Late-Season Baseball

We got coneys and went down to the river to eat them. While we sat on the bench, the Reds lost to the Pirates 4-2. Maybe one year soon we’ll make it to the World Series again. Not holding my breath, though.

By the Book

For the first time in weeks, we’re getting a lot of rain. My plants are loving it, but the downpour has me in my head. I’m not ready for overcast skies to be my daily reality again this winter. I don’t even like summer all that much, really, but this sneak peek at grey grossness has me prematurely missing sunshine.

I went up to Dayton, OH to photograph some apartments for Rookwood. There really wasn’t anything out of the ordinary about them; pretty run-of-the-mill job, if I’m honest. Nothing to write home about. Felt kind of nice to have an easier day after the last two weeks of non-stop work. This is pretty much the only semi-interesting shot from the whole day.

Gear Foam

After adding the 70-200 Nikkor to my kit, I needed to reconfigure my work case. The new lens was too big to stand vertically and required an updated layout. The new lens, with its fixed f/2.8 aperture, replaces the older 24-200 I used to carry with me. For event work, a faster lens was essential.

The case now holds the following:

Nikon Z9, Nikon Zf with either 28mm or 40mm lens attached, speedlight, one spare battery for each camera and speed light, 70-200mm, 24-70mm, 14-30mm, 2Tb SSD, USB-C cable, optical trigger, and metal case with business and SD cards.

Absolutely Bored

I feel so bad for Myrtle. We’ve been on a walk, we’ve played ball a bit, and I’ve taken her to the coffee shop, but she’s so bored. She’s been by herself most of the week due to me having to work all day, and since Ashley’s been gone, she hasn’t received the same level of attention she’s used to.

Since I’m at my desk today doing retouch work for Marlene, she’s once again bored. I have to get all this work done, but I feel guilty constantly about not entertaining her the way I wish I could.

Absolutely Beat

Ashley’s been gone all week, I’ve been working 10-hour days at the studio, and now I have retouch work to do all weekend. No Oktoberfest Zinzinnati for me this year, sadly.

Took a photo of this door on the back of the Mohawk building after taking out the trash. Going to go home and try to relax a bit.

Wake Up

Every day I wake up, read the news, have a light panic attack about the direction our country is going, then try through gritted teeth and shot nerves to get on with my day. There’s really no other option. Either stay ill-informed and ignore this slide into fascism, or stay informed and feel ill. If you’re not upset and worried, you’re not paying enough attention.

I’ve been desperately trying to keep my shit together. But when I walk down the street and see an American flag proudly hung from a pole after a day of reading about everything, I can’t imagine being anything but contemptuous at this point. Being proud of this awful moment in time is repulsive. Showing support for it by flying a flag is sickening. I’ve never been less proud to live in the United States as I am now, and the bar was already subterranean.

Maybe we will one day look back on all this as just another chapter before forward progress again. Maybe this will all come to a head and we can come down from this ever-escalating high of violence and ignorance. People shooting each other, masked agents kidnapping people off the streets, sending weapons to further genocide overseas, and now talk of silencing those critical of the government should be sending shivers down everyone’s spine. Oh, I forgot, no one actually cares about any of that. Maybe we should talk about how the economy sucks, tourism has tanked, and everything costs more than it should despite false promises that it will all get cheaper.

Wake the fuck up, America.

Rediscovered Treasures

After a long 10-hour day in the studio, I went straight up to the Art Museum to photograph the soft opening of Rediscovered Treasures prior to its public debut. As part of the opening, performers danced in flowing garments to an intimate crowd in the P&G Gallery.

Break a Leg!

Permission was granted to take this BTS photo. The shelf backdrop I made for this week’s product shoot was erected on set, and I had a moment of pride seeing the work I did under studio lights.

UPDATE: The shelf shot ultimately got cut from the final roster of finished images. Hopefully it gets used in another shoot at a later time.

Cincinnati Preservation

A group photo of the Cincinnati Preservation staff at the John Hauck Mansion on Dayton Street in the West End.

Pumpkin Patching

Ashley wanted to do her annual porch pumpkin run. We’ve gone to Neltner and other farms in the past, but this year we got them from C.P. Reeves in Ludlow since we discovered that place earlier in the spring. They were shockingly cheap compared to pumpkins we’ve purchased in the past; I’m not sure why they were priced so low considering literally everything else in this country is more expensive now.

Renewing My Passport

I need to get my actual passport renewed. Until that happens, I’m working on this one.

Oktoberfest Covington

We ate at the revolving restaurant in Covington tonight. The food was actually better than I thought it would be. I don’t believe I’ve been in well over 10 years, and hadn’t been since childhood before that.

The gimmick of a rotating restaurant wasn’t lost on me. I find that kind of thing delightful and memorable, especially on a night like tonight when the weather was beautiful and we spun around during sunset.

Afterward, we wandered down to Covington’s Oktoberfest to check things out. I hadn’t been to Covington’s celebration in a long time, and I was surprised by how enjoyable the whole setup was. Streets were closed, loads of tents with various food, drink, and wares were sprinkled about the park and neighboring streets, booths with games sat illuminated at the edge of the woods (pictured), a band played on a stage, and shops along the celebration opened their doors for the evening.

Honestly, though, I think the most memorable thing to me was all the people posted up on their porches. There are many private residences that abut the festival with large porches ready to host parties, and nary a homeowner or renter in the area failed to do so. With dogs on their laps and cans of beer in hand, they appeared to soak up the vibe of Oktoberfest from the comfort of cushioned couches and sturdy railings as visitors like us looked upon their fortune with envy.

Passing Through

Working with Marlene this week and next week. It’s going to be a struggle to find stuff to photograph despite the fact that I’m literally in a studio all week.

If you’re new here, I don’t have as much opportunity to find subjects to photograph when I’m helping in her studio. Photography of the studio is largely prohibited (understandably), and since I’m there for 10 hours a day, I have less chance to snap something interesting. The task falls to the evening when I’m off work for the day and have time to do my own thing.

I snapped a photo of this corner while at a stop light. The colors on the building have long been attractive to me, and I finally caught in good light.

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