Pokemon Go! Downtown

I'm not going to pretend like I knew anything about Pokemon Go! or "augmented reality" games - I've never had any kind of game on my cellphone. All I know is when it came out I would see people walking around Downtown staring at their phones. I though the trend had subsided so when the Knight Foundation hired me to shoot their Pokemon event downtown I kind of thought it would be a bust. Nope! Downtown was packed with roving groups of people staring at their phones! It was pretty remarkable. Erin stopped by to show me what was going on(on the screens) and I enjoyed wandering around the city covering the event.

More Fuji Color

These are a few more shots with the expired Fuji Press 400 film and my Pentax K1000 that didn't fit with the Earthquaker Day photos from the last post. Many of these were shot at Lock 3 during Stems set at the Signal Tree Festival(above).

Earthquaker Day in Color

On August 5 I rode my bike downtown Akron to the second annual Earthquaker Day. Earthquaker Devices, the internationally acclaimed guitar pedal manufacturer, held a festival again this year. There were tours, clinics, vendors, food, music and more. I brought a couple film cameras with me - I shot the early part of the day with my Minolta X-700 and a new b&w film(haven't developed those yet) and the later part of the day with my Pentax K-1000 and some expired Fuji Press 400 film - these are those shots. Most of these photos are of 'Fringe Candidate' and specifically Karl - for obvious reasons...

Eclipse

Like anything that is over-hyped I have a tendency to steer away from it - plus I had a lot of work to do. So I hadn't tracked down any special glasses, lens filters or made any plans. I also figured there would be well prepared photographers taking amazing photos - so what would be the point in my half-assed attempts. As the peak started to near I walked outside and tried to use my front facing camera over my shoulder to see what was happening. That didn't work. So I grabbed a ND filter and put it over the lens - still - just a flare. I grabbed a red filter that was laying around and doubled up - still nothing. OK - now I kinda wanted to see what was happening - I grabbed my Canon 6D(decided against pointing the 5D at the sun) and I put the two filters over the lens and set the camera to its smallest aperture and fastest shutter speed. I put the camera into live view mode and there it was - the moon moving over the sun on the back of my camera. Pretty cool. "Oh wait", I thought to myself ...."I can also take photos with this thing...."

Bubbles!

The Akron Art Museum hired me to shoot a family event they were holding - there were all kinds of activities but the main event was 2X world record holder, DrURawesome, who makes gigantic bubbles. It made for some great photography!

The Sun Also Rises

Since my gimp leg kept me up most of the night I decided to pay it back by dragging it around Kendall this morning - it had been far too long since I watched the sunrise in the Cuyahoga Valley anyways. I guess there are a few reasons I don't get out in the woods as much anymore - most of my hiking time is now biking time, I feel like I've pretty thoroughly covered The Valley with my camera over the years, I'm shooting all the time as my day job now, and maybe this one is stupid - but it seems kind of ridiculous for me to lug thousands of dollars worth of gear knowing people will look at it on tiny phone screens - so like most - I'm happy to take the iphone snap and just post it to Instagram...

Regardless - I am glad I took the time to enjoy a beautiful morning in the park - and maybe I'll print one of these big - something a phone still can't do.

Growing Up Akron 2017

I've been shooting Growing Up Akron, which is a charity event for Child Guidance and Family Solutions, for a number of years now. It is a really fun event to cover as it is held at Thirsty Dog Brewery and has a very laid back vibe. This year I brought my drone to get some aerial shots and then put together this slide show of the event.

Akron AleFest

Last year I volunteered and poured beer for the first Akron AleFest - this year I photographed it and drank beer. The AleFest takes place under the trolley barn downtown and focuses on Ohio Breweries. Great beer and food in a unique venue - what not to like?

Downtown at Dusk

Downtown at Dusk is one of my favorite weekly summer events in Akron. It takes place every Thursday - I love to go and have a few beers and mingle with friends. Last week Half-Cleveland played and put on a great show.

Ratz2Derby

I haven't posted a blog about my Wednesday night bike rides for a while - but I still do ride with a varying, loose based group every Wednesday. Last week we opened the group up for a slower roll for our third annual ride to the Demolition Derby at the Summit County Fair. The turnout was great and instead of taking stills I brought my GoPro and cut this little video of the ride.

Common Threads - Summit Lake

The latest in the Common Threads series focused on the people of Summit Lake. The event kicked off with some music and dancing by 'Congo to Akron' and was a lot of fun. Being a really hot day we then moved inside for the open format discussion. Summit Lake has a lot going for it and I'm glad organisations like the Knight Foundation and Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition have been focusing energies there. People still seem to have a negative perception of the area - hopefully events like this will help to change that.

Live at Lock 4

The Devil Strip hosted their monthly Live at Lock 4 event last night. They had a food truck, beer trailer, and three bands - and it was finally great weather. I rode my bike down and took a few drone shots and some shots of Relaxer with my 5D mark IV. I love that there are so many outdoor events in downtown these days...

From Above

I picked up a DJI Mavic Pro drone a few weeks ago. My goal is to use it for some of the video projects I have in the works and for some event photos too. I've been mostly just practicing flying it and have just started dabbling with the camera settings. These photos were all shot flying from the studio in the RAW format DNG. They are pretty impressive for the little camera. The above shot is looking down on the plaza my studio is in.

I'm working on a video about the drone today too - the 4k footage is really nice.

Snow Angels - Christmas in July

The Akron Snow Angels are a group that works to help the homeless by providing necessities on the spot. Most of their missions take place during the cold months but for the third year there was also a Christmas in July event. Essentials were passed out and a free lunch was provided - the big guy in the red suit also showed up to deliver school supplies to children.

A Roll of Tri-X

I started this roll of Kodak Tri-X in my Minolta X-700 sometime last winter. I took it on a few hikes, out to PA, and finished it back at the studio. I've been shooting more film this summer - I just need to get around to developing it(and getting the color developed). I also just received some new Italian monochrome film from a Kickstarter I invested in - I'm excited to see what that will look like. In other words, stay tuned for more analog.

Finger Lakes Video

Here is my latest road trip video - the first containing drone footage! The couple of opening shots are actually from the first two times I ever flew the drone - it is on beginner mode and I haven't changed any of the default settings from the camera. It wasn't that hard to fly - albeit a little nerve wracking. I'm sure it will get easier - and I'll dive into the menus to improve the footage.
The trip was awesome and the rest of the video is a mix of GoPro footage and 5DmkIV footage.

Finger Lakes Reunion

I spent the Fourth of July Weekend in the Finger Lakes for the second year in a row. It was a kind of anniversary/reunion for Kyle and Getta's reception last year and a group of us rented the same house. We enjoyed some great sightseeing, swimming, hiking, beer & wine tastings, and some good chill time with a great group of people. This was my third time in the Finger Lakes and I feel like there is still plenty more to discover - I love this region of the country.  

Open Streets Akron

The Knight Foundation along with the City of Akron and other sponsors hosted an Open Streets event on Sunday. The idea is to close streets to automobile traffic to allow pedestrians and bikes to explore the streets from a different perspective. There were all kinds of activities along the way. The route had parts of Kenmore BLVD and Firestone Park joined by the Towpath around Summit Lake. It was quite windy but otherwise a perfect day.