What is a series of Rubber Duck Photo-Documentary without shots of them doing what they're made to do- Taking Baths! This was a really fun shoot for me and the Troupe and I hope you enjoy it too! The Troupe hanging out in the bath waiting checking out the soap after its been used. Same shot just another angle, what I like it that the lighting is slightly different and shows some of the hurdles I was dealing with in getting the light to work just right. I'm happy with the results over all. Just another shot of the ducks and the soap. Time for the close up just before its time to get out of their oh so enjoyable bath.

Man does it seem to get busy in the fall! While I haven't been posting much in the last month I have been doing a lot of shooting especially with the ducks here. Hopefully I can do some catching up and start to post all of them. As for this photo above. . . After a long day of rearranging and reorganizing the study and the living room I came across the troupe sitting here in front of a few books written by two of my favorite authors. This caught my eye. So I got out all of the lighting equipment (at 2 in the morning) and started to take some pictures. Tabitha eventually came in and asked what I was doing and when I told her she shook her head and said something about me being nuts. But hey, you have to take it- Inspiration- when you get it . . . right?

The weather has been so nice the last week, it reminded me of a ride that a friend and I took last year around this time. Like I said the weather was beautiful, we rode around the downtown area, where we found some interesting places to take some pictures. I'm not sure if we were supposed to be trekking through these places but it was still cool to explore. Here are a few of the photos from that day. Situated near the railroad tracks that run north from downtown sat this silo that --by the looks of it houses a few homeless people from time to time. I feel this is appropriate for today, being Blog Action Day focusing on Poverty. I don't really know how my photo's or blog can help the homeless in our city and world but I want to at least try. So this is me urging you, as well as myself, to find ways to help those around you that are less fortunate. The next two shots are from this same location. An old fuse box that tell of the age of this silo. These was a lot of beautiful...

I had another post ready for today but have decided to postpone it in order to present a photo of my favorite beverage . . . Ale81! This is a beverage that is only made in Kentucky. Only lately has it become available outside of Kentucky, but still nowhere near Columbus, Ohio . . . until recently. Tabitha and I were in the grocery the other day picking up the essentials and we walked through the soda isle (this is rare because we don't drink or buy soda) and sitting gloriously stacked on a shelf in front of us was Ale81. I was so excited I almost dropped the basket full of groceries! (We bought two six packs.) What does Ale81 taste like? Heaven.

Alright, this is the last one of the troupe on the plain white back ground, at least for now. It's time to get them out into the world around them. This is them discussing where they would like to go next. . . Hint: where do all Rubber Ducks like to spend their time ?

I was toying around with some new lighting configurations the other day in my studio (spare bedroom). Naturally, I had the Ducks stand in for me. I like what I got and am sharing it with you. . ."You" being the supposed millions of people out there anxiously awaiting glamour shots of Rubber Ducks to magically appear online.

I had so much fun shooting Speed Duck a few weeks ago that I thought I'd give the ducks another go. I remember that when I was painting I had a thing for painting Rubber Ducks. I found these stored away with some of my old painting supplies. Different medium, same obsession. Oh well. . . I think its safe to say that we'll be seeing a lot more of this Little Yellow Troupe.

Somethings are worth holding onto. This tiny perfume bottle belonged to my great grandmother. Its very old and very unique. My mother has had it for as long as I remember. Its one of those antique things that's become out of fashion in our modern world, i.e. perfume bottles, cigarette cases, time pieces. Now everything is new and disposable. . .overly manufactured and defiantly lower quality. I guess that I find it interesting that we hold onto small collectible things throughout our lives, but at the same time we are so wasteful with so many everyday things. How much waste would we eliminate if we still reused things like this perfume bottle, or even our shopping bags? Its just something that's been on my mind. . .and maybe it should be on yours too.

I know that Cats and Rainbows and Flowers are a "no-no" when it comes to photographic standards, but I just don’t care. Why is it that people--and by people I mean “serious” photographers--think that for a photograph to be meaningful it has to depict conflict, tragedy or something altogether artsy and serious. I feel that good photos are good photos and that if I happen to be at my in-laws' house and they happen to have an extremely beautiful and expressive cat than I should by all means take pictures of it. That’s the case with this batch of images. Mock me if you want, but I stand by my belief and in doing so, I throw my hat in with Tony Mendoza. On another note, if you like what you see -- cats, rubber roosters, ducks and the occasional documented story-- you should subscribe to my blog, or at least leave me comments on what you see. Let me know what you think of the Images, or the Writing, or even me as a Person. It just helps me, as an artist, to get feed...

I was able to acquire a new lens a few weeks ago - a Sigma 20-70mm f/2.8 macro - and I couldn't wait to try it out. I love the close-ups I can get with its very short focusing distance. Anyway, here are a few pictures that I was able to get while visiting my parents' house. Nothing fancy and no bigger idea to go along with these images. I just like them and wanted to share. Remember those helicopters that fall off the trees in the fall? (They fall from Big-Leaf Maple trees) Well my parents have these clogging their gutters all year round. I just pointed my camera in their general direction and took about twenty shots. I like this one the best. I think this is such a cool image. I don't think I'll tell you what it is. Better to leave the mystery to some things. Right? Just an extremely close shot of an Aloe plant. There are a lot of Aloe plants at my parents place and I've always like to take pictures of them. I've also always liked to break off sections and s...

Everyone knows the rubber duck, the favorite bath toy of your youth. I found this at a good friend's house a few weeks ago (sorry for the ridiculously long blogging hiatus). They call it Speed Duck, they found it at some shoppe that sells a large variety of custom made rubber ducks. . . Awesome! He -my friend- is into racing and keeps this with him when he rallies (that's a type of race where a bunch of people in cars race around the woods and other such places and try not to wreck). Yeah, I don't really get it either. This is his good luck charm, which I guess works because he hasn't wrecked yet.

Tabitha, my wife, is amazing! She's a great support to me in all of the things that I do in life. Recently, she had her thirtieth birthday, so I wanted to let everyone know how wonderful she is and just how much I love her! See, I told you she is beautiful . . . And Silly . . . And Fierce . . . She makes me Laugh . . . Tabby is my Homeboy!

I was working the other morning in the produce section putting away some apples, when I noticed the major difference between some of the apples that are organic and others that are non-organic. Both of the apples are Gala apples but they look nothing alike. The apple sitting on the left is organic,while the right one is non-organic. I'd be inclined to say that the non-organic apple looks more like a Red Delicious than a Gala. Anyway, I thought they both looked nice and I'd like to practice food photography a little more-- this seemed like a good starting point.

My Mother-in-Law Heidi has this thing for Noah’s Ark. She has at least three different models displayed through out the house. Her favorite Ark sits atop the entertainment center. It’s a large handmade wooden model that’s about 2feet long. There is a walkway leading up to the bridge of the Ark that hand-carved, wooden animals are walking up in pairs. For a long time, when Tabitha and I were dating I would go over and move her animals around putting monkeys with lions and giraffes with hippos and whatnot. Sometimes she’d notice, others she’d be completely oblivious. When she did though, she would get mad and yell at me for it-- and if you knew how much I like to mess with my mother-in-law, then you’d know that I got a huge kick out of it. Once, when walking through Target, Tabitha and I came across these wonderful hand painted toys buy a German company called Schleich (they still make Smurf toys…Awesome). Anyway, they make a full line of dinosaurs that happen to be the right size fo...

One thing that I, and many other people I know like to collect is rocks. It seems that whenever I go on a trip, or spend some time outdoors I usually find a rock to pick up and keep with me for the day. Eventually, when I come home the rock has come along for the journey. I have a place for my stray rocks, a jar, that over time becomes full and is joined by another jar to put more rocks in. There is not rhyme or reason to the type, or size of rock I bring home. It mostly depends on how it feels in my hand when I carry it ( no one wants to lug around a huge, heavy bolder like rock with them all day while walking in the woods). I have no aspirations of dabbling in geology, or to try and identify the rocks I have. If someone were to come to my house to tell me about the rocks I have, I could honestly say that I wouldn't care. I just gather rocks. Sometimes I'll go through them to see if there is any lasting memory of the time we shared together. There hardly ever is. That is, ...

I found this today. It was after a run on the Olentangy Bike Trail. It was sitting on a picnic table near the beginning of the trail. Now, before you judge me, I did the honest thing and waited awhile before I absconded this child's toy. Up 'til this point I've been focusing on my own small belongings- but the point all along has been to look at small objects as a whole. To do that, I need to look elsewhere. Luckily, this one found me. Hot Wheels are a toy of legend-- something that almost everyone has owned or at least heard of in their lifetime. The thing about Hot Wheels, though, is that at one time or another they are almost always guaranteed to get lost (Speaking from personal experience). We mourn them for a moment -- then either replace them or move on to one of the many others that we have and never give them a second thought. That is, until you're about to turn 28 and you find one after a good run; come home, take a picture of it and throw it onto your blog. ...

Who's keys are these anyway, and how did they end up in my house hanging on a hook for the last year? This is yet another item in the house that is there for no apparent reason. The funny thing is, that they've been hanging right inside our door where we hang up our coats (right in front of my face). I pass by them a few times everyday and I've never given them a second glance. Then the other day I was putting up a track jacket and I accidentally knocked them off there little hook and they fell to the floor and on to my foot. Thats when I asked mt wife about them. She told me they belonged to some deceased relative or other. All I k now for sure is that know that I've seen them I like them hanging where they are.

For day two of our adventure, we had decided to rent a car and head up the coast on the famous Rt. 1. The last time I was out in Cali . this was the main thing that I did- the only difference being that I was alone. This time I had someone who knew the landscape a little better. After acquiring the car, a newer-model red Chevrolet Capri, our goal was to make it up to Pismo Beach by lunchtime to eat some Clam Chowder at Splash Cafe. The day was beautiful, except for the fact that it was raining lightly off and on. We made it up to Pismo Beach around 1pm , where we stood out in the rain and waited in line to order our chowder. This place was busy! When we finally sat down, I was able to experience some of the best food to ever come from the sea and to be served in a bread bowl . . . . Ever. The rain had broken a little by the time we finished eating and we strolled the beaches at Pismo. Most of the people had left when the rain came so we had most of the beach to ourselves. Ther...

Sometimes, when I get the chance to go on a trip or adventure, I don’t always get the immediate opportunity to reflect on the experience. I find that I’ll put it on the back burner and it is some time before I am able to sit down and sort through all that might have happened. My trip to California late last year is one such occurrence. Recently, though, the whole thing came back to me as I saw a copy of the Columbus Dispatch. Tabitha and I were walking into a diner to grab a quick bite to eat and we happened to walk by a newspaper stand. The headline read “Skybus Folds”. My first thought was not knowing how I’d be able to get back out to California again (without the aid of such affordable airfare). We bought the paper and while we were eating our wonderfully greasy burgers with fries, we talked about my trip out there and how much I wish I could experience it again. Since then, I have been thinking non-stop of the post that I intended to complete upon my return. My friend Andy...

Just a random picture taken while at work the other day. Someone had taken the stuffing from three Joe Joe's and combined them into one. After they'd taken a bite, they shoved it in my face saying, " Look, triple stuffing!" Luckily, I had my camera on me to capture this little piece of culinary art work before it was lost forever.

"How long has this been here?!?" That's what I asked my wife when she said I should photograph it for the next "Small" posting. This very tiny rubber-made rooster is displayed in our kitchen, atop a rustic painting of another rooster that holds oven mitts and the like from its frame. Measuring in at only 7/8", it's easy to see how it might elude anyone for quite some time before being noticed.

It seems that, no matter how hard we try, little things always start accumulating around us. The compulsion to collect things appears to be an innate quality of being human. Some people see this instinct and are purposeful about the things that they gather…stamps, beanie babies, coins, baseball cards, animals. There doesn’t seem to be a limit to the tiny things that clutter our homes and take up our time. Here is an attempt to examine the small things in our lives. I’m not saying that this need to collect and surround ourselves with “things” is bad or good. I just simply want to explore. It's only fitting that I should start with some of the needless, tiny collectibles that are in my own life. This doll was given to my wife and me as a wedding gift, bought by some friends in Japan while they were teaching there. I think it is meant for good luck, but to tell the truth, I have no real idea. It sits in our living room on a shelf where it looks very pretty, and blends i...