One of the photos that I posted in the first few days of this project was the bridge in the flats/ Although I liked the photo, I thought I could have taken a better picture.
While on my photo taking adventures this weekend, I had the opportunity to do just that. I think this photo came out much better and the great blue sky behind the bridge doesn't hurt either.
On the East Bank of the Cuyahoga River, there is a 12-foot high stone Celtic cross. It is tucked away under a bridge, but it serves as a memorial to the Great Irish Famine. It serves as a reminder of a grim period of time in Irish history when the population of Ireland was reduced by 20 to 25 percent.
The famine led to the exile of the Irish as emigrants to America or criminals transported to Australia. For Cleveland, it meant the foundation of Irish immigrants who moved to this area and lived on the banks of the Cuyahoga. The area became known as Irish Bend.
Yesterday, I posted some photos of the Monroe Cemetery Gate in Ohio City. Although the weather was turning a big cold, I decided to explore the cemetery. There are a lot of beautiful graves, but I felt a bit morbid about photographing them.
I did notice this sign on the main building that stated the hours for the cemetery office. I love the simplicity of the sign and the weather beaten look of it. Personally, I don't think anyone probably is there for entire office hours, but I would love to believe someone is looking out for the residents of the cemetery.
The weather today was cold, but sunny. I thought this was a nice picture of the skyline.
It was just an added treat to be able to shoot the photo with some sunshine and a lovely blue sky.
This spring I was looking for houses in Tremont and Ohio City. While doing a series of drive by viewings of listed homes, I had passed the Monroe Street Cemetery. It is a grave yard founded in 1819. The thing that intrigued me was the gate of the cemetery.
Although there are a lot of older cemeteries in the city, this one still has its original gate.
Since I took this picture in the winter, the gate seems even more bleak because of the dead trees and the fallen leaves on the entrance road.
Today, my friend Lara and I met up for the first time in over a year. Before we headed to lunch we had to go to the Pittsburgh airport to get her luggage that didn't make it from Atlanta the previous day.
As we were waiting for the luggage, I had noticed a group of soldiers picking up their bags from the carousel. As we walked out of the airport, his family met him and was walking in front of us.
He reached down and grabbed his son's hand. I was overwhelmed by a sense of pride and joy. Proud of a man who defends this nation's freedom and joy that he was home in time to be with his family for Christmas.
As much as I wanted to stop him and thank him for all that he had done and his service to the United States, I thought it was more important for him to enjoy seeing his son. I snapped a quick picture with my phone to remember the moment - and what the holiday is about - rejoicing in being with the ones you love and that know you best.
Merry Christmas!
I have started to feel the buzz in the air. I feel like Christmas has finally arrived. The Christmas trees and the lights.
Now all the little kids are waiting for the big man to arrive.
A few weekends ago one our Wine tour, Santa made a quick stop and Jess was able to get a quick picture before Santa snuck out the door.
This snowman represents a family tradition. I had rescued him from disposal at the hands of my mother. I dug him out of the attic one year and put him out on the porch. (there might have been a few cocktails involved in that adventure.)
Now the Snowman is greeting everyone in Tremont. I have inherited the snowman from my parents, and he has taken a place of honor on my porch. It is almost like it isn't Christmas if he isn't greeting me at the door.
NOTE: My father sent me an email reminded me that he is an AWARD-winning. Yes, it is true. The snowman pulled in a blue ribbon on more than one occasion.
I had an early start to my day today and had to meet a co-worker in Shaker Square at 7am. I had taken the RTA there, and when I got off, I was greeted by the holiday lights that were on in Shaker Square.
Luckily, I had my camera and was able to shoot a picture that showed off of the lights since it was still dark out at 7am.
This weekend, I headed to Lake County to cut down a Christmas tree. Since I have a bad history of my trees falling over when they are decorated, I have a process now where I stand up the tree and leave it for a day.
If the tree is still standing the next evening, I weight the stand and then put on the lights and decorations.
This year, I put on only about two thirds of the ornaments I usually put on the tree. I am hoping the tree makes it through the holiday season without taking a dive onto the floor. You might want to follow my on twitter to see how it goes.
During COSE's annual party, the Higbee Building was transformed into a place where you could do some holiday shopping, get a malted and see Mr. Jingeling.
Mr. Jingeling, the official "Keeper of the Keys" as appointed by Santa Claus himself is celebrating over 50 years of bringing holiday magic to Cleveland. It definitely helped get me in the Christmas spirir.
Since COSE and the Greater Cleveland Partnership have moved into the Higbee building, the group has started decorating the building and lobby for the holidays. I was at a meeting there on Wednesday and loved the decorations.
It might be office space now, but I could still feel the charm of the old department store that was a Cleveland holiday tradition for decades. Looking out the windows onto a lit public square definitely put me in the holiday spirit.
The wine tour on Saturday stopped at South River Vineyard. The tasting rooms are located in an old church. There is something really cool about sitting inside drinking a few glasses of wine.
With the incredible snow, the building looked so picturesque. You can see the group I was with starting to assemble outside of the door to take a group photo.
While I was on a wine tour in Madison, OH, we visited Laurello Winery. We had the good fortune to meet Larry Laurello, the owner of the vineyard. He took us on a tour of his bus that he uses to tailgate at Cleveland Browns games.
Tom was tring out the setup inside the bus. Notice the floor - it looks like a football field. It was unbelievable.
Ok - this photo is horrible. However, it is hard to take a cell phone picture when you are driving at night on an interstate. Yes, that was stupid, but I had to get a picture of this guy.
The site of a mattress bent in half and virtually flying off of a car is hysterical. When you notice it because they guy is passing you in the right lane, it is a wild mixture of humor and fear.
Needless to say, this probably wasn't the best thought out way to move a set of twin mattresses. I am just thankful he wasn't moving a queen bed.
If you have been following my blog, you might ask yourself - Does Young Adam do anything other than try to get into my blog?
Well, he does work, but I think he might work harder to get into my blog. It is hard to not to include his antics because they make for good photos.
This photo was taken at the Web Association Holiday Party. One of the local vendors was handing out these lime green stress balls, and Adam definitely made the most of them.
In order to make the most of the holiday season, some friends and I decided to get together to watch a Christmas movie and drink some Great Lakes Christmas Ale.
Yes, the movie was good, but the Christmas Ale totally rocked. Nothing makes me get more into the holiday season then having a good time and hiding out from the cold Cleveland weather.
I took this photo with just the ambient light in the room and no flash. Of course Young Adam moved a little bit and is out of focus, but he tried his best to stay still.
As I was driving to work this morning, I noticed a massive amount of birds flying over the Cuyahoga River. I pulled the car over and grabbed my camera. The birds were following one of the barges that transports materials up and down the Cuyahoga.
You might need to click on the picture to see the detail.
I didn't think the picture did it justice because you can't see much because of the distance, so I did a 12 second TV video of it (see below).
It is that time of year. Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas holiday season is offically started for me. Regardless of what Walmart does in October, I don't decorate for the Christmas until the Turkey day is over.
It was nice to come into the office and see the decorations. That means I have to get my decorations out for my desk and the snowman out on the front porch!
While most Clevelanders were headed for the Muni Lot or hunkering down at their favorite bar to watch the Browns play, I headed over to Gordon Square to see Cleveland Public Theater's Santaland Diaries.
Not only was I treated to a great dose of holiday sarcasm, but I was also able to get a Great Lakes Brewing Christmas Ale. Since Thanksgiving was so late in November, it got me into the Christmas spirit.
Can't wait to decorate the house!
It is harder than you think to be cool in Cleveland. There is a lot of competition out there, and sometimes it gets ugly.
On Friday night, Young Adam and Tom were squaring off to see who is the most cool. Sometimes the world of popularity gets ugly.
One good thing about this picture, I discovered that my camera had a High ISO setting so I could take better photos in the dark.
It hasn't been long since Young Adam was no the blog, but I thought this photo merited another post.
At least when we were out on Friday night, he didn't feel the need to play an air guitar. Although he did have onlookers, it wasn't the same as his first rock out.
They are back. The coffee cops are back on the sidewalk. Ironically, there was a huge group of people hovering around the front door of the building have a post-lunch smoke.
I don't know how smokers can stand the cold.
As I was driving to work this morning, the street in front of me really caught my eye. It was the counterpart to the pink sky that we had the other morning.
I didn't bother to look at the preview of the photo. When I pulled it up online, I realized the street was bathed in a lovely blue hue.
Although I could 'correct' the light with photoshop, I decided to leave the photo untouched because it was so striking. It seemed to feel like the ethereal state of haze that I am in when I am on the way to work in the morning.
The light in Cleveland this morning was almost mystical. There was a pink sky over St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Church that looked like it was painted there.
I ended up snapping this photo with my camera phone because the battery on my other camera was dead. Unfortunate timing given the beautiful scene. However, I was grateful to get any aspect of it on film.
While I was watching Extreme Makeover Home edition, they showed the Disney Epcot globe while the family was on vacation. I reminded me that I had not posted my photo from last week of the globe. I thought the whole park was in the globe. Little did I know about Epcot.
I can't believe it was a week ago that I was there in the sun, and it was snowing in Cleveland today.
While on a recent work trip to Orlando, I was fortunate enough to squeeze in a visit to Disney Epcot before the conference started.
I had posted an image of the Terracotta Army a few days ago, but I really loved this image of the lake at Epcot at sundown. The lights for the China section of the park really make the the reflection on the water look lovely.
Nothing better than seeing pink clouds at sunset when you know your co-workers are brushing snow off of their cars.
It is tough looking like Jude Law. When you are trying to enjoy a nice lunch in the sunshine with friends, you have to do something to try to stay off of the radar. Right?
Well, maybe that wasn't it. Maybe Young Adam just forgot his sunglasses and had to borrow mine. They look a little bit Elton John, but he can definitely pull of the retro look.
I am in Orlando for a Health Care Marketing Conference. I arrived a day before the conference and had some time to visit Disney Epcot. As part of the China exhibit, they had a replica of the Terracotta Army, also known as Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang the First Emperor of China.
The figures were discovered in 1974 and the current estimate of the total number of statues is around 8,000.
It is believed that the Emporer had the army of statues built to protect him in his final resting place.
He's back. Yes, Young Adam strikes again. While we were having a drink of wine the other night, he and Tom were being a bit silly.
OK, I decided to toast everyone for absolutely no reason other than we were all hanging out in Tremont and done with work for the day.
I guess they decided to take the silliness a bit further. I was lucky enough to get my cell phone out to capture the moment.
While my friends and I were out in Tremont, Tom noticed this bike outside of Edison's pub.
It is true that Edison once filmed his friend doing bike tricks.
Granted, I didn't have any video and my friend didn't pedal anywhere, but it was still a great moment.
While I was coming back from a client meeting, my co-worker and I were enjoying an unseasonably sunny day in Cleveland. It is November and in the 60s.
Given the great weather, it was funny to see a crew of men loading snowflake decorations into a van in Downtown Cleveland. That means people are getting set up for the holiday season.
I always thought it would be strange to live somewhere it didn't get cold during Christmas - I think I just realized I would be weirded out by that.
Does that mean I am looking forward to the snow - heck no. I would take the warm weather all the way through Thanksgiving!
It was one of those days. Good days. It seemed that there were so many photo opportunities in the few blocks that surround my house.
I came across a front yard decorating in celebration of the Obama victory, I noticed a ton of new sign guy signs (to come later) and I noticed this odd little farm stand outside of one the houses.
The house didn't look like it had a big yard for a small garden, but the owner might be part of one of the many community gardens throughout the city.
The morning after an historic presidential election, I was walking to work through Tremont on my way to work and encountered this front yard.
Although I have seen tons of Obama signs throughout the neighborhood, this was definitely the most enthusiastic display for the new President elect.
Although it is hard to see the details of the sign, the maker of the sign incorporated a gay pride rainbow in the Obama logo - quite clever actually. He used a roll of stickers to wrap around the tree, and was lucky enough to have good weather.
As I mentioned before, I voted in Tremont today. I also got the badge of honor, the voting sticker.
Of course, I can get free stuff today if I wear it around. Heck, I planned on wearing it anyway, so bring on the free Starbucks.
I voted!
I headed out of my door at 6:32 a.m. and headed to my local polling station. When I got there at 6:35, this line was already formed out of the door.
Yes, the polling station was an organizational disaster and the scanner machines broke, but I got to vote. I now need to trust that my ballots make it to the right place and get counted.
The funniest part was the some of the early voters stole the black pens that were attached to the voting stations. I guess that is what happens when you vote in an urban neighborhood.
While I was at lunch with Young Adam today, we were walking past the Hard Rock Cafe when I spied this poster.
Yes, it is a cool poster. Howevever, it was even more relevant because my nickname is the Rock . . or sometimes just Rock.
See the humor in the situation. I knew you did. I might just have to go back and try to procure the sign for my office door.
This morning, I was talking with a co-worker from Adcom, our traditional, sister agency to Optiem.
When I ventured into her office, I noticed this sign. Of course, I recognized it as a Sign Guy sign. I have posted a few of his works from around Tremont before - and some other graffiti artists.
Ironically, I saw him hanging a new sign a few weeks ago and really wanted to take a picture of it, but I was driving in my car and thought it might be nice for him to remain anonymous.
After spending a lot of time getting his costume together, Mazz is freaking out when part of it fell off and broke on the floor.
It has been awhile since he has made an appearance - he hasn't rocked the blog since March.
My company and our sister company are having a Halloween party today. Some of the costumes are great and I am going to be posting a few photographs. I totally laughed when I saw this costume.
While I was at a meeting with a client located in the Terminal Tower, I snapped this photo out the window of their Lake Erie view.
They offices are on the 29th floor, so it is a pretty amazing view of the city and the lake.
Now that we are getting deeper into Fall in Cleveland, there is less and less daylight for my treks to work. It means that the light given off by the street lights on the way to work are even more valuable to me.
I was actually reminded of the second photo I took for this endeavor of Lincoln Park. That was taken in early January with very little light and a lot of snow.
Today, I had the good fortune to see one of the city workers installing new bulbs in the street lights along my route. He was on his way down as I was passing by him, but I managed to snap a quick shot.
I also gave him a way of thanks - for the picture and the light.
A few weeks ago, I posted a photo of the Old Stone Church in Cleveland's Public Square. This photo is of some of the metal scroll work that is outside of the main entrance to the church.
Although I am sure this work is contemporary in comparison with the church, I like how there are still some great details in this piece and keep in the spirit of the church.
One of the things I really like about Tremont and Cleveland is the neighborhood pub. I was lucky when I lived in Alexandria, VA that I had a local pub, but in suburban America, there are a lot of places that are so lucky.
One of the things I love about Ireland is that most communities use the pub as a gathering place. It is not just a place to grab a drink, it is a community center where you can find out about what is happening around the neighborhood.
The Lincoln Park Pub is such a place for me. Even the fact the my ex-boyfriend still goes there has not driven me away. There is always someone who knows you, you can catch up on the latest gossip and find out what is happening.
On the way back from a meeting yesterday, I noticed this very prominent reflection of the Terminal Tower in the building across the street.
Over the years, I have done a few studies of reflective photography and even have a few photos of Skyline reflections posted on the blog.
Since the day was pretty overcast, the background isn't that great, but the building still stands out a lot.
As most of you who read this blog know, I have been walking to work. As the days get shorter, I occasionally get a ride home when I am leaving the office when it is dark.
On this particular day, my friend, Young Adam volunteered to give me a lift. Yes, we did stop at the Map Room for a quick draft. However, on this evening, I convinced Young Adam to stop at the Tremont Tap House so we could finish our conversation about how he calculates if he wants to date a girl. We had moved beyond the basic scale of 1 - 10 to Love Calculus and this photo captures the beginning of a 6 step process for evaluation. Of course - Step 2 is really an average of 3 steps, so you can see it is very complex - as love can be.
Ironically, the girls we both simultaneously rated were not nearly as high scoring as we thought they would be when we started. I guess in relationships, sometimes a person you thought was great - isn't all that!
After watching Penn State dismantal Wisconsin this weekend on the football field, it got me thinking about all the good times I had at Penn State football games.
Even more importantly, it got me thinking about the times I had before the football games as an alumni. The last two times that I went to Penn State for a football game, I met my brothers and siste (also alumni) at the Skeller. It is a bar in State College where the beer is cold, the tradition is deep and the stories are bountiful. It is alwasy good to meet up there for a few Rolling Rock.
Rumor has it, they do not serve cases of Pony Bottles any more, but luckily, I captured the tradition on film. I also managed to capture the tradition of protecting your beer from someone tapping it and then having to chug it.
We are . . .
I have taken photos of the Cleveland Skyline during my walks to work in the morning. Since I drove today, I got a bit of a different perspective on my walk from the parking lot to the office.
The day is a bit foggy this morning and the light on the buildings was just wonderful, so I stopped and snapped a photo.
Although I generally walk to work, I decided to drive today because of the threat of rain. I enjoy a good walk, but not a wet one when I have to be at work all day.
At any rate, it was a little before 8am and I found some traffic on my way over the Carter Avenue Bridge. It seems like there is a lot more traffic since the closing of lanes due to the issues with the Inner Belt Bridge
At any rate, it gave me an opportunity to snap a picture and get the little office that is on the bridge with their TV cameras. I always think it would be an interesting job to be a man in the box, raising and lowering the bridge and watching the traffic go by. Boring, but interesting.
