Late Light(too late)

I went out tonight to try and catch some evening light on the Langes Bridle Trail - unfortunately I waited a little too long and was only able to get a few shots before I lost most of my light. I did witness a beautiful sunset though(but got no good shots of it). The above shot is my favorite - I call it 'Twisted'. 

Zoo B-Day

Laura and I attended her niece's birthday party at the Akron Zoo yesterday. If you haven't been to the Akron Zoo since you were little you will be hugely impressed - but if you try to compare it to Cleveland or Columbus you will be disappointed. It was, however, a great spot for a birthday party and all the kids had a really good time. I cannot say enough about how wonderful the Zoo staff was... 

I didn't see any signs telling you not to use 'flash photography' but I decided against it anyways - it just didn't seem right to be firing flashes around wild animals - so my indoor shots are very high ISO. They wouldn't make great large prints but they are fine for 500px internet images.

Ohio City Romp

Laura and I made our way up to Ohio City yesterday for some beer and groceries. We started out picking up produce and cup cakes at the West Side Market. After dropping the stuff at the car we walked over to the newish Nano Brew Cleveland - which is a small one barrel brewery/bar owned by Andy Tveekrem, who also runs Market Garden Brewery. He uses Nano Brew to make one of a kind beers that may make it over to production at Market Garden. Laura had a green tea wheat beer and I had an IPA - both were pretty good. Feeling a slight buzz off of one beer we decided we better eat - we went over to Orale! Mexican Restaurant - where we had amazing tacos - some of the best tacos ever actually. With full bellies we wandered over to Great Lakes and had a couple of their brewery-only-release beers in the beer cellar and on the front patio. Great Lakes seems like it is always packed no matter when you visit - but hey, it is Great Lakes. We crossed the street to Market Garden and enjoyed some of their beers in their beer garden - and quickly seized the opportunity to sit near the fire as the sky turned to night. One more drink by the fire and a quick stop in McNulty’s Bier Markt and we were carefully on our way back to Akron. We commented how if we lived in the area we probably would have spent all night outside at Market Garden. Ohio City truly is one of the great spots anywhere for beer and food nerds.

The Pool Hall

Laura and I set up her pool table and went on a pool playing marathon tonight. Our friend Mike stopped by to say "goodbye" before he took off to join the Air Force. I shot some high-ISO photos to capture the exciting action on the quirky pool table.

April Showers Bring Blue Bell Flowers

The Cuyahoga Valley is home to many beautiful sights - but my favorite is the springtime blooming of the bluebell flowers. In certain places they blanket the forest floor in blue. This year I went out and shot them on a perfect misty morning after a rain. There are a few great places along Furnace Run to see them, but these were taken in my favorite - which I won't disclose. A true moment of Zen.

Two Things in the Valley

This is the photo from the Langes Trail Hike the other day turned into a "graphic design". I really like how it looks - did I rip this look off from something?

'The Shot'

I believe that my latest movie pretty much speaks for itself.

The Buckeye Trail

...between Peninsula and Boston. Even on a hugely busy day in the Cuyahoga Valley this section of the Buckeye Trail(off the Pine Lane Trailhead) was pretty empty - and that is why I like it. I was able to turn the hike into a loop by returning on the Valley Bridle Trail - which is another great reason to park at Pine Lane.  

Being that it was midday with bright, overhead sun I didn't take that many great photos - I did however sit in the shade and shoot the opening scene to a video I'll post tomorrow.

Buckeye Flowers

Today I was taking a long hike along the Langes Run Trail when I noticed some flowers I had never seen before - I then realized that they were on a small buckeye tree. I guess I have never seen a buckeye tree in bloom before(above photo). I've now been on various parts of the Langes Run Trail a few times and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots to hike in the Valley - it is beautiful and I rarely pass another soul. I also shot some black and white film photos of old structures I found on my hike - those will be posted soon.

More Gardening

Laura and I planted some verbena flowers in her front garden today while enjoying a few Bell's Oberon's. Instead of food and beer pairings I think I should start doing beer and activity pairings - because this was a perfect match...

Hop Planting

Laura and I planted our Cascade and Northern Brewer Hops in the ground today. Our plan is to get them to climb up the arbor I bought Laura for Christmas. I know that you aren't supposed to get a ton of hops the first year you plant them - but it would be so cool to brew beer with some hops we grew ourselves.

New/Old Cameras

I've finally caught up on shooting, editing and uploading photos of the cameras in my collection(except that Minolta I got at the flea market Saturday!). Now I'm working on updating and redoing my camera page on this website. My goal is to make it more personal - about my usage and the way I obtained the cameras - instead of trying to be like another version of Camer-Wiki. More photos, bigger photos, and more interesting stories. Hopefully I'll have that all up in the next few days....

Purple Tulips

Pretty much what the title says - shot these yesterday in my yard. I really love tulips - its hard for me to drive this time of year - I just want to keep stopping and taking photos...

Wetmore Barns

Laura and I went for a hike on the Langes Bridle Trail today. We picked the trail up at the Wetmore Trailhead on Wetmore Road. The Langes Trail is across the street from the parking lot and made for a beautiful hike. When we got back we poked around the old barns near the trailhead for a bit. One of the barns is clearly and 1800's classic, valley barn while the rest were more modern - they were mostly horse stables - the last private owner(before the park took over) breed horses here - but I don't know anything beyond that.

Rome with a Brownie

I developed my final roll of film from my Rome trip the other day. It was a roll of Ilford Delta 100(120mm) that I shot with my 1949 Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model. I like the Hawkeye because I can use 120 film in it without respooling it onto 620 reels(long as I use a 620 take-up reel). I brought this camera with the intention of shooting a few rolls of "street" photography which works because people usually don't know when I'm taking a shot, however I didn't spend much time hanging around looking for great street shots so I only got one roll.  There seems to be a little bit of fogging on the film but I'm not sure if it was the old camera, the x-rays, or my handling of the film - it really doesn't bother me on these type of pictures though - it just ads to the ol timey snapshot feel.

Pizza Party!

I decided to try and make some pizza by hand - the sauce and crust. The sauce turned out pretty good but the crust was just average - I think I made it to thick. It actually tasted better the second day cold.

Just a Badass and His Car

What the title says - good looking '78 in front of a good looking '96.

Perkins Bridal Trial

Today I went for a hike on the Perkins Bridal Trail off Everett Road in the Cuyahoga Valley. It was one of the few trails in this part of the park that I hadn't been on. It was a pretty day and area but the sun was to direct for good nature-type shots. I found some cool remnants of old building but I shot those with black and white film. Three of these shot are of some kind of farm implement that I found - but I'm not sure exactly what it was. Google has failed me in my search for "Bean Royal" - I did find some good Mr. Bean pics though...