I never win anything! Except… John Prine tickets in Ashland, Kentucky.

A FaceBook friend turned me on to a radio contest in Morehead, Kentucky to win tickets to the John Prine show in Ashland so I signed up thinking, “Here’s just another way of someone getting my contact information, to be used to fill my spam box for the next 10 years”. But no, I actually won. As I said, I never win anything like this so I was really excited. I mean, John Prine, and I won something.

So the debate started. Who should I take? My wife, who knows not one John Prine song? My son, who loves John Prine? My buddy Ken, who is such a fan he’s seen John Prine before most of us knew who John Prine was? Ken’s seen his share, Michael has had his share of free shows with dad, so once I made Betsy a “best of John Prine” CD and she thought it was “good”, the wife was the choice!

Unfortunately, since I was honest and asked about bringing in my camera, and turned down, you don’t get to see any shots of the actual show. But if you’ve been here before and read any of my posts, you know I shot images along the way. Since I’ve driven the AA highway dozens of times most of the shots are from right around and in Ashland. I really didn’t have a ton of shooting time but thought I’d share what I did end up shooting. Of course there’s a Mail Pouch Barn. But there’s also some shots of the Paramount Theater, the venue the show was at. The Paramount was an awesome theater that I would have loved to shoot interior shots of, but again, they wouldn’t allow me to take my “professional” camera in even though there were hundreds of people shooting during the show, with “amateur” cameras. There’s also a few shots of downtown Ashland as well.

Here’s the entire gallery. Enjoy!

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This post is dedicated to Brandon Pickering. Brandon was a resident of Fort Thomas and a 2008 Highlands High School grad. He was wounded when his unit was attacked with small arms fire and a rocket propelled grenade in Wardak province on April 8 in Afghanistan. Brandon passed away on Sunday, April 10 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

I have been to a few military services and as sad as they are, they are also a way to celebrate the fallen. This service for Brandon was surprisingly upbeat, which is not what I had expected but I’m sure was good for his friends and family attending. If you’ve ever been to a service for a fallen soldier you will recognize the Patriot Guard Riders in these photos. The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse group of riders from across the nation. They have one thing in common besides motorcycles. They have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for America’s freedom and security. If you share this respect, please join them!

I was asked by Brandon’s family to not publish photos my of his service, so I’ve only included exterior photos. Though only the Patriot Guard Riders are seen in the photographs, please keep Brandon in mind as you view them. And remember, the next time you see a soldier, seaman, airman, or any member of “your” military, thank them for their service….. it’s the very least you can do!

Here’s the entire gallery. Enjoy!

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I love contrast in a photograph. In this case, historical contrast. This was an awesome find! I saw this sign back in February from atop a parking garage in downtown Cincinnati. The weather was just not suitable for shooting but I took note to return at some point and shoot these two department store signs.

I’m not a big Macy’s shopper, but more of a “remember Shillitos” person. I have fond memories of my mom taking us down to Shillitos to view the Christmas windows, and have our picture taken with Santa Claus. That’s back when everyone traveled to downtown Cincinnati to take in all the holiday festivities. I don’t remember frequent trips to downtown, but I sure do remember those holiday trips! How about you? Although the dates do not match up, my memories have me in line with Ralphie from “A Christmas Story”.

How about you? Remember Shillitos, standing in line for Santa, taking in the windows downtown or Christmas on Fountain Square?

Here’s a few more of the Shillitos and Macy’s signs. Enjoy!

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I love old brick walls. Even better than an old brick wall showing it’s age with slight deterioration is an old brick wall with an old hand-painted sign on it. If you’ve browsed my galleries at all you’ve probably ran across some of my images capturing these old marks in advertising history. Every time I find a sign on an old brick wall I find myself wondering about it’s history. Who painted the sign, Is the company represented in the sign still in business, are there other signs hidden beneath the visible sign?

Today I ran into a sign (maybe best described as artwork) that may very well be the subject of a photographer wondering the same things in the future, I wonder today. Driving through downtown Cincinnati I ran into a sign being created right before my very eyes. Portuguese-born Alexandre Farto has been commissioned by BLDG, a Covington based studio, to create Cincinnati’s own original “Urban Structure” as Alexandre describes his art.

VHILS is the tag name of Portuguese graffiti/street artist Alexandre Farto (1987—) He gained prominence when his work of a face carved into a wall appeared alongside a picture by street artist Banksy at the Cans Festival in London in 2008. Not long ago, street artists were objects of scorn, stigmatized to the point of risking jail time in order to smear their messages in alleyways and on overpasses. Lately, however, with a growing public appreciation for all things graffiti, urban communication is no longer such a target of public disdain, but rather is increasingly being appreciated as high art.

Here’s the rest of the gallery. Enjoy.

BLDG will be hosting a release event Friday, April 15 from 7-11 PM. For additional information visit the BLDG website.

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Looking for something to do this Friday night? How about a walk along Fairfield Avenue in Bellevue, Kentucky? You’ll find a wide selection of shops at “First Friday” – a monthly event along the avenue. There’s a great selection of shops, galleries and cafes. Park your car and walk along the avenue and you’ll soon find yourself relaxing and forgetting the busy week you’ve just experienced. It’s a great way to start the weekend! And if it’s raining, don’t let that stop you because the friendly merchants even share their umbrellas!

Along the way you’ll find the Bellevue Bistro, a cozy little bistro located at 313 Fairfield. Although the “bb” is a great place to stop anytime, this Friday is special for me because I’ll be displaying some of my photography. The owners of the Bistro are kind enough to allow local artists to share their talents by decorating the walls with their work, and after a 6 month wait, it’s my turn.

I’d love to see you for this upcoming “First Friday”, but if you’re not able to make it you can stop by the Bistro anytime in the month of April to view a wide variety of photography I’ll have on display.

Hope to see you there!

313 Fairfield Ave. / Bellevue, KY / 859-581-5600

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If you’re out and about this Saturday stop by and visit BluegrassPhotography.Net at the Saint Catherine of Siena 2011 Arts & Crafts show in Fort Thomas.

This is the second year for this Catholic Order of Forrester’s event at St. Catherine. Like last year, there will be over 50 booths of arts & crafts. There will also be a bakery booth featuring my wife Betsy’s world famous Buckeyes! If you’re lucky enough to be on our “Special Christmas Gift” list you’d know the Buckeyes alone are worth the trip.

All money raised by booth rental, food, bakery booth, admission, the Foresters’ craft booth and split the pot will go into a scholarship fund. Last year there were 24 scholarships presented to kids in grades K-college age.

Thanks, and hope to see you at the show!

Saturday, March 19, 2011 – 9-2
St. Catherine of Siena Church
1803 N. Fort Thomas Ave.
Fort Thomas, KY 41075

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Spring is in the air! Or is that rain? No matter what time the beautiful spring days show up in Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Home & Garden show always appears at the end of February. And I always end up at the show to shoot.

This year I decided to shoot the show in a BIG way. I took my pano-head tripod and shot these 360˚ panoramics. I think the gardens are the best part of the show so that’s mainly what I shot. I did however shoot the Watson’s booth also. Watson’s is one of our clients at White Design Studio and this year we designed their booth. Watson’s went BIG this year with what I assume is the largest booth at the show, so I figured I’d go BIG with my photos.

Check out the interactive panoramics by clicking on the photos below. You may notice some lag at first but after the entire panoramic loads you’ll be able to smoothly glide through the 2011 Cincinnati Home & Garden Show.

Enjoy!

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I’ve been wanting to make a run to West Virginia for quite a while. If you’re a regular on my blog you read in my last post that I headed that way a few weeks back but missed it by a few counties. Finally I decided to go for it on the last Saturday in January. Whenever I go out on one of my photo trips I try my best think about the cost of gas and plan the trip accordingly. This was not one of those well thought out trips! The first three hours were spent driving out route 32, which I had done just the weekend before.

Although I planned this trip to shoot six Mail Pouch barns I had located, as usual I found some other great shots along the way. I ran across the scene above on this old dirt road I probably shouldn’t have been on to begin with. After all I drove through a creek to get to it. I also ran across the Bob Evans Farm in Rio Grande, Ohio. When I saw the sign along Route 32 I thought about a Bob Evans menu I had seen of the Bob Evans logo painted on the side of an old barn so I figured I’d drive the few miles off the main path to check it out. Unfortunately I was let down. Either the barn I had seen on the menu was somewhere else or Photoshop trickery.

Even though I’m glad I finally made my West Virginia trip and had some good captures I have a feeling the “Mountain State” is still on my short list for the next trip. I think it will end up a weekender.

Here’s the entire gallery. Enjoy!

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