January 2018
Photographs made in January 2018 that didn't necessarily fir into a larger story or post.
The "Ghost Town" of Amargosa
By all indications and quick glances, the place seemed to be a quintessential “ghost town.” The houses were long deteriorating, a truck could be seen with flat tires, and the nearby businesses were shuttered. Yet, there was still a spark of life among the white walls of the old hotel beneath the glaring sun.
The Mojave Desert is a peculiar place to find an opera house.
Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon, and Hoover Dam
We opted for Death Valley over visiting the Hoover Dam. I personally had no preference, content to explore whatever was on the agenda and experience a side of the country that I hadn’t seen before.
Las Vegas
I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s hard to try and photograph a place that so many others (professional and tourists alike) have been swarming over for decades. Nevertheless, this was a place new to me and I tried to capture it as uniquely as possible from my own perspective, as naive as that may sound.
![[Fading Advertisements] Indiana Stamp - Fort Wayne, IN](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f4d8a25db85a54c4d64fe76/1606107860759-CCRRKFLMJWR3A33K1F9C/image.jpeg)
[Fading Advertisements] Indiana Stamp - Fort Wayne, IN
Unlike many of the ads in the book and documented here, this one isn’t a remnant of hand painted advertising. Rather, it’s fading elements were from a former physical sign. When removed, the parts of the building protected from weathering by the sign left clues to what it once said. “Indiana Stamp” was about all I could make out when we passed through Fort Wayne, IN to see some family. I reached out a business of the same name to see if it had been their sign.
Abandoned School - Boston, IN
My dad had driven by this old school for years while traveling for work. We stopped to see it on a recent trip to Huntington, IN.
The Peculiar (and Abandoned) Pedestrian Walkways of Charleston, West Virginia
These weren’t simple sidewalks, these were a series of ramps wrapped in anti-suicide cages connected by staircases and protected from the elements with 70’s era lighting and glass. In all the American cities I’d been to, I’d never seen any urban element quite like it.
Charleston, The Greenbrier Resort, and a Secret Cold War Bunker for Congress
The Greenbrier Resort once housed a government secret, one built towards the start of the Cold War, a place to continue the functions of our elected officials should an atomic exchange with the Soviets ever come to fruition.
Light Chasing, Sunday 1/14/18
Went out chasing the last little bit of nice light this past Sunday. Some frames made wandering around in freezing temperatures.
December 2017
Photographs made over the past month that didn't have a place in other stories.
2017 in Review
There's a couple of other sites I read that are similar in scope to mine and every December I debate about what, if anything, to put here on QC/D to close out the year.
The Major League Soccer Expansion Decision Looms...
...and I plan to support FC Cincinnati, and (more importantly) this city, regardless of the outcome.
From Cincinnati to Huntington, Indiana
My Father is an incredibly thoughtful person, always coming up with great ideas of places to go or things to see.
November 2017
Photographs made in November 2017.
Not a whole lot of "one off" photos this month, but a bunch of stories published in November. They're linked at the end of this post.
Arrow Collecting
I got the idea to start "arrow collecting" from Pittsburgh Orbit, which is a fantastic website. Essentially, here's some arrows found in the places I've been. They're simple directional signs, each unique in their own graphic sense, all found while trying to ignore the "easy" ones on street signs and pavement.
![[Fading Advertisements] The Winslow's Next Door Neighbor](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f4d8a25db85a54c4d64fe76/1606355264036-SCAJID40U1Q5VYKWRNFC/image.jpeg)
[Fading Advertisements] The Winslow's Next Door Neighbor
Unlike a lot of the fading advertisements seen on this site and in the book, this one isn't still promoting a business long after it's gone. Rather, the arrow directs passersby to where they can find Ollie's Trolley hawking excellent burgers and a selection of other southern comfort foods ranging from ribs to deep fried fish.
Where Race St. Ends (For Now)
Race St. runs from the northern point of Cincinnati's Over-The-Rhine neighborhood all the way to the riverfront where it abruptly ends at a concrete barrier...
...for now.
The Alignment of Cincinnati and Covington
If you were blissfully unaware of Midwestern georgraphy, you might look across at Covington from Cincinnati and assume it's all one big city, an urban street grid not separated by a river and state borders. That's now how it is, but here's the story of how Covington and Cincinnati physically aligned and continue to do so, with old ways of thinking still found today.
Riverfront Stadium/Cinergy Field Implosion from Mt. Adams
Nearly 15 years later, a perspective of an historic Cincinnati event retrieved from family video archives.