My Best Friend is Prego

My best friend, Nikki, is pregnant and needless to say, I'm pretty excited about it. A couple weekends ago, I went home to Cleveland for a few reasons - one of which was to photography Nikki, upon her request. Even though I've never taken photos of this nature and Nikki has never posed for such photos before, we were both pleased with the results. We worked with the available light in her house and I created a makeshift "studio" environment in her basement (a.k.a. attached a 60-watt bulb to a pole and prayed it created the shadowing effects I wanted). Let me know what you think of the images. (And yes, I got Nikki's approval before publishing these photos on the worldwide web, for my 10s of followers to see.)

Nikki and her husband, John.

Around Cleveland, Part II

My ode to Cleveland continues today. There's always something new to discover in my hometown (and anywhere, for that matter) so I make it a point to explore somewhere I've never been every time I return home. Expect to see more Cleveland photos in the future...and in the meantime I hope you enjoy these!

Tremont. And this photo was taken from the porch of "A Christmas Story" house (go there!).

The Holden Arboretum

The Q - home of the Cavs 

Wendy Park at Whiskey Island 

Edgewater Park

 The Cleveland Museum of Art

View from my childhood bedroom.

Around Cleveland, Part I

Well, it's about damn time I post some photos of my hometown! While Cleveland tends to get a bad rap, it's a great town and I'm extremely proud of my roots. I encourage you to jam the track above while you check out the images. I've divided the photos into two posts so stay tuned for more tomorrow. Viva Cleveland!

 View from west side of the Cuyahoga River.

View from the infamous Cleveland Browns' Dawg Pound. Go Browns!

Squire's Castle in the Cleveland Metroparks.

 Outside of Squire's Castle. 

Gates Mills Bridge is strictly for walkers.

Chagrin Falls

 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Ohio City

Monster Jam

Note: When you are offered a free ticket in a suite to a ridiculous event such as the Monster Jam, I suggest that you throw on your Van Halen t-shirt, grab a case of Miller High Life, rent a limo with your friends, and GO. When else would such an opportunity present itself? It's not as if you're going to willingly purchase tickets to a monster truck rally, but if you're given a chance to discover a previously unknown world comprised of fumes, screeching engines, mullets, leather, tattoos, and mohawks, why not enter it? Sure, you'll probably get nauseous from the fumes, an eardrum might bust from the obnoxiously loud roaring of the engines, and you'll likely daydream of reporting all parents to Child Protective Services, but hell - when in Rome, right? Rock on, Monster Jammers.

What every child wants: a rainbow snow cone in a terrifying mug.

The intermission "light show."

Chicago Winter Solitude

On February 1st last year, this hit Chicago. Exactly a year later, I took a quiet, beautiful stroll along Lake Michigan with my dog, Linus. It truly was a perfect day. Birds chirped and the only other sound was the lapping waves. No complaints about this winter so far! Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed the walk.