Tag Archives: Ohio

First Attempt at Capturing Cincinnati Skyline at Night

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Last night after giving the second part of my African presentation to my Travel Spirit Meetup group, I was driving home, took a wrong turn and ended up at the river.  I’ve been wanting to get some photographs of the Cincinnati skyline at night, so I took the opportunity and set up my tripod, while my car was still running, pulled over to the side of the road.  My settings were on F8, 6 secs., and 100 ISO.  I didn’t have my remote with me so I used the 2 second timer.  They’re not quite as clear as I’d like, although it’s a good first attempt.  It may have been because I still had my internal stabilizer switched on.

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I think it was a good reminder that we need to be flexible when we’re traveling through life when opportunities present themselves!

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Next, I want to take a bracketed or HDR photo with my Nikon!

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Using Husband as Model for Photo Shoot

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My husband graciously agreed to be my model for a quick photo shoot over the weekend.  I took about 15 photos and narrowed it down to these three.  It’s fun using Lightroom 5 for editing and the creativity involved…

This photo is my favorite.  I call it “Nanook”…

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Rhinegeist Brewery Prohibition Party

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Accompanied by my husband, filling the roles of Chauffeur, security, and assistant, we drove 45 minutes from our home in Goshen, Ohio, last night..during a snow storm, to the Rhinegeist Brewery in Over the Rhine, Cincinnati for their annual Prohibition Party.  This was my third assignment for iSPYCINCY and my mission was to take between 40-50 total photographs to include..event attendees (including their names), some candid shots, and shots to show the event atmosphere.  In the course of 1 1/2 hours I was able to take a lot of photographs and narrowed it down to just over 60 to send to the editor.  The challenging aspect of this assignment was trying to hear people (while the band played) as they spelled their names for me.  For some of them, I just let them write their own names.

Here are a few of my favorites.  The young lady on the right is just glowing…

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Once I was home and looking through the photographs, I felt like I was back in the roaring twenties!

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Mallory’s Senior Photos

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Today was so much fun because I spent the day taking photographs all over Cincinnati of a bright and beautiful young woman named Mallory for her senior photos!  We started off at Findlay Market (the oldest Farmer’s Market in Ohio), followed by Union Terminal, and ended at Fountain Square in Downtown Cincinnati!

This cool shot is at Findlay Market with fresh fruits and vegies in the background.  I just bought a new lens, a 50mm F1.8, and love how it blurs the background!

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This was her first time visiting Findlay Market and now she can’t wait to go back when she has more time to explore.  She’s the daughter of a friend, so I picked her up at her house and drove Downtown.  We listened to my I-Pod, which had a lot of songs on it that she loves.  I guess that means I’m cool!

Her first outfit was this very bohemian, hippy flash-back style, which I love!

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At Union Terminal I used my external flash for some of the shots…

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A Few Iconic Landmarks in Cincinnati

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Cincinnati’s Music Hall has quite the history!  Completed in 1878, its reputation as one of America’s most haunted buildings comes as no surprise to many, given that it was built on top of a pauper’s cemetery.  I’m intrigued now and would love to take a tour in the middle of the night!

When I took the photograph on Saturday, it was quite cold and I’m sure I appeared a little crazy lying on the ground trying to capture the look I wanted…

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Cincinnati Music Hall is located in an area of Cincinnati called Over the Rhine and across the street you’ll find these beautiful Italianate Architecture style homes…

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First Assignment for I Spy Cincy…Taking Photos of Iconic Cincinnati Landmarks

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I’m so happy to tell you I’m now officially a part-time freelance photographer for an online magazine called “I Spy Cincy”!  My first assignment was to go out and take photographs of iconic Cincinnati landmarks in the snow.  One of my stops was the beautiful Eden Park, which is near downtown Cincinnati.  Just before arriving, I spotted this beautiful tree, parked my car on the road and snapped a shot.

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Revitalization of Over the Rhine and Ohio’s Oldest Farmer’s Market, Findlay Market

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I’ve posted photographs of an area in Cincinnati called Over-the-Rhine in the past, but I was in the area on Saturday again (before the snow hit yesterday) for a pole dancing class that you can read about here, and wanted to go to a wonderful farmer’s market called Findlay Market before my class.  Here’s a photo of a small portion of the outside area…

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A Vision of White

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I awoke this morning to a vision of white all around me…glorious snow!  My kitty Katie was even in awe!

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The kind of snow that clings to every branch and creates a magical world of silence, surrounding you with nature’s calm beauty.

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Traipsing outside in my house slippers, with my camera and tripod, Katie followed me everywhere I went.  My husband nicknamed me Doctor Doolittle because our dog and kitty follow me everywhere.

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“When snow falls, nature listens.”  ~Antoinette van Kleeff

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“Snow flakes are kisses from heaven.”  ~Author Unknown

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Pole Dancing Isn’t Just for Strippers

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I think most Americans view Pole Dancing as a somewhat “naughty” and “sexual” form of exercise.  After taking my first Intro to Pole Dancing class yesterday, I have to say it’s a good way to gain upper body strength and learn to be comfortable with your inner seductress.  I learned all types of filler moves…the tic toc, the snake, and others I can’t remember the names of; along with a couple of simple spins, the “fireman” and a variation of it where you point one of your legs, instead of having it against the pole.

As you can see from this photo one of the instructors/owner took of me after class, I’m not looking real “sexy” yet!  I think it’s because of the shoes.  You can see one of the teachers in the back mirror with stilettos on.  Of the four women in the room, I was the only one without high heels on.  Perhaps for the next class!

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You’re never too old to try new things!

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Krohn Conservatory Christmas Display

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The Krohn Conservatory Christmas Display in Cincinnati, Ohio is simply beautiful!  As I watched small children running from display to display, I felt like one of them, excited every time I took a photograph.  I almost tripped a few of them as I was running from spot to spot!  Poinsettias were everywhere!

Here’s the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge that spans the Ohio River from Cincinnati to Covington, Kentucky.  Mr. Roebling also designed the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City!

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The colorful and intoxicating display of flowers and plants was almost overwhelming!

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The cute trains chugging along, high and low, brought back memories of a Christmas long ago…

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Legendary Lights of Clifton Mill

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Last night my husband and I drove an hour North to see the Legendary Lights of Clifton Mill in Clifton, Ohio.  I was excited to test out my new photography skills, since I’ve taken a few classes, and am now shooting only in Manual mode and RAW format.  And because I now have a remote shutter release for night-time shots.  The 50 degree temperatures and weekday night made it the perfect time to go.  We didn’t freeze and weren’t squeezed by too many people!  We arrived at 5:30pm and there were already a few photographers set up even though the lights don’t come on until 6:00pm.  As we munched on some popcorn, since we didn’t have dinner, I talked with the other photographers a bit.  An announcer came on a loud-speaker two minutes before the lights came on to notify us and once they did, I heard a collective “Ahh”.  As you can see, they’re spectacular!

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While we were waiting, one of the other photographers took our photograph for us…

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First Snow of the Season

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The first snow of the season is always exciting…even if it’s only an inch of snow.  After the sun came up, I was outside in my house slippers to capture a bit of the magic!

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It seems odd for green or red bushes and trees to be covered with snow…

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Sunset from the Carew Tower

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Experiencing the sunset from the Carew Tower in Cincinnati, Ohio is a must-do if you ever visit or especially if you live here.  I like being a “Tourist in my City” and take advantage of things to do in my own hometown!  One of the camera club meetups that I belong to hosted an event at the top of the Carew Tower last night.  From the time construction was completed in 1930 and up until 2010, the Carew Tower was the tallest building in Cincinnati and at a cost of $33 million, a very expensive one also!  I arrived early to take some photos of Fountain Square and the Art deco inside the Carew Tower.  I’m learning a lot in my weekly camera class and would have stayed longer to practice taking some additional night shots, but it got really cold.

Using my Nikon D5100, in manual mode I set my aperture at 8 and metered for my shutter speed away from the sun.  With my camera on a tripod, I had my ISO set at 100 and white balance on Cloudy.  A couple of the attendees said the color is more vibrant if it’s set on Cloudy.  I had forgotten and left the image stabilization on which can cause photos to not be as clear if they are on a tripod.  Luckily, one of the members reminded me, so I was able to get a few more photos with it off.  I don’t have a remote trigger yet, so I used the self-timer for some of the shots.

My photos are shown backwards…from the end of the evening to the beginning.  The Ohio River is meandering down below…

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Unexpected Treasures at Sunrise

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Before heading out to jog the other morning, I wanted to capture some sunrise photographs.  I drove a few minutes along the country roads, found a place to pull off and began shooting the sunrise.  I had a similar experience the day before trying to shoot the sunset.  None of the photographs turned out…but I loved these looking the opposite way from the sunrise of someone’s fence and small pond.  The fence reflection is pretty cool!  And the pink sky is lovely.

Perhaps this can be a metaphor for life…if the direction you’re heading in isn’t working out…try a different way.

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High School Graduation Photo Shoot

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High School Graduation photo shoots are a much-anticipated event for seniors across the United States!  I was excited when my second cousin…Maddie asked me to be her photographer!  As you can see, she’s a beautiful young lady!  She’s intelligent, athletic, and knows what she likes.  After taking photographs Tuesday evening, we arranged for her to come by my house on Wednesday and look through the 300 photographs and decide which were her favorites.  She brought her friend Ellie along, who is also beautiful, bright and a delight to be around!  Ellie recently had her photos taken by a photographer and spent over 10 times the amount Maddie is spending with me and didn’t like a couple of them very well.  She feels that if she had been able to look through the photographs and pick out the ones that she liked her expression in, she would have been more pleased.  Sometimes, just a subtle difference in the shape of the mouth, the look in the eyes, or the angle of the body can change their feeling of the photograph.  I think Maddie really enjoyed being able to have a bigger role in picking out the photographs.  As a bonus…we were able to spend some quality time together…I made dinner…they shot guns for the first time with my husband at our backyard shooting range and even took a tractor ride!

I liked all of the photos, but she had some favorites that weren’t mine and vice versa.  This one we both liked…

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