was just hanging out and having fun. I kind of wish I took more photos but I also really enjoyed all the great conversations I had instead. 

The after party was at Lock 3. 

Demo Derby Ride

It has become tradition for my Wednesday night bike friends to ride to the Summit County Fair and watch the demolition derby.....and drink lots of Bud Staw-Ber-Itas. Its a ride where we slow down the pace a bit and anyone how wants to can show up. I guess its kind of the Rubber City Ratz summer party. 

I brought my Canon 6D with the cheap 50mm f/1.8 along this year.

Christmas in July

On Sunday Akron Snow Angels held their Christmas in July event at Grace Park. Volunteers work to put necessities directly in the hands of the area homeless - lunch, haircuts and other services are also provided. If memory serves I have shot the event all four years - Snow Angels is one of my favorite non-profits to volunteer my services to. 

Bikes, Boats, Beers & Ducks

Erin and I loaded up our bikes Saturday afternoon and spent a few days in the Sandusky area. We stayed in a cabin at Camp Sandusky which served as a great home base for exploring. The first day we rode into Downton Sandusky for dinner, the second we rode down Catawba and hopped the Ferry to Put-In-Bay, and the last day we checked out an awesome brewery/farm market and went for a dip in Lake Erie. It was a nice, short get away and we were very lucky with some great weather too. 

Akron2Akron: Middlebury

This month's Akron2Akron walk focused on the oldest part of Akron - which wasn't actually originally part of Akron at all - Middlebury. Middlebury was already thriving when Akron was just a plan on a map that General Simon Perkins had drawn on land he owned. Middlebury's huge industry was clay products and the business was so thriving many thought the village would outpace Cleveland's growth the become the region's largest city. The fortunes changed though when Perkins convinced the Ohio Legislature to put the Ohio & Erie Canal through his property. Akron took off and eventually annexed Middlebury. On the walk we not only saw the history of Middlebury but examined its current status and businesses. 

End of the Line

My friend Ben and I packed up our bikes and decided to find the Southern end of the Towpath - which we did - both the official end and an un-official end a little further beyond. We camped at a very cool campsite outside of Massillon on the first night and a few of our friends joined us that evening. In the morning we all said our goodbyes as Ben and I continued on south and everyone else headed back north. The next night we camped at a family campground about 5 miles down country roads outside New Philadelphia. In the morning we rode the whole way back - 70 miles for me from the campground to my door. It was a blast and I learned a ton about bike-packing. More details on our stops and experience follow. 

Bike Packing

Bike camping is something I have been interested in for a while but have never done. Lately I acquired some of the gear I needed and also built up this bike. This is an old French bike that I inherited when my close friend Josh died. Originally it would have been a cheapish steal road bike, when Josh bought it it had already been converted to some kind of hybrid, and now I've frankenstiened it into a gravel/touring bike. 

Latte Art Throwdown

During Downtown Akron Partnership's 'Third Thursday' Akron Coffee Roasters hosted a "Latte Art Throwdown" - or a latte art competition. The Hop & Bean were there recording live and there was also beer, food and prizes. It was a really fun evening. 

Exploring with The RubberCityRatz

On our weekly Wednesday night bicycle ride we decided to follow the train tracks, gravel, and some lesser known trails on our way out to Hoppin' Frog Brewery. We also made a stop to say "goodbye" to the Rubber Bowl and a trip down Derby Downs. I put my GoPro on the back of my seat post and let it run on the way out - here is an editing version of that footage.

Akrun & Crawl

This year's Akrun & Crawl(put on by Torchbearers) was held in the morning and had a brunch. There was some rain during the run but it wasn't a complete wash out. This was the fourth time I've shot the event - the first time it was in the afternoon and the last two were "glow runs" in the evening. They have all been a fun time.

Front Street Grand Opening

On Saturday Cuyahoga Falls, held a parade, ribbon cutting, and festival to celebrate the opening of Front Street to vehicular traffic. I photographed the day-long event for the city.

Akron2Akron: Kenmore Music

The latest Akron2Akron Walking Tour focused on the music scene on Kenmore Boulevard today and in the past. We recorded a song on the stage of the Rialto Theater, took album cover photos with a local professional photographer, and toured more studios, guitar shops and former music sites. It was an interesting and unique tour. 

Cycles Peugeot

I had to set up the studio today for a shoot with a dark backdrop. While shooting the test shots I got the idea to shoot a photo in an early 80s advertisement style. Its also my best attempt to look like part of a fictional 1980s French National team. Adobe has recently added some presets to Camera Raw and I used their "matte" one as a starting point for this - it gives it kind of that magazine look. 

Akronym Brewing

Erin and I finally got around to checking out Akronym Brewing which recently opened across High Street from the Akron Art Art Museum. They did a really nice job with the space - it was a completely empty shell before. The beers we tried were all really solid. It was threatening rain when we were there but I look forward to enjoying a few more beers on their great patio. 

Virginia Bluebells 2018

I guess in all my years of photographing the bluebells I've finally run out of good puns for the title containing "blue" or "bell" - or the final bell has tolled on my puns. Sorry. I can't help myself I guess.

Anyways - I finally got myself out of bed to catch some early light and photograph my favorite spring wildflowers. I usually like to get down to Furnace Run a little earlier in the season to catch a more dense group of flowers and also to shoot some when they are still pink. It has just been a busy spring for me. The silver lining is that the trilliums were turning pink which I think is pretty cool.

France Part V: Back to Paris

When we arrived back in Paris it was training pretty good and we quickly made our way to our AirBnB in the Le Marais neighborhood. Once the neighborhood of nobles, it fell into disrepair after the revolution but is now considered one of the hipper areas of the city with its galleries and trendy restaurants. The rain eased up and we went out for dinner and drinks at a really good craft beer bar. We were back in the room fairly early as we planned to get up in the morning and try to beat the crowds to a few of the sites.

Holy Toledo!

I had a few portraits to take in Toledo today so Erin and I decided to make a bit of a get-a-way out of it. We left on Saturday evening and after checking in to the hotel went out for diner and a few drinks. We were already tired and it was raining so we didn't make it very late. We had spotty weather on Sunday but the evening turned out nice and on Monday it was all thunderstorms so we didn't stick around long. We did everything by foot or bike so we were only in the downtown area. I do remember hearing downtown was a no-go zone back when I had friends who went to the University in the late 90's. Compared to that it seems like it is on a bit of an upswing but there were still a lot of empty buildings - although I do hate to judge a city on a rainy Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

France Part IV: Nimes & Provence

When Erin and I were leaving Roubaix our AirBnB host asked us where we were heading next and we told her "Provence". "Oh yes, heading to the Sun," she replied. They say that is so windy in Provence that any clouds at all are rare. Driving down the freeway just outside of Provence we saw the sign for the Pont du Gard aqueduct bridge - we made the snap decision to get off and see it just before sunset - and it was the last we saw of the sun for the next few days. Eating lunch in Nimes the next day with one of Erin's friends(who was living there while teaching English) he said, "Well, you'll be the only one with rainy Provence photos!" Glass half full for sure....

ACR Turns Two!

On Monday night Akron Coffee Roasters celebrated their Second birthday. They had special drinks, snacks and a second anniversary box with two special coffees. I've been shooting photos for my friends at ACR for a while so even though I had another obligation that evening I wanted to stop by and at least congratulate Albert and the crew.

Here's to many more years of success!

Jane's Walks Day 2

On Saturday morning i took off on my bike at stopped at Countryside Conservancy's Farmers Market at Howe Meadow. From there i rode to Deep Lock Quarry for the first Jane's Walk of the day. It focused on the history of this one time quarry and the Towpath Trail along the Canal.

Jane's Walk Weekend Day One

Jane's Walks take place on the first weekend in May and are free neighborhood walking tours that aim to connect neighbors and have people think about where they live. "Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) was a writer, urbanist and activist who championed the voices of everyday people in neighborhood planning and city-building." For a number of years now I've attended and photographed as many of them in Akron as I had time to.

France Part III: Reims & Lyon

Erin and I left Lille in a rental car since there was a train strike. We had hit the road without eating much and knew we wouldn't make it all the way to our destination in Lyon. Erin's research lead us to the city of Reims and it made for a great stop. We had a fantastic lunch, visited the incredible Gothic cathedral, some Ancient Roman sites, and wandered by a few other beautiful buildings and streets before getting back on the road. Driving on French freeways isn't the best experience - the truck speed limit is far too low and no one drives at a consistent speed - good luck trying to use cruise control(the car did end up coming in handy later in Provence though). We arrived in Lyon in the evening and met our AirBnb host - we were sleeping above her art studio/gallery space in Vieux Lyon(the old town) and it wasn't long before we were smitten and thinking we should have planned more time for this city.

Akron2Akron - North Hill: Culture & Concrete

After a brief hiatus the Akron2Akron neighborhood walking tours have returned. The first one focused on North Hill and was lead by John Ughrin, North Hill resident and head of the North Hill Neighborhood Group. It was a bit of a dreary day but there was still a great turnout. We started at the library then visited Family Grocery, The Exchange House, and The African Market. We ended with some music and drinks at Lynn's Pub.

Akron2Chattanooga

The Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition and Knight Foundation sponsored a trip for community leaders and & activists to study what Chattanooga has done right to revitalize their community. The city is a similar size as Akron so it was enlightening and inspiring to see how bustling and full of local businesses and residential their downtown was. They still have certain neighborhoods that are struggling and they didn't try to gloss over that. But it seems that if the same efforts and planning that went into turning around their downtown the future in these parts of town is hopeful too. 

This is slideshow/video I put together of some of the photos I shot on the trip.

France Part 2: Paris-Roubaix

Erin and I had planned our trip to coincide with the most famous single day bike race in the world - Paris-Roubaix. So we left Montmarte and hopped on the TGV(high speed train) to the French/Belgian border in the city of Lille. From Lille we took the local train into the town of Roubaix. Roubaix had the vibe of a working-class English city. We stayed in a Air BnB house with a woman and her son and after we were settled decided to head back to Lille for some dinner and drinks. The vibe & architecture was quite Belgian and the town was busy and exciting. The cycling race was in the morning and we had a British bus tour arranged - more on all that below.

France Part 1: From Montmarte

Erin in I arrived in France at Charles de Gaulle Airport and took the train & subway into Paris and ultimately to our Airbnb on Montmarte - the tallest hill in the City of Light. Montmarte was originally a separate village with wineries and windmills and some famous artists as residents. The hill is topped with the church Sacré-Coeur(which can be seen from all over the city) and at the edge of the neighborhood is the red light district of Pigale which is where the legendary Moulin Rouge is. Our room had an amazing view of the Parisian skyline including the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame- I stood at the window for a long time when we first arrived(above photo). So this was our home base for the first couple days in France and these are some of the photo I took during that period.

Adventure Time

So I am heading off on another adventure - and pretty much the first long one since I started this business. Its actually not a beach vacation at all - I just wanted to make that photo. I'm heading to the North of France to Photograph the most famous single day bicycle race in the world - Paris-Roubaix or "The Hell of the North" or "L'enfer du Nord" or "A Sunday in Hell" or "The Queen of the Classics" or "la Pascale".... you get the point, anything with this many nicknames has to be great. It is one of cycling's five monuments and also a "cobbled classic" - one of the races in the North of France or Belgium that partly takes place on ancient cobbled streets - miserable to ride/legendary to win. I will also be heading to Paris and Provence. I won't have my cell service turned on but I will still be responsive to emails and any other social media(all links are on the main website).

Taxes

Tax season isn't so fun when you work for yourself. Not only is it the work and complications of figuring out the paper work - but I don't pay taxes all year - so I'm not getting "something back" but writing a big check to Uncle Sam. Anyways - as I started to organize my papers I pictured myself sitting there in the poker visor that Hunter S. Thompson was wearing in Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas(or that Johnny Depp's version is in the movie). When I was in Vegas I looked everywhere for one but never found it - in this day and age of Amazon and eBay it took me about three minutes to find one and have it here in two days. Straight up bought it for the above photo. This is a simple two light shot - a soft box camera left and another one pointing in from the other room.

The hat was worth it - and may be a Halloween costume next Fall.  

Maple Sugar Festival

This morning Erin and I went to Hale Farm for the Maple Sugar Festival. We enjoyed a pancake breakfast(although sans real maple syrup - there were tastings outside), demonstrations on tree tapping, how the syrup is made and the other museum exhibits(the homes, blacksmith, glass-blowing etc.) We are both fairly acquainted with the the maple sugaring process and the museum - but it was still a nice way to spend a pretty, late-winter Sunday(and Hale Farm is always fun to photograph).

Exploring in the Snow

My friend Ben and I went out in the snow on Thursday evening to explore a piece of property in the Northampton area on our mountain bikes. I attached my GoPro to my seat tube for a "unique" perspective. 

I've been noticing lately that when I upload my videos to YouTube the colors come across very flat even though I've applied fairly saturated color-grading. I'm using Premiere Pro's YouTube preset for rendering but something isn't working right. I'm not sure if it is just YouTube's codecs and algorithms or if I need to be rendering my videos different. Time for some research.

Boston - The Movie

I finally got around to finishing the video from my Boston Trip in late January. I flew out there to surprise Eric on his birthday. This is some footage of us walking and driving the city - being general goofballs.

Photos from the trip can be seen HERE.

Genuine Article

Micah Kraus's artwork is featured on three different versions of the cover of the three year anniversary issue Devil Strip. I was lucky to be able to shoot photographs of him in his West Akron studio for the accompanying article. I hauled all of my lighting gear over there but his studio was so well lit that I only ended up adding a little bit of fill by bouncing my on-camera flash. You can pick up The Devil Strip all around town but you can also click HERE to see the digital version of the article.