3.1.24Went to Ruby’sI’ve lived in Cincinnati my entire life and had never been to Jeff Ruby’s. I appreciate a good meal, but I don’t believe the more you pay for a meal, the better it is. This experience was great because I confirmed what I already suspected: it is a delicious steak with equally good sides, but it’s not worth the price you pay for any of it. The entire meal was excellent, and I definitely appreciated the experience of eating here, but I never need to return on my own dime.I do not need hype or the illusion of status to properly season a cut of meat.

3.2.24It’s John Yung’s World……we’re just living in it.

3.3.24Solid ImprovementWhen we left for coffee this morning, the area was foggier than I’ve seen it in a while. It was hard to see even two blocks forward from where we stood. The sun was nowhere to be found, the air was cool, and it looked to be another gloomy winter day suffocating the traces of spring we’ve had lately.Flash forward to about 3 PM and I emerged from Steve’s windowless basement apartment after spending 5 hours in his podcast studio to find the sky was crystal clear and blue, the air was warmer than I thought possible for this time of year, and I was very late to the beautiful spring day party. Solid improvement!

3.4.24Statehouse From AboveStopped in Columbus on my way to Ann Arbor for work. Saw Chris. He took me up to the top of the tallest skyscraper in the city with 360 views of the entire area. You can even faintly see the Appalachian Mountains from that vantage point. I thought this was a neat look at the Statehouse.

3.5.24Passing Through YpsilantiPopulation 21,464 as of 2008.

3.6.24The People Have SpokenEveryone wants it. Even the coffee shop poll results say so.

3.7.24“This Is Better Than Real Bowling”Quote by Ronny Salerno at The Fill-Inn.

3.8.24VampireFrom a real estate shoot I did today.

3.9.24Tiki NightTravis and Allie hosted a tiki night at their house this evening. Travis made a menu of tiki drinks and proceeded to play bartender all evening much to all of our delight. The fluffy banana he made me (three separate times) was honestly one of the best tiki drinks I’ve had. It was the perfect amount of creamy, sweet, and boozy.I took a very grainy 12800-ISO photo of the group and ran it through Adobe’s AI denoise feature to help clean it up, but it still didn’t turn out great. I’ve found that the smaller the person’s face is in the image and the higher the grain, the more the details start to get totally lost in the AI denoise and replaced with plastic-y approximations that make familiar faces horrifying. After a few iterations, I settled on less correction and more grain to find a decent balance. I’m still routinely blown away denoise works as well as it does.

3.10.24New ApartmentsOrleans Development recently renovated the building at the corner of 6th and Berry Streets in Dayton, KY. They put a handful of apartments into the upper floors, including two lofts that divide a prior “great room” that the building originally featured on the second floor. Looking at the windows from the exterior gives you a feel for how tall those apartments are.They hired me to photograph three units in the building and get some exteriors as well. I went in the morning and evening to get a few different options with different lighting. I wish the sun were further south to give the avenue-facing side more direct, hard lighting, but it is what it is. Maybe I’ll go back in the summer and see if the lighting is markedly different just for fun.

3.11.24Girling AroundI have number of photos of Ashley and Chelsey inspecting each others’ eyes over the years for some reason. Often times they’re helping each other put in eye drops. Tonight, I added to my strange collection.

3.12.24Algin’s New LookI went to Algin to buy a chair for my office. As soon as I walked in, I ran into Alan, the owner. He’s always been an affable, genuinely pleasant guy to talk to. We wasted no time touring the multi-story building's current layout.While much of it looks as good as ever, a few things changed on the upper floors. Most notably, the floor that used to have a billion used chairs collected from shuttered offices and schools looks totally different. I took the image on the top back in 2015. Now, it’s a showroom for Algin’s live edge, exotic slabs. They’re unfinished, and that’s the point: they sell to those who want to finish them in their own shops.Usually, I wouldn’t publish an old photo for this daily photo project, but I think the before/after here is especially interesting.

3.13.24MagnoliaNot sure this will make the listing, but it was too pretty not to snap a photo while photographing a house earlier today.

3.14.24Old Vault16 Point Solutions plans to renovate an old 1980s US Bank in Blue Ash. Before starting demolition of the interior, though, they had me come out and document it so we could do a nice before-and-after comparison once it’s finished.The building itself is pretty unremarkable, but I always like seeing a vault.

3.15.24Old VaultWe've been trying to get more into wine lately since Ashley has grown mildly allergic to craft beer. It was fitting that we return to the winery where we got married at the end of 2019—right before the pandemic kicked off. Helps that it's one of the most photogenic places in the neighborhood. This is a view of the street from the second-floor window. The hazing at the top isn’t an editing choice; the pane of glass caused the distortion.

3.16.24Building a BenchAshley has been talking about a potting bench since we moved into the house in 2020. This year, I’m determined to make it a reality. After battling back a ridiculous onslaught of pop-up ads on a DIY blog, I downloaded plans for an elaborate 7’x8’x2.5’ bench with storage on the bottom, an awning on top, and a slatted backing. It all stands on eight stone pavers with river rock covering the ground beneath for adequate drainage.Long story short, I worked basically all day on acquiring materials and building what you see here. This bench will also double as a serving station when we have backyard parties. Once finished, I think this thing will be a hugely functional addition to the house. I wish I had more time to finish it.We’d planned to go out later, but I started feeling mega sore after stopping for the day. I guess I haven’t been regularly working the muscles required to assemble this.

3.17.24BKA Portrait of BK

3.18.24Appreciating ArtistryA few years ago, we found this beautiful 1940s cedar chest with its original tag inside at an antique show in Burlington. We got it for $100. It’s very well maintained though not pristine, adding character to the piece overall. Someone stuck wheels on it at some point, but I don’t think that was a bad decision (the thing weighs something).Anyway, sometimes I look over at it and marvel at the artistry it took to put it together. The angles of the wood, the waterfall edge, the details in the handle on the lift. It’s all so good.

3.19.24Patiently WaitingMyrt hurt her paw today while playing with her puppy friends. We’re going to have to take her to the vet tomorrow to get it looked at. She’s not showing any signs of distress, but it’s pretty bad. We have it wrapped up so she doesn’t lick it.Ashley was out doing her pilates class and Myrtle sat patiently on our bed waiting for her to return.

3.20.24Sign GardenHad a small photo job at Cincinnati's American Sign Museum this morning. Took a moment on the way out to really appreciate the magnificence of its "sign garden" on the side of the building. This place is such a neat, special attraction in our city. I like that they have intentionally left gaps in the metal skeleton for future additions. I wonder how this overall display will change in the coming years.

3.21.24Building Community TogetherArtWorks and the Cincinnati Recreation Commission dedicated three new murals inside the Bond Hill Community Center today. Artist Ciara LeRoy (pictured) designed all three murals and produced them with help from ArtWorks apprentices.

3.22.24Big Old BabyThe face of a dog who knows we’re about to leave her alone on a Friday night. It’s almost enough to want to stay in.

3.23.24KawaOne of my favorite restaurants we went to on our honeymoon was this little conveyor belt sushi place somewhere near our hotel in Seattle. Since then, I’ve wanted to go back to a conveyor belt sushi place, but Cincinnati hasn’t traditionally had one, and I just didn’t look for any when in other cities. Thankfully, that changed recently when Kawa Revolving Sushi opened on Montgomery Road.Long story short, I loved this place. The novelty of the conveyor belt in the booth, the little monorail and semi-truck that drives around on top delivering special dishes, the robots that deliver drinks to your table; all of it was splendidly fun and unique. I ate way more than I should’ve, and aside from whatever a “dofu skin” is, I enjoyed every plate I grabbed off the belt. The revolving sushi model’s strength is its immediacy of delivery and small portions that encourage variety.Ashley said the bathrooms were straight out of a horror movie, but the restaurant itself was clean and neat. Half of me is annoyed this is 30 minutes away from home, and the other half is glad it is so I don’t spend all my money there.

3.24.24Build’s DoneContinuing on from my photo post from the 16th, I’ve finished the build of the bench. All that’s left to do is paint, stain, and shingle it at this point. And also add rocks below it. Hopefully I can get to that soon.I wish I could say I was totally happy with it, but there are some squaring issues that make me want to pull out my hair. Regardless, the bench is level. I guess that’s something.

3.26.24VinceTwo massive trees have fallen around our house over the last three years. Each time one comes down and misses something (or someone), I think about how lucky we are that it missed us.The neighbors have a massive tree in their backyard that hangs over our yard in addition to theirs. Since the last tree fell in January, we’ve been nervous about this one, and so have they. It’s extremely tall and sways heavily during high winds, especially since the one that fell in January blocked much of the westerly winds. I’m not sure we’d be unscathed if it decided to fall. Vince is an arborist, so I told my neighbors about him and how he could probably remove some of the height to greatly reduce the chance of something bad happening. They heeded the warning and hired him to remove the branches that could impact our properties.I took some photos of him from my office balcony while he did his thing.

3.26.24Who Ya Gonna Call?Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire was fun, but it didn’t hit me the way Afterlife (2021) did. Bill and I saw it this evening at the AMC in Newport. The last time I hung out with him was to see the previous movie. I think we’ve unintentionally made a tradition that I hope will continue with another GB movie in the future. Please, more of this series with this cast.Didn’t take any photos today except this image of the standee for the movie. I loved being on standee building duty when I worked for Showcase years ago. Like Lego, the instructions for the builds were fun to page through and piece together bit by bit. When we got one that had a lot of complicated geometry and layering to it, I always appreciated the artistry of the design more than the simple flat standees. Someone had to figure out the origami of placing tabs in specific places to fit into slots on other parts to create something with dimension and make the printed images pop enough to entice someone to plop down $12.50 for a ticket.I remember building one with a werewolf that was wildly complicated; maybe it was Van Helsing? Or some other monster movie that’s been forgotten? Either way, it looked incredible after it was built despite being for a movie that probably didn’t break box office records. The thing you don’t realize until you’ve spent hours building a complicated standee is how dry your hands get by the end. It’s essential to moisturize afterward to avoid them cracking and bleeding.This Frozen Empire standee, while not overly complicated, was a good shape. Back in September, I visited the firehouse in Tribeca that the Ghostbusters use for exterior shots and it was a special part of that trip for me. I liked that this standee mimicked the architecture of that building. I couldn’t tell if the lights were supposed to light up or not. And, of course, Slimer and Ecto-1 are on it. That improves anything, in my opinion.

3.27.24AquaPhotographed an apartment in Aqua on the Levee today. Nothing more to say about it than that, really.

3.28.24People On Peculiar PerchesMike and I attended Opening Day. We walked over the bridge, watched some of the parade, then went to the game. It was honestly the best Opening Day I think I’ve had in a long time, if not ever.I didn’t take a boatload of photos of the parade, but I was struck by the creative ways some people found to elevate their line of sight over a very crowded Fifth Street.

3.29.24DanielMy Friday was crazy with two events and one house to photograph. While on my first event of the night, I ran into Daniel at ArtWorks’ V2 Gallery in Walnut Hills. Took his photo, drove him over to the CAC for another event, then went up to CAM to photograph Art After Dark before calling it an evening. We’re planning to ride bikes together soon!

3.30.24Art Possible OhioAfter shooting Art After Dark for the museum last night, I returned this afternoon to photograph an event organized by Art Possible Ohio—an organization that works “with artists of all ages who have disabilities to advocate for accessibility and inclusivity, advance careers in the creative sector, build community, and improve the academic achievement of Ohio’s students through arts integration,” as their website says. CAM has a great exhibit at the moment called “Accessible Expressions Ohio” that showcases work from artists from around the state, and this specific event was to celebrate and recognize everyone who was involved in making that exhibit a reality, including the artists themselves.This band (pictured) performed in the gallery beside the new exhibit for a couple of hours, as well.

3.31.24Leaf HeadA leaf fell off one of our plants. I rested it gently on her head. She waited patiently for the photo. She’s a great dog.