From Boston to Jaite

A couple red-tailed hawks, whitetail deer and me explored the section of the Towpath Trail north of Boston today - it is a pretty desolate section of the trail(at least on a Tuesday afternoon in November). Besides the usual former farm fields(now wetlands) and a few canal locks there are a some cool historical sights. First and foremost is what is left of the Jaite Paper Mill that operated from 1905-1984. And what is left? Pretty much a just a concrete pad and one of the huge 1927 fourdrinier machines used to make four-walled cement bags. The park tore down the rest of the mill in 2006 - I'm sure due to the constant explorers and vandals - the place was after all falling in on itself and probably quite dangerous.

I also located the 1826 Brandywine Creek Culvert that was constructed to carry the Ohio & Erie Canal over the creek. This side(below) of the culvert looked mostly original - the other side(not pictured) had been refaced with concrete at some point.

Bringing Back the Light(s)

After a full Summer and Fall of shooting photos with nothing but natural light yesterday's Christmas Card Photos(see below post) inspired me to get back to my strobes. I love experimenting with my speedlites so I decided to make myself a new profile photo for Facebook and the like. I shot this with my 580exII up and to the left with a reflective umbrella and my 430ex low and right with a shoot-through umbrella to add some fill light. I'm holding my 'new' 1935 Kodak Junior Six-16 to make the shot a little more interesting.

Lighting portraits is my favorite thing to do with my camera and I'm looking forward to some of my upcoming portrait jobs.

Angels with Wings

Its that time of year again - Christmas Card Photography Season. I was doing some shooting this morning for a friend(of her daughter - Sophia). We shot some of the Christmas scenery at Chapel Hill and then this shot(and others) back at their house. This shot will probably be an outtake but I loved it. I thought the pose looked like something out of a Michelangelo painting.

Send me an e-mail so we can do your cards!

Gas USA

On my way back from a visiting some friends in Lakewood I remembered(thank god) that I needed some gas. The BPs and other usually suspects were all closed - but beyond the freeway overpass appeared a shinning beacon of freedom and petrol - Gas USA. God bless these United States of America.

While in Lakewood we checked out the restaurant whose legend seems to grow by the day - Melt - and it didn't disappoint(well, they were out of the "The Lord Humongous Turducken Melt"(turkey stuffed with duck stuffed with chicken)).
Again, God Bless these United States of America.

Opening Up the Studio

Now that I have more time on my hands I decided to get my little studio space back in order. I use it for product-type shots such as the photos for my camera collection page(which I'll be adding a bunch more to soon). Its nice to have a little space where I can go and not have to worry about tearing down my lights or seamless white back-drop. The biggest thing I can realistically shoot in the studio is head shots - hopefully I'll have a bigger space soon.

I was organizing and condensing my shelf space too so I can display some of my random camera stuff that I don't want up in the house.

The Luxuries

Last night I went to the Matinee in Highland Square to see my friends' band The Luxuries play. It was the first time I've seen them and I was impressed.  Though I've played with Pete(singer) and Wes(drummer) it was my first time in a crowd watching the two of them in a band together.  

Because I've shot so many bands at The Matinee I don't need to worry about my settings too much. I usually go with an ISO of 200, a shutter of 1/125, and bounce my flash of the ceiling at full power - I adjust my aperture for exposure. I like this because I can concentrate on catching a cool moment instead of worrying about the technical side of things.

Bus Stop Kids

On Monday my niece and nephews had the opportunity to be 'Bus Stop Kids' for WKYC 3 Cleveland. On the evening news when they do the morning weather report they will show footage of the kids in outfits appropriate for the weather. They shoot different groups of kids all day and then show them randomly throughout the Winter.

I went up to shoot some photos for my brother who couldn't make it. It turned out to be a pretty cool trip - after the shoot we were given a tour of the station's studios, control rooms, and news room. The camera man who was shooting was extremely friendly and interesting. We got to talking about DSLR's that shoot video(because he saw my 7D) - he told me that they have been using Canon 5d mkII's for some of their footage and have been getting great results.

Pipe Study #1 & #2

Today I gave my friend a lift to a job interview on Kenmore Blvd. I had my camera with me(like always) and decided I should find some shots for the blog. I looked around, walked a bit - just a bunch of boring brick and concrete block buildings on a cloudy day. I was convinced that if I was a good photographer I could make something around there into art of some kind. These were my two best attempts.

Success?

Terra Vista

Rusty cars/trucks, disintegrating farm implements, old cemeteries, overgrown hiking trails, stone foundations - if any of this stuff peaks your interest you should check out the Terra Vista Site in the Cuyahoga Valley. The Park considers the site historical for its remains of an Early Woodland Indian village - a 1975 excavation found many artifacts. You would have to be with an expert to identify what they consider the Indian Village though - plowing, mining, and vandalism have seriously damaged the site.

I was more interested in the old cemetery - which is known as Tinker's Creek Cemetery, Old Indian Cemetery, Hillside Cemetery, Pilgerruh Cemetery and Terra Vista Cemetery. Pilgerruh, which is German for “Pilgrim’s Rest,” was a name that came from a brief Moravian settlement in the area - but most the graves are from the Canal Era and there is supposedly a unmarked mass grave of Irish Canal workers too. It seems as if an illness must have swept the area in 1844 because many of the tomb stones are from this date - regardless of family. Only a 1/5 of of the burials listed for the site still have grave markers.

We also found the remnants of someones farm/back yard. There where various farm implements, an old truck sinking into the ground, and most amazingly a late 50's Mercury in a collapsed garage.

We didn't pass another person on our hike and the trail sometimes becomes hard to locate - in other words a great hiking spot...

Antiquing in Amish Country

On Tuesday Laura and I decided to go on a drive through the country in the general direction of Amish Country. We pretty much just grabbed an Ohio road map and took off. After a scenic drive past the farms and barns we ended up in Berlin, Oh which bills itself as "The Heart of Amish Country". We grabbed lunch and stopped in the Antique Mall. I snapped the below photo and was promptly busted for shooting pictures.

Gabe Schray @ Musica

On Saturday night I went to see Gabe Schray perform at Musica and to see the opening of 'Visual Music' upstairs in the We Gallery. The photography exhibit in the We Gallery is a must for any Northeast Ohio Rock and Roll fans.

I shot the photos of gabe using my 50mm lens and only natural light - this was a departure from my normal concert photography style using my wide angle lens and flash(es).

Fall in my Yard

This morning I tried to get up and catch some of the morning sunrise in my yard. I didn't get out as early I wanted (it was COLD) but I still caught some good light. I was shooting everything with my 50mm lens wide open(f/1.8). It made some of the photos look a little soft but I love the background blur I get at that stop.

The Light Fantastic

This morning I woke up to the revelation that I didn't have to go to work. I walked out of my room towards the bathroom... "what in the F! why are all the lights on!" ....then it hit me - this is what my apartment looks like when the sun is shinning through the windows. I know it sounds stupid, but I haven't seen my apartment in the morning light for over 5 months. I left when it was dark - I got home when it was dark. After putting the coffee on I got my camera and explored my new morning world.

Brown/Bender Farm

While we were working in our Southernmost field(Bender South) this season I noticed the park pouring thousands of dollars into the restoration of the barn across Akron-Peninsula. It is a large 3 story barn that was built by the son of legendary counterfeiter Jim Brown. Jim Brown owned a tavern in Boston Twp.(still standing across from Boston Mills) and was arrested multiple times for his scams and counterfeiting. There is a legend that he robbed the San Fransisco Mint and buried the gold somewhere in the Valley and died before telling anyone the location(he died from a fall on a canal boat).
I wanted to get a good photo from the other side of the barn to show its large size but I would have needed my wide angle lens to fit it.

Barn Dust

This evening Dave, Johnny and I were organizing and cleaning up the old Red Barn. We were sweeping the floor when I realized the cool way the light was shinning between the barn's siding. Johnny said I should go grab my camera - I did. I took this with a 3.2 second exposure at f/22. I wanted to try out more settings but I was working......so I just snapped a few shots and got back to the sweeping......

Fall Sunrise

With our later "Fall Hours" starting today at the farm instead of sleeping in(a bit) I went out and shot some photos. I rarely get good fall color pictures because of work and I decided to change that. I shot these at what we call "The Big Field" this morning. Its a field near the Everett Road Covered Bridge(below) in the Summit County Metro Parks.

In the Fall we plant oats the fields where we harvested our sweet corn. Below are the oats I spread sprouting.

Sunrise Pumpkins

This is Dave putting out pumpkins this morning - even though we are done with sweet corn at the farm there is still plenty of Fall work to do until we close on Halloween.

I had my camera with me hoping to catch a certain photo with the early morning light, but unfortunately it didn't work out. I'm going to try again tomorrow.

Last Load 2010

Today we picked the last load of sweet corn for the season at Szalay's Farm. The 'last load' day is always a big one - long , hard hours go into corn season and its always a proud moment and a relief to be done. The above photo is of Johnny Szalay, me, and Dave Gottas - the full time 7 day a week corn crew. Below is the whole Saturday crew.