Monday, June 29, 2015

100th Post

Every few years I start a blog, or I think about starting a blog. I've always liked the idea of keeping a journal of the things I do. I also think it's a nice way to give context to my photos, instead of simply posting a few photos on Flickr and Instagram, now you get to see the entire series. There's no doubt that blogging has been a positive experience for me. It doesn't make me any money but I still try to look at it as a job. There has been plenty of times when I have had to force myself to get out and shoot some photos so that I could put together a blog post, and that's the kind push that I need. 

So to kind of celebrate this milestone of 100 blog posts, I decided I would list (in no particular order) ten of my favorite blog posts.


'Camping in Pennsylvania' There is nothing exactly breath taking about the photos or adventurous about the story, but I like this post because it embodies the reason why I wanted to start a blog. Simple photos that alone are not all that remarkable, but together they tell a story. Perfect example of Aristotle's 'the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts.'



'A Foggy Night' A night of fog and climbing around on rooftops and bridges. How could I not include this in my top ten?



'Further Into The City' This is without a doubt one of my favorite posts. Once again, the photos may not be some of my best, and might not stand on there own; but together they tell a great story. I love adventures like this. I love seeing the unseen. I love taking risk in order to experience a part of my city that very few people know exists.



'Memorial Day At The Camper On The Lake' Another more recent post but one that was an instant favorite of mine. Not only was I pretty happy with the photos that I got this day, but it was also a great day spent with friends. My friends mean so much to me and nothing makes me happier than sharing in these little adventures with them.



'Get Low' This is another great example of why I started a blog. More important than the photos themselves, is the experience and adventure of finding and accessing the places that I want to photograph. Being beneath the city in a buried creek while traffic unknowingly passes overhead, is a feeling unlike any other.



'Ice Climbing' My first blog post and the series of photos that finally pushed me to start a blog. My friend Mike is an adventurer. Now I go on adventures from time to time but Mike lives and breaths adventure. He climbs, kayaks, slacklines, and unicycles the railings of bridges. As much as I would love to try, I can't keep up with this guy. In the grand scheme of things life is short. Whether you live to be thirty years old or three hundred years old, life really isn't all that long, so why bother wasting it playing it safe and taking it easy? Do something that makes you feel alive.



'Kayaking the Cuyahoga River' Another adventure with Mike. Cleveland's steel mills have always fascinated me, and kayaking right through the center of them is by far the best way to see them. I cross over the river on bridges, and drive next to all the time, but being on the river itself gives you a entirely different perspective.



'Rochester, NY' Rochester is one of my favorite cities. I've been there twice now and I can't wait to go back again. It's a cool old city with great culture and history. There is plenty to explore and good food to eat. It's a lot like Cleveland. 



'This is Where I Live' A little bit of street photography and a little bit of wandering around my favorite paths less traveled. Documenting the city that I live in, the city that I love.



'Out West: The Ghost Town' For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to go out west and travel around without any clear destination. I was never sure what to expect or what I was hoping to find, but last year I finally got the chance to make that dream a reality. Kaylah and I packed our bags and flew to Denver. We rented a car and spent the next several days traveling over thirty-four hundred miles, across six states. The very first morning of our trip and the first official stop was a ghost town at sunrise just across the Utah state line. This was everything that I had hoped for and then some. Travel and photography and adventure, all combined to make for one of the greatest experiences of my life.




I don't know how long I'll keep up the blog. Hopefully forever, but the boring parts of life sometimes find ways to overtake the fun parts. I guess what it comes down to is priorities, and priorities have a habit of changing.


Thursday, June 25, 2015

Nothing In Particular

Some of my favorite photos come from impromptu adventures in the middle of the night. Living in the city is great for these types of outings. I love skulking around in the shadows snapping photos of the world around me. It also provides a subject that I don't normally shoot, combining street photography and night photography. Shooting long exposure shots or at extremely high ISO. Photos like these seem to capture who I am and what I love better than most. I plan on shooting more work like this and I would love to put together a gallery show after I build up a nice collection. I guess we'll see what happens, but here is a look at what a couple nights of aimlessly wandering around looks like.

















I love the city. I love trains. I love darkness.



Photos taken with a Canon 6D, using a Canon 20mm f/2.8 lens.

Monday, June 22, 2015

A Glimpse Of The Southwest Through An iPhone Lens

I'm a professional photographer, so I almost always have professional cameras on me, but I still find myself snapping shots with my phone. Normally these photos would just get buried in my extensive library of images, but I decided that sharing a handful of them would be a nice way to recap our amazing trip back to the American Southwest.


Woke up painfully early to get to the airport and catch a 5:30 AM flight out of Cleveland. Thanks Jason for giving us a ride to the airport.



Felt great to be back in the desert.



One of the first stops, Saguaro National Park.



Roadside abandonments were plentiful. 



Sunrise at Salvation Mountain



Kaylah and her tumbleweed. 



Unusual architecture for a slightly abandoned building in the desert.



Our first Pacific Ocean stop. 



Morro Bay, California.







The views along the Pacific Coast Highway are incredible.







Tidal pools in Monterey, California. 



As a wedding photographer I couldn't help but be jealous of the photos they were getting at this amazing spot in San Fransisco. 



Early morning drive into Yosemite National Park.



Kaylah takes a break in the car to catch up on logging our trip in her Adventure Log from Bradley Mountain.



Climbing around in the desert in my Palladium Boots. They might call themselves 'Urban Footwear' but they worked pretty well as desert footwear for the week.



Never get tired of these incredible views. I wanted to stop around every bend to capture scenes like this.



Sand dunes at Death Valley National Park. It was so hot that after a brief walk the soles of our shoes started to smell like burnt rubber.



More roadside abandonment.




Forever loving graffiti wisdom.



Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch. Elmer was a really nice guy and I felt fortunate to meet him and have a nice conversation with him.



Borrego Springs, California. 






Kaylah getting a permanent souvenir by Mikey Sarratt at High Noon Tattoo.



The outrageously awesome hotel that we got for our last night. I want to live at The Wigwam Resort. Easily the nicest place I've ever stayed. 



Roomservice was fairly priced and delicious. Those sweet potato fries!!! 



I'm not really into swimming but I couldn't resist this pool. 



The sun sets on the last day of our trip as we head home to Cleveland.




I was worried that this trip wouldn't be as great as our last trip out west, but it was. In some ways they were very similar, and in other ways very different. I never get tired of traveling and I can't wait to get back on the road.


Photos taken with an iPhone.