THE INQUISITIVE MAN
While in Cleveland this week, I stood beneath Terminal Tower Center awaiting the redline train when a man slowly wandered up to me. Not knowing what he was going to say, I met his eyes and awaited his inquiry. He smiled and said he used to “do that” many years ago, nodding toward my camera bag, then asked me how modern cameras work. I pulled the Z6 out of my bag and removed the lens, exposing the sensor without a mirror, explaining that SLRs of the past and mirrorless digital are two very different configurations. He wanted to know how it stored the images if it didn’t have any film in it, and I popped out the card. His eyes widened and he asked if I put that into a computer to get the images out of it. Confirming his suspicion, he nodded in amazement.
It sort of blew my mind to think that someone wouldn’t already be familiar with the process of digital photography, but that just means my social circle is smaller than I realize. He thanked me for talking to him and found a nearby bench to await the train.
HAUNTED
Let me start by saying I do not believe in ghosts or any other paranormal, spiritual entities. For me, it’s a lack of scientific proof that negates their existence. That said, I love listening to ghost stories, especially podcasts about the subject. There’s something about hearing people recount their experiences that tickles a part of my brain no other subject can. When a podcast’s production meets the level of tale being told, it’s the perfect storm. There are a lot (and I mean a LOT) of bad ghost story podcasts out there, many of which I’ve tried and failed to finish a single episode, but when I find one that works, it’s like finding gold after digging in the dirt all day. Spooked is obviously the cream of the crop, but I found another single-run show years ago that I revisit from time to time.
Haunted on the Panoply network is hosted by Danny Robbins and features stories told by people around England who’ve had encounters with the unexplained. The show sets out to examine in forensic detail each story by pairing the storyteller’s recounting of their event(s) with a skeptic whose job it is to compare the fantastical details of the story with a real-world explanation. That said, it doesn’t come off as condescending to the storyteller. In fact, even with the real-world explanation posed by the skeptic, the storyteller’s tale often remains spooky regardless. The production value is high, Danny Robbins is an enthusiastic host who doesn’t go overboard with this delivery, and the show’s stories are genuinely interesting.
The show ran for 11 episodes in 2017 and hasn’t updated with a second season as of this writing. The last two episodes are a single story broken up into two parts, and it’s arguably the best one of the bunch. Saving it for the finale was a good choice.
BABY DEER
There is a small family of deer living in the vacant lot across the street from us. Two babies and one mother graze on the foliage all day and sleep in the tall grass at night. It’s a good spot because it’s fenced in, limiting who (or what) can get in at any time. We can see them from our bedroom window, but I can’t get a clear photo of them unless I’m on the porch. I set up the 600mm on a tripod and found the two babies gnawing on a low limb at one point. The recording shows how sweet they are and I wanted to share it.
THE LITTLE SWITZERLAND OF OHIO
Chris and I stopped off in Sugarcreek, OH on our way to Cleveland the other day. It’s this cute little town in Amish country that takes a lot of inspiration from the Swiss. At one point, I got out of the car to photograph the world’s largest cuckoo clock in the middle of its downtown area.
The clock was completed in 1975 and was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records a few years later. After three decades of weather, the clock was restored and eventually moved to its current place.
I plan on returning to Little Switzerland as soon as possible. I really liked it there.
514 CRIAG STREET
I photographed a very old Covington home last week for Rebecca. 514 Craig Street was built in 1864, making it quite possibly the oldest home I’ve ever shot for a listing. It’s currently for sale for $325K. The thing that makes this house special, besides the inherent history of the place, is it comes with five parking spaces down the street. It’s kind of insane for a house in urban Covington to have that many dedicated spaces, and it’ll likely be a selling point for the right buyer.
Here’s a link to the listing.
SHOPPING
Hub+Weber contracted me to photograph the new(ish) RoadID building they finished last year. Working for architects is different than working for realtors. They expect a certain level of polish listing photos do not, requiring a significant amount of time in post production. For a listing, I don’t shop out power lines or signs because that would be dishonest, and prospective buyers deserve to know the truth. For architectural photos, I do; these photos are about presenting the design as cleanly as possible and the focus isn’t solely on real-world documentation. Like renderings, they focus on highlighting the art.
I spent a fair amount of time clone stamping elements out of each of the images below. Their before/afters plainly showcase the dramatic results “fixing” has on the final images.
If you look the sky in the second image, you’ll notice added clouds. I toyed with Photoshop’s sky replacement feature to add those elements because I thought the final image would benefit from a cloud-filled sky. Again, this is not a feature I would regularly use if it weren’t for an architect.
One final image below. I’m not posting the before photo for this one, but seeing the level of wire removal from the images above, I think you get the idea. A lot of editing went into making this image the way it is.