Hocking Hills Roll #1

I finally got around to developing some of my film from my Hocking Hills trip with Laura last weekend. I always use a two reel tank when I develop - this was the first time I filled both reels and developed two rolls at once. Everything came out well - as it should - but I'm still proud of any analogue "first" for me.... Anyways - I got one roll scanned which is the middle roll of the three I shot. Much of it was taken at the main tourist site in Hocking Hills - Old Man's Cave. It was our first hike up to the Upper Falls - last time here we hiked to the Lower Falls and then down the Hocking River a piece. Maybe it was a good thing my digital camera died on this trip - some of these are cool in black and white. Glass half full kinda guy, eh?

Waterfalls and Dead Batteries

Laura and I decided to get away last weekend - we rented a cabin in Hocking Hills. After we had some lunch and got checked into our one room cabin we decided to get a hike in. Our cabin was within a few minute drive of the Cedar Falls area, which we had never been to, so we went for a walk there. I had my tripod and Canon 7d with me and took a few long exposures of a couple of the waterfalls on the trail. As we hiked on down along the river we were really noticing the beautiful hue of the water and the orangish stained rocks of the gorge blending with the yellow sandstone - perfect for some digital color photos - except that my camera stopped taking them. The screen flashed an error code and told me to reinstall the battery - which I did - over and over. Nothing. Finally I couldn't even get an error code. Just a hollow battery flashing on the top screen of my dslr. I tried not to let on how upset I was and reached for my Minolta X-700 loaded with Tri-X - but now all I could see were the beautiful colors everywhere.

Easter Leftovers

On Easter morning Laura and I went hiking down by Big Bend - across the river and off the trail - back to some old foundations and a huge collection of junk on the edge of the golf course...
I did a digital post on this area a couple of weeks ago.

Easter Egg Hunt

"Shooting the Shooters"
A little photo essay of the Easter Egg Hunt my parents set up for the grandkids. Shot with my Minolta X-700 and Kodak Tri-X 400.

Buried in the Basement

The Atari has been much in the news the last few days as a documentary crew found and dug up a landfill containing supposedly over 700,000 copies of the game 'E.T. The Extra-terrestrial". The game is considered one of the worst games ever made - I can vouch for that - it simply never made any sense to me. I've since read what the point of the game was but at the time I just didn't get it - and falling in those dang pits over and over!

The thing I've never understood is how it was "such a flop" that so many copies went unsold and had to be buried(then covered with concrete) - I don't know anyone who had an Atari and didn't have E.T. - and everyone talks about how bad it was so they must have played it, right?

Tire Recycling

Apparently you are not just supposed to throw your scrap tires in the woods - thats why ReWorks has scrap tire collection events. I was there to document it for them on Saturday at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center. On other days they do document shredding and chemical collections(no latex paint!). It was pretty amazing how many people had of tires to be scrapped(and a total cross section of people at that) - I always let the guys at the tire place keep them when I get my new ones... 

Reworks, formerly known as The Summit/Akron Solid Waste Management Authority, goal is to reduce landfill use in Summit County - my photographs are to be used as part of an effort to raise awareness of their mission.

Chilly Spring Morning

This morning I decided to get a hike in and hopefully shoot some photos of emerging spring wild flowers. When I got to the Valley I lost my light and I didn't find that many flowers anyways. The light was best in the photo I snapped before getting in my car(above). Oh well, there is lotsa springtime left...

Earth Day

Well, its Earth Day and we planted a new Red Haven peach tree - we didn't pan on it arriving on Earth Day - but it still counts. We also put in a couple of raspberry bushes...
Anyways - I know I've been light on the posting lately but I've been super busy and I have some film that needs to be developed.... better posts to come.....

Broken Bottle Sunset

Last night as the sun was starting to get low in the side I decided I had to get out for a hike - I mean, this is what we have been waiting for all Winter, right? It was a little late to head anywhere too far so I went down to the nearby Big Bend Area for a short, easy walk during the magic hour. Well, as usual, one thing led to another and before I knew it I was off-trail following broken bottles, old roads and finding collapsed houses....

The Perfect Light

A few weeks ago I was doing a photo shoot in this church. Afterwards I was pulling out of the parking lot when I noticed this light - I pulled over, grabbed my camera, and snapped a few shots. This is my favorite kind of light - magic-hour-sunset-light with dark clouds behind - it makes almost anything look cool. The trick is the timing of finding a great subject with these conditions - perfect for city skylines or mountains and such. Someone make an app for that.

Springtime in Ohio

Today.

Night Lights

With the weather being so awesome this weekend (and after that long Winter) I couldn't bring myself to go inside - even at night. Laura was off with some friends so I lit a fire and enjoyed a few beers out back. As much as I love when our yard fills in with all the green - it is pretty cool the view we have this time of year from the edge of the Valley. I decided to grab my camera and tripod and make some long exposures. The above shot was 30 seconds long.

When it Started

Documenting a growing garden is always fun to do - whether you try to be artsy about it or just shoot every so often with your phone. Last night I finally got some seeds started - I would have liked to start earlier but with the the way the weather had been it was hard to be in a Spring mood. So this is the first garden post of 2014 with many to follow...

Hoppin' Frog III

On Saturday evening Laura and I went to The Tasting Room at Hoppin' Frog with my parents, brother and sister-in-law. Laura and I have been there a few times but the rest of my family hadn't. The food and beer are top-notch and every member of the staff seems like they love their jobs. If you're a beer nerd it is not to be missed - if good beer isn't your thing you would probably find the prices too high(the food is reasonable though). Besides their own amazing beer they have a really good "guest tap" section of rare beers. We all ordered beers in the 8 ounce size so more could be sampled - which run roughly 5 bucks a pop - they also serve 5 oz and 16 oz glasses. So, well - go there!

Valley Ruin Selfies

Today I revisited an interesting spot in the Valley - an area off Wetmore road with some house and barn foundations, littered with old bottles, car parts, and other random left behind junk. I used my remote trigger to snap some photos of myself exploring the area. The remote has a brilliant feature - a slight time delay button, so you can press the shutter and slip the remote into your pocket to get a photo without the trigger visible in your hand. I like using this better than the camera self-timer because you don't need to pre-focus on where you plan to be - the remote allows the focus to work while you are already in the frame. I need to remember to bring it with me more often. Its also a good idea to use it when taking shots with the tripod so you don't shake the camera while pushing the shutter button.

Fish Fry

Yesterday morning Frank Comunale took his campaign staff and friends(including me) to a fish fry at Mount Zion Baptist Church on Cuyahoga Street. Believe it or not it was the first fish fry I had ever been to. I ate some delicious catfish and snapped a few photos...  I thought the photos had a better look in black and white.  

Betty Dalton

A few months ago I had the pleasure of shooting this portrait of Betty Dalton for Child Guidance and Family Solution's use. I shot the portrait at her house using a simple two light strobe set up - one above and slightly left in a shoot through umbrella and one lower to the right for fill. Child Guidance & Family Solutions (CG&FS) is is honoring her on the occasion of its 75th Diamond Anniversary this year with the "Friend of Children Legacy Award" on May 14 - an event I will be photographing as well. I have met Betty before through my parents and she couldn't be a nicer lady - we spent so much time talking that the shooting was the shortest part of the session.  Betty was on the Akron Public School Board for years and has an amazing reputation for charitable work in Akron.  

Signs of Life 2014

Every year since I started this blog I've done a "Signs of Life" post showing the crocuses blooming and the daffodils popping out of the ground in my yard - it was always a good way to gage how early or late spring was getting started. Since I moved in the last year I no longer have a direct comparison but I was out for a hike yesterday and I found a crocus starting to bloom near an old house foundation. So this will have to do for my "Sign of Life" post for this year... it still excites me like always, though, to know what is on the way....