[Views of Cincinnati] Before the Bridge in Brooklyn

Before the bridge in Brooklyn, John Roebling designed the Cincinnati-Covington Suspension Bridge as a prototype and it's now named for him. There's no doubt that the "buzzing bridge of Cincinnati" offers some wonderful views of the city from its walkways just as its sister in New York does. If you take the time too look closely and see the gritty details of its structure and how it frames the city's skyline, you can truly appreciate it.

The Dayton Executive Hotel

I don't know if you could call these lobby stairs grand, but just like the "Grand Staircase" on Titanic, this one is also covered in water. It's hardly a welcoming site for guests at the lobby check-in, but any guests the Dayton Executive Hotel sees these days aren't of the "normal" variety.

Ode to the "A#1 Corolla Rager"

When I was 16, I totaled the first car I ever had - a 1996 Mazda Protege. After months of mastering how to drive a stick, I had my first "real" job and my own car. I turned left when I didn't have an arrow and thought I did. The car was toast, but thankfully everyone was alright (although I'm sure the people I hit are still telling their friends and relatives about that jackass who totaled their car by the Applebee's in Fairfield back in 2005). By the end of the summer I was fortunate enough to have a "new" car, a 2000 Toyota Corolla.

[Views of Cincinnati] Left Behind at the Landing

I had been planning to shoot from the river overlook off Madison Ave. at night, but figured I'd walk down that way anyways. A touristy spot, it had the usual nice weather crowd of onlookers out there while an employee of the nearby hotel enjoyed his cigarette. I walked around for a bit, thinking of shots for the future of the project while trying to avoid the goose shit on the ground. I had been here plenty of times, but never noticed the path on the left where I would find the rusted mooring cable that frames the above photograph.

[Views of Cincinnati] Directly South, Pointing East

A view from atop the Covington Transit Center parking garage that appears directly South of the Carew and 4th and Vine buildings. Normally views from Kentucky feature the river in the foreground. Not here. The river is replaced by the concrete wall and its piping, the rusted copper of the lightning rods has begun to leave green stains on top of the wall and the markings on the ground point Eastward.

[Views of Cincinnati] Elevator Glass

The Big Red Machine used to play nearby, their stadium gone. In its place: new development - a resurgence of the riverfront, an extension of the city. It all looks up to the line of skyscrapers that cut into the sky along with the clouds and contrails of airplanes. The riverfront uprising offers its own jagged edge in the form of glass.

[Views of Cincinnati] "Closed Mouths Don't Get Fed On This Boulevard"

It's a toss up as to how I title photos. Sometimes the title is inspired by a song I'm listening to, other times it comes from some clever allusion to a vague reference, how I would name a particular chapter in a book of my life or how I'm feeling at that moment. Often, I'm at a loss and have to think about it for awhile. That afternoon, as I framed up the rooftops of the buildings along West 9th St. along with the Carew Tower, a passerby unknowingly titled the photo for me.

[Views of Cincinnati] Forms and Structure

The skyline is the reality, the reminder. The sight of it breaks the illusion of the hilltop neighborhood being its own European village. The neighborhood is part of something greater, an integral part of the city. Just as one photograph can be part of a series created for a greater purpose.

Down a side street - the chaotically crossing power lines of an urban framework [forms] and the structured network of a skyscraper's crown [structure] silhouetted against the sky.

[Views of Cincinnati] The American West of Mt. Adams

The road is worn, a beaten and well traveled path. The afternoon sun is glaring down on it and despite the positive emotion of the blue sky ahead, an ominous structure appears on the horizon. Disconnected and abstracted from the rest of its structure, the "tiara" of the skyscraper appears as something different. The faded yellow traffic lines point toward the silhouette of the modern sculpture ahead. Overall, the photograph is harsh, dystopian almost. The view of the road seems more appropriate for a solitary traveler out West. It's out of context for the city's Mt. Adams neighborhood, just as the "tiara" is without its connection to the tower.

[Views of Cincinnati] Nineteen Eighty8

Cincinnati is named after the Roman hero Cincinnatus. Just as Rome is surrounded by seven hills, so is Cincinnati. Those seven hills on the Ohio side are quite well known, but even across the river and in another state, there are hills that surround the Queen City. If you didn't know any better, you'd think the neighborhoods of Newport in their expanse between the white lights of slowly passing cars and the downtown skyline of the frame above, were still part of the city and not in another state entirely.

Breweries Beneath the City Streets

There's no doubt that the city of Cincinnati has a rich and colorful history. The Federal government almost moved the capital here once, we're home to the first professional baseball team, Jerry Springer was once our mayor and the list could go on and on. One aspect of local culture and history that most seem to overlook though is beer!