20/365

9/365 from the PhotogBlog

I thought for my second preview I'd take a slightly different approach.  My first preview image had a lot of drama. So much so, that many people asked me it was real.   (Yes. Yes! YES!  It was real. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die.)

And while I love to capture those BIG moments, I also love to catch those other very real moment, like this one. This is also very much Chris and Claire.

sneak preview | Claire + Chris | weddings

I was going to wait a little bit before posting a teaser from Claire and Chris' winter wedding, but I simply cannot keep this one to myself. (I showed it to half the guests on the back of my camera.)

When everything is right, magic happens. 

Sneak Preview | Claire + Chris | Pre-Wedding Henna Party

photographer caught in front of the lens

The day following Brian and Alicia's wedding I treated my assistant Johnny to lunch at  Young's Golden Jersey Inn, which just happens to be down the road from the Tecumseh Land Trust sunflower field. So I was able to talk him into shooting a few quick photos of me with my sweetie, Ken. Despite the rain, the fact that sunflowers were a bit past their prime, and  that I was SOOOOO tired from the day before, I think it turned out pretty well.

Thank you so much Johnny!

Aug 13

my homecoming

Every year my artist's cooperative puts on a one day art show, called Art On the Lawn. For me it's like homecoming weekend, and I usually come home with a pretty thing or two. This year I bought a one of these necklaces by Courtney Yoakum. Mine is the colorful, crooked one near the bottom right. :-)

trees

There's a lot of talk going on about the fate of these trees.  The Village wants to replace them as a part of a streetscape renovation. I've seen some of the discussion on-line but all I can think is the that the Lorax would disapprove.

Yellow Springs

My life the last few weeks has been extremely busy, and yes, for some reason I choose these crazy weeks to participate in the August Break.  For most participating in this, August is a break from words, and a time to just do simple posts. For me, I'm using it as motivation to just do the posts, without the pressure of putting words with them.   So I guess its less of a break and more of a kickstart. We'll see how it goes. (I've been trying this for a couple years now eventually, it'll stick right?)


Many of the photos I've posted recently were taken a couple of weeks ago when I found a couple of free hours to wander the streets of Yellow Springs, my favorite small town.  I visit here at least once a month to work in my artist's co-op, but rarely do I take the time to just be a visitor.  It was a great time to recharge my batteries a bit. I have a hard time describing what makes this town special.  Here's a great post by another blogger.   You can read her description and I'll just post the pictures. :)

Alicia + Brian

Another image from Alicia and Brian's engagement session in Yellow Springs. 

Aug 2

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls

I found this rather humorous.

8/1 my favorite tree.

August 14

Shameless plug

day dreaming.

If I were to move back to Ohio, this would be my dream home. Okay maybe not my fantasy dream home, but my reality dream home. No offense to my little house. I love it. It suits me, and most importantly, I can afford it. :-) That in mind, it doesn't hurt to dream a little? Does it?





I've always said that if I were to move back I'd want to live in Yellow Springs. Did you notice the claw foot tub and one-car detached garage? But honestly YS house, you had me at Darkroom!

So alas I'm sorry little house, you just aren't right for me right now. I have a my own little house that I love.

My Little House

(or as my dad calls it, The House in the South)

Yep, this is the house for me right now. We've been through so much together.

Crys' picks for Yellow Springs

This post is partly for my yoga instructor, Sharon. She's going to be coming up to YS for a yoga workshop and asked me for the skinny on things to do and see in town. Admittedly, I feel like I'm a visitor to the town even with all the time I spend there. Mostly this is because much of my time is dedicated to working at Village Artisans and not out exploring. That being said here's my list of favs.

#1 When you get close to Dayton tune the radio to 91.3 WYSO.  You know how I love my NPR. Well, I blame WYSO for this addiction.   Their programing is always eclectic. 

#2 Coffee. You have to love a town that has so many choices for a good cup of Joe. My personal favorite is Dino's Cappuccino's, especially if the daily brew is Highlander Grogg, Moonstruck Malzabar, or Jungle Love (Don't you love that name.) But the Emporium and the recently opened Brother Bear's can also hook you up with some great coffee too.

#3 Artsy shops. Time for shameless self-promotion here. Village Artisans is a must. I've been a member here for 10 years, and it is the oldest artist's cooperative in the Miami Valley. You'd be surprised at the tallent of the people in the area, and usually the person working in the shop is on the artists. Be sure to ask which art they do. I also love Yellow Springs Pottery (another co-op), Would You Could You In a Frame, and the Shirley-Jones Gallery.

#4 Other Artsy spots. The whole town is covered in art. You'll find loads of murals on the building. Then there are the Jafa Girls. These are the ladies responsible for decorating the park benches, the street signs, telephone poles and even trees about town with their colorful art.  Many of them are friends of mine and I love their creative energy. Then let us not forget about the Chamber Pot Gallery. The space is actually a public restroom, which can be hard to find in a town of this size, but here it is a Louvre in a Loo. Check it it. It's a lot of fun.

#5 More fun shops. There are too many to list here but check out the Chamber of Commerce site for a complete listing. My personal favorite is Mr. Fub's Party. Nothing like an old fashioned toy store to make you feel young again. I also love a good bookstore, and Sam & Eddie's Open Books is a fun place check out.

#6 Nature. Its everywhere. (I know it sounds cheesey.) Glen Helen is one of my favorite places, and sadly, I've not been there in years. I need to fix that. The Glen runs along the Eastern side of the town and has a variety of hot spots, including the town's namesake, the Yellow Spring. There is a trail map that is handy to help you find your way through the Glen. If that isn't enough there's also John Bryan State Park and Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve nearby.

#7 Food. Most of the time when I'm in town, my dining experiences are limited to things I can grab quickly and get back to the store. That's when Ha Ha Pizza saves the day. My favorite mushroom, artichoke, and black olive on whole wheat crust. YUM! I also enjoy the eggplant sub. There are plenty of other wonderful places to eat, but like I said I'm usually on the go and don't get to enjoy places like William's Eatery, The Winds or Current Cuisine.  

#8  Misc things.  There are other sites to see.  Saturday Mornings is the Farmer's Market in the parking log behind King's Yard off Walnut Street.  On weekends it isn't unusual to find musicians jamming on the street.  You can rent bikes or roller blades and hit the bike path. Just north of town there is the ever popular Young's Jersey Dairy. This started out as a working Jersey farm, and it still is, but it has grown to be an attraction in and of itself with hayrides, a petting farm and even a miniature golf course named Utters and Putters.   It's fun to go up feed the goats, say "hi" to the cows, and get some of the best homemade ice cream.  In the evening you can take in a movie at the Little Art Theatre.

So that is my little list of thing I like to do in Yellow Springs.  Writing this has made me long for a day when I have more time there myself.  I'd like to hang out and explore, and perhaps find some new favs to ad the list. 

I hope you get the chance to Explore Yellow Springs.

Can you pick my nose?

It's always fun when I'm working at Village Artisans and my friend, and fellow Artisan, Nancy, stops in. One visit she asked if she could ink my hand for a print, to brush up on her study of palmistry. I am completely intrigued by that sort of thing so I willingly agreed. The results were very interesting.

So last month she pops in and asks "Can I get you plastered?" Well actually she wanted to take a plaster impression of my nose. Again, I willingly obliged. I've done this sort of thing before for various art projects. It's not a big deal. Of course, any customers that came in during the process were curiously confused. Nancy explained that she and her JafaGirls were creating a "nose tree" to add to the collection of totems around town. So if you are wandering out the Village of Yellow Springs, be sure to look for the Nosy Tree. They have included photos of the nose owners. See if you can pick my nose.

Yellow Springs in the News

Things like this don't surprise me in Yellow Springs. Actually it is one of the reasons I love this town.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080310/ap_on_fe_st/odd_knitknot_tree;_ylt=Al32_ynvkGK_MHYuCP8bfDZ34T0D

Be sure to check out the link to Corrine's blog (Jafabrit) below.