Carnation City Mall of Alliance, Ohio

Built in 1983, just short of 40 years of operation, the Carnation City Mall’s days are numbered. The movie theater will have its last day of play on August 28th, and it will be only a matter of time until Alliance, Ohio’s Carnation City Mall is torn down. Only a few businesses remain to be relocated, with Dunham Sports taking the old JC Penny space.

As a beginning of my personal project titled Project Alliance, I spent some time there today taking images of the Mall and what’s left of it. I will be photographing the old city that I call home over the coming weeks and months, mostly in monochrome. There are so many nuggets in Alliance, and the City itself does have a story to tell, so hopefully I will be unwrapping that through my images.

First looks at Leica Q2 Images

Yesterday I traveled to Cedar Point, Ohio to visit and photograph the Field of Dreams, and all of the beautiful sunflowers in the field. Below are a some of my images taken. It really makes you think again using just a 28mm lens…. This was also the first time I’ve used the new camera!

Unboxing the Leica Q2

So today I received my new camera, the Leica Q2… here are images of the great unboxing! One would almost think the box was designed by Apple, it is so efficient!

No more weddings, I’m moving on…

After months of deep thought and reflection, I have decided to immediately cease operating my wedding photography business. I will honor the commitments that I currently have, but will not be accepting any new wedding jobs, neither now nor in the future.

So what’s next? Well, I’ve purchased a Leica Q2 and will be embarking on taking photos of the things that I love to shoot; landscapes, architecture and linear works, street and town. Eventually, as I rebuild my portfolio, I hope to begin selling my photography at local northeast Ohio craft fairs, and possibly entering competitions again.

Thank you to all of my clients, its been a wild ride. Please check back here for my new beginnings, and follow me on the next adventure! Blessings.

My favorite photo of the year...

This was captured at a small Gazebo wedding this past October, and is perhaps my favorite wedding photo of the year. The horse and carriage was there and, in exchange for taking a couple of pics, the owner-driver let us pose in the carriage for photos.

A Post-wedding Reception

Here are a few snippets of a post-wedding reception held at LockKeepers in Valley View. The happy couple had gotten married earlier in the year on the West Coast and came home to hold a reception.

A Gazebo Wedding in Berea

Here is a very small representation of photographs from a wedding at the Coe Lake Gazebo in Berea. It was rainy in the morning, but turned out to be a wonderful afternoon for a wedding. Gazebos and small weddings are so much fun!

A Winery Wedding

I got to photograph a small, fun wedding at the ThornCreek Winery in Aurora. It was a very casual and free event, the bride and groom were hip and loose, and it was a great time capturing their wedding. Public photos limited to the couple and select guests.

Portraits in Pennsylvania

I had the pleasure to photograph portraits of a lovely couple in Western Pennsylvania, at Raccoon Creek State Park, Frankfort Springs Falls. It was a beautiful site, with just enough light to make it interesting. We tried shooting some photos directly inside the gorge, but it was quite harsh with the light in one spot.

A beautiful Pennsylvania backyard Wedding

I had the blessing to photograph a very young couple get married in western Pennsylvania earlier this month, and got to photograph the beautiful bride throughout the day, from getting ready to eating cake. It was a beautiful day, and we were able to take posed after-ceremony shots at a local park, which was quite photogenic.