Portraits
Paxton's name was inspired by his dad's lifelong love of Transformers - specifically, the original toys and comic series.
Our awesome friends Ashley and Chandler recently brought Paxton Orion into the world! We're so excited to be witnessing this new adventure in their lives! Paxton's name was inspired by his dad's lifelong love of Transformers - specifically, the original toys and comic series (not the terrible Michael Bay movies that keep getting greenlighted). We loved getting to meet Paxton and hang out at their home for this photo session!
Tess and Mo had their engagement session in Eden Park (my favorite Cincinnati park!) on a not-too-humid August evening. They got to know each other through a running club in Rochester, NY, and soon realized their friendship was more than that; the spark between them was mutual. When we met Tess at Coffee Emporium (Mo was busy in Rochester finishing up his residency), we bonded over running stories and a shared appreciation for coffee! Kyle and I are looking forward to capturing their upcoming January wedding - we're hoping for some picturesque snow!
We had a blast hanging out with Jeni & Gautam during their engagement session while we hit up several sentimental favorites from their getting-to-know each other phase. Our first stop was Highland Coffee House, where they had their first date – and where their conversation went on long enough that they lost track of the time! Our second location was in the Clifton Gaslight District at a semi-secluded park bench at the intersection of Middleton and McAlpin. Jeni and Gautam used to take walks here to sit surrounded by wildflowers and gaze into the nature preserve... and, probably, each others' eyes! Had to say it. Right down the street at Mt. Storm Park, we finished the session just before sunset, where Jeni and Gautam had shared their first kiss!
Sidenote - it was a bit of a sentimental evening for me and my second photographer/assistant/life partner as well - we spent five years together in the Clifton Gaslight District during our various relationship stages. There's just something magical about that area!
Living life to the fullest is a mantra that many ascribe to, with varying degrees of conviction. Wrapped in faux fur and sporting on-trend aviators, a charm bracelet full of mementos lovingly curated by her close friend Michelle, and a smile framed by vibrant red lipstick, Anne Wainscott is someone who epitomizes this. At 100 years young, she has lived a storied life. Born to immigrants, a seamstress mother and a father who was a tailor, she grew up in Cincinnati and early on had a strong interest in fashion. She dreamed of moving to New York to pursue this, but remained in Cincinnati. She funneled this passion into a long career of making illustrations for the Cincinnati department store Shillito's. Elegant women with striking eyes were her trademark, and they almost always bloomed from her imagination. She rarely used models. Being witness to the latest women's trends, she infused this into her innate sense of style and altered or created many of her own clothes. At a time when photographs had not yet replaced paintings and illustrations in advertising, Anne's artistic visions undoubtedly drew customers to Shillito's, who hoped to be as chic as the women in the newspaper ads.
I spent an afternoon with Anne and Michelle in the Riverside Historic District of Covington, KY. I observed this tiny, lovely woman gazing across the Ohio River at the Queen City, where she made a career for herself while married to a fellow artist and raised a family (two sons who also happen to be artists). Her home is decorated with many of her original paintings, drawings, and other artwork. She painted her entire Frigidaire pink. Fresh flowers adorn every table.
Over the course of a century, Anne has seen an unbelievable amount of change. She and her husband contributed their artistic skills to WWII pamphlets distributed to African-American soldiers. She remarked that her husband made the bold decision to depict the soldiers and their families true to life, not Caucasian, as was the standard. She knows in her heart that relatives who did not make it to America perished in the Holocaust.
Born in the U.S. before women could vote, she cast her vote for a woman presidential candidate for the first time this past fall. I met Anne and Michelle at the Women's March in January. Exuding 100 years of wisdom (but looking much younger than her age), Anne captivated me, and that's what inspired me to capture her in these portraits, which of course do not do justice for her beauty and her strong yet gentle spirit.
Here's a little peek at what I've been working on, photographically speaking, in the last couple of months: a lakefront wedding in Michigan; a 10-year wedding anniversary shoot (in which the bride wore her wedding dress and the couple's two kids tagged along); a one-year-old's portrait session; and a Cincinnati wedding of one of my childhood best friends.
More photos I never posted from last year's event, since the 2016 Cincinnati Comic Expo is coming up this weekend!
Just some of Ellie's hilarious facial expressions during her one-year portrait session!
Mark Gilsdorf is an artist-blacksmith who also happens to be a bird enthusiast and Irish history buff. He seeks to balance aesthetics and functionality in his pieces, which he refers to as "house jewelry."
Gilsdorf mainly works with steel, a more stable alloy of iron. His scrap pile, "a blacksmith's biggest resource," is filled with roadside treasures, railroad spikes, and old pipes.
Aside from commissions, he sells his creations -- pieces like fireplace gates and hand-forged, skull-topped bottle openers -- at Bromwell's and local events like Summerfair and the Hyde Park Art Show.
The full gallery can be found on Cincinnati Refined. Check out more of Mark's work here.
Marvel Comics artist Allen Bellman is pictured at the Cincinnati Comic Expo at the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati, Sept. 19, 2015. Bellman worked on the Captain America series, among many others, during the Golden Age of Comics.
http://www.allenbellman.com
Full gallery of adorable Ellie coming soon!
Here are a few of my favorite photos of Patricia from her senior portrait session at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati. Can't believe she's already a senior! This lovely location is actually on the list of US National Historic Landmarks.
Here is just one example of the fantastic cosplay at the Cincinnati Comic Con: Jennifer Goldvester as Maya from Borderlands 2.
