Industrial Gravel

Gravel riding has been the fastest growing segment of cycling for years. Riding on interesting gravel and country roads that are more off the beaten path and with low traffic. Here around Akron we've been doing our own version. Rolling through the post-industrial landscape on abandoned old train tracks and roads - seeing the ruins of the past.

Magic City, Magic Hour

Magic City Brewing is right off of the Towpath Trail so we ride there often - it also happens to be one of our favorite beer & food spots in the Akron area. Another thing I happen to dig about it is that it sits across from a lake. It gets these great low sunsets through the windows. I've found so many different cool shots over the years and in different seasons because of it. (Really pretty from the patio in summer too).

Vintage Digital

When I first started assisting at the studio I now own they were using an RZ67 with a Phase One P25 digital back. This was an almost medium format sized, 22MP sensor that cost $30,000. I have run some film through the collection of RZ67's here but hadn't tried out the P25. After a bit of an odyssey to get it working(vid at the end) I finally made some images. I have to say I'm impressed with how well it hold up. It is obviously a slow way to shoot - definitely suited for studio work - but I took it to the bike shop and messed around with it handheld anyways. I want to have more fun with this - the lenses are amazing - but here is a what I've done so far.

Missile Toe

Missile Toe is the "World's Greatest Christmas Band" and I have seen them many times over the years - and they have graced these blog posts many times too. On this night however they were doing rock & roll and punk covers for a friend's bday. They were awesome as usual and I had a blast. Weasel Face also played - they do a Ramones cover set. I just brought my Canon EOS R8 and my 35mm 1.4 because I rode my bike and it was raining. My Sigma 35 is my favorite lens for things like this and the light was good enough that I got away with some decent shots without a flash.

To Shoot or Not to Shoot

I drove to Pittsburgh for a surprise birthday party last weekend. Besides a brewery stop on the way out we spent most of the time hanging out at a friend's house. When I got home I realized how few photos I really took. I try to remind myself to shoot some of these moments but at the same time I often get caught up in just enjoying myself. I definitely feel people have a tendency to over document things and not enjoy the moment enough - all those IG video stories - moments experienced through the screen instead of directly through your own eyes, only to be swiped past once and the forgotten....but at the same time I am so glad I have captured moments of friends that are no longer around. Also a reason I still think photography can be more powerful than cellphone vids. 

 Anyways - maybe I actually struck the perfect balance on this night - a couple fun shots to look bak on - but an evening of great conversation with the camera often in its bag too.

Abandoned and Freezing

The temperature was only 11 degrees but I stil wanted to get out and do something. A short bike ride downtown to meet up with friends and explore an abandoned factory? Why not - that is what we do in the Rust Belt. I have friends who have been to this place before and they said how interesting it was - the company left it as a complete time capsule - nothing had been removed. There was still a lot of cool old stuff in the offices(the stuff looters and tweakers don't care about but that photographers and arm-chair historians like me find interesting), but all of the much else of the metal and parts that could be removed had been. It is just wild to me that all of this left behind could have been simply it write-off, just left to rot and become the city's problem(not uncommon around here).  

Johnstown, PA

For the second year in a row I travelled to Johnstown, PA for a cycling event called Higher Ground Hundo and hosted by Hope Cyclery. I arrived on Friday afternoon, grabbed some food then headed over to the bike shop for registration. I also walked around the area snapping some photos with my Canon R8 and 28mm f/2.8. It was then time to go set up camp at a city park. The next day was the ride - I didn't take any photos as it was 43 degrees and rainy - a really tough day out. The whole story of the ride is in the video at the bottom. I snapped some more images on Sunday morning while waiting for Erin to pick me up and take us to our next adventure.

Quick Trip to the Queen City

Erin had to head down to Cincinnati for work so I tagged along. We got in on the later side, had some dinner and then headed to our Air BnB. The 'beeb was really cool so I snapped some photos. We were in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. In the morning we went to a couple bakeries and then Erin went off to her work meetings. I rode my bike and made a video.

Grand Island

After our bike event we headed up to the Hiawatha National Forest. It was very pretty up this way - everything just feels different from home. We stopped in Munising at a brewery before jumping on the ferry and heading to Grand Island. Grand Island was recommended to us by a few friends who had been up this way before. We arrived in the early evening and rode to our rustic cabin. We got settled in and then walked down to the beach. The water in Lake Superior is stunning and I was snapping a bunch of photos before we walked back to the cabin and had a fire. In the morning it was drizzling but we still went out for our ride around the island. The ride all the way around the perimeter is about 20 miles. 

White Lighter

Any frequent flyers on this blog will have seen many photos of White Lighter playing live. They are good friends and the drummer used to be a singer in my band. ....and I just like their music. This show was at The Cave in Akron - a few of my other friends run this DIY venue. Of course Ben and I rode our bikes through the snow to get to this. An awesome night!

Krampus Kross

Krampus Kross is a cyclocross race at Camp Manitoc in the Cuyahoga Valley. I rode my bike there to meet some friends and watch the racing. Some of the race categories are very serious and others are a little more loose and fun. We drank beers, cheered and heckled. One of these races/years I'll jump in and compete.

Black Friday

A number of years ago my family started a tradition of brewery crawling on Black Friday - no real shopping for us! This year we stuck to the Akron area. I carried my camera all day but only thought to take a few photos. Its funny how much more chill I've become about that. Before I was full time I would have been snapping all day - now I do allow myself to just enjoy things and leave my camera in the bag. My friends and I actually rode our bikes to all the stops this year. Some people joined up at different portions of the day too.

Thanksgiving Football

Thanksgiving morning football has been a part of my for a long, long time. I can't remember when I joined the Milo family's game but I know I still lived at home(down the street from them). A couple of us even went out to toss the football around in the pandemic years to keep the streak/tradition alive. This year I was unfortunately sidelined with my sciatic nerve pain but it did allow me to capture some great photos.

Hikes & Beers

A hike back on the blog!? Yup. It didn't feel like a good day to ride so lets get back to our roots here. Ben Erin and I went for a hike at the Pine Lane Trailhead in the CVNP right outside of downtown Peninsula. A trail I have only hiked a couple of times but does intersect with a bandit trail we cross on our bikes. After the hike we went to Hudson for lunch then out to Hinckley to try a new brewery. So yeah - this blog could have been written 10 years ago - but my photos are better now.

Cinci Fail?!

I went down to Cincinnati with Erin for her work retreat. Well - I wasn't really there for the retreat but I was there to photograph the retreat. I took portraits of all of the employees. Since Erin had a hotel we thought we would spend the next day exploring - but there was a really wet snow and neither of us felt like drinking(we are cutting back a bit). We had brought the bicycles all the way down there for nothing. It was still a paying gig and Erin had to be there - but after some coffee and a walk we decided to head back to Akron. I did capture the above photo of Erin and the below photo of this mural by one of my favorite artists(Ralph Steadman).

Kill the Hippies

This was a pretty amazing night. A band that I have been friends with forever(and who helped my band along the way) was playing in Kent(their original hometown) at a place called Bar Lucci. The interested thing is Bar Lucci used to be a run down, hole in the wall, DIY venue called The Mantis. You would never know it in its current, modern, cocktail bar iteration. A buddy from the music seen owns it now too. Anyways - when we met Kill the Hippies they would book us as their opener in the old place. So lots of memories - and then on top of it all my old friends(and bandmate) Pete moved back to town and made it out to the show. Lots of familiar faces in a legendary place.

Heck of the North

Heck of the North is a cyclocross race hosted by Cleveland bike shop Joy Machines. Even though there are always serious races(ers) at these events this one has taken on the reputation for being a little more fun. Their "main event" was fat bike race which definitely had the mullet vibe - business in the front, party in the back. Costumes, beers, Lake Erie views - another great day in the Northeast Ohio cycling community.

The Fall Trip

For the second year in a row we went out to Connecticut to ride an event called Nutmeg Nor'easter. The event is almost all the way on the coast(Long Island Sound) so it is to far to travel and not make more of a trip out of. So we packed a number of other rides and stops into a full week of travelling. It was peak Fall color in New England and we had a great time. As a cycling trip I did focus more energy on the YouTube video than the still but I did snap some that I really like - follow along below.