MayDay

^That's just one sign, and it's actually on the grounds of Two Rodeo (shopping center that was designed to resemble a European street lined with boutiques); still pretty umm, gaudy?

Okeydokey, here's part two - lots of photos in this thread. :-) Leaving the Lake Elsinore area: In California? Who'da thunk? Downtown L.A. - the iconic Watts Towers are on the left: Almost to Beverly Hills (and our hotel): The highrises of Century City: My partner snapped this pic of a church in Beverly Hills: We stopped briefly at the hotel and then headed to Studio City - on the way we saw a bit of Hollywood: We went over the mountains via Laurel Canyon Boulevard, but everything was so close to the road and I didn't have a chance to get any decent pics. Ah well, we finally made it to CBS Studios and saw a taping of 'Hot in Cleveland'. Obviously it's been great to see my photo as the opening title on the show every week - it was flat out surreal to see that it's shown on every monitor on the set in between takes, and being introduced to the audience as the photographer was really humbling: Of course, no photos during filming (shucks!) but ah well - afterward we wandered around Studio City. Not sure *what* the deal was here :wtf: No, we did not eat here: Sights along Ventura Blvd: Yowza! Last shot of Ventura before we head back to the hotel: Speaking of, did I mention our hotel had a lovely rooftop pool? :wink2: Century City: Beverly Hills City Hall: Downtown L.A. in the smoggy distance: The Century condo building - Candy Spelling downsized from the 56,000 sq. ft. Manor to the penthouse in this building: More humble abodes in Beverly Hills: And not-so humble abodes on higher ground: Can't go to California and *not* get a shot of some 'Googie' architecture! "Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard" Well, SOUTH Santa Monica Boulevard ... you get my drift. Yeah, I saw more Bentleys and Rolls-Royces in three days than I ever have in my life: Of course, I had to stop at the best chocolatier on Earth! Back to the fancy vehicles: What a cute little... moose?? Took a walk around a small park: Even Beverly Hills has "scary" back alleys! :-D OMG, they even have vandalism!!! :roll: Some of the homes are lovely, some are fugly! Not sure what the hell they did to this Tudor :-P Back to the park: I have NO idea: Our hotel, the L'Ermitage: Grabbed lunch at Il Pastaio: Of course, when in Beverly Hills, you have to go to Rodeo Drive! Bwahahaaaa!!! Discount store invades Rodeo Drive! :lol: EEK!!! Run for the hills - they have aggressive panhandlers!!! :roll: Holy high heels! Via Rodeo - the 'everybody and their brother' Kodak shot: Ooo, sparkly! Okay, I have to admit I enjoy "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills", especially Lisa Vanderpump, so we had to stop at Villa Blanca for a drink. While we were leaving we had a celebrity sighting - Drake http://www.drakeofficial.com/ was having lunch with a friend on the patio; however, I also got a celebrity 'death stare' when he saw I had a camera so no, no photo of him. Oh well. A nearby building had huge movie posters plastered on it: And back up to the rooftop pool at the hotel - sorry for the blurs and noise on the photos, I didn't have a tripod with me. The next day we headed over to West Hollywood - en route we went to Wilshire Boulevard: Holy cow, another scary back alley!!! The Four Seasons Hotel: This stretch had quite a few design and furniture stores: It's not Beverly Hills but it's still pretty posh - in Cleveland, this would bottles of Cobra or Colt 45 :lol: Pacific Design Center by Cesar Pelli: Yep, an ironworks studio: EEK!!!!!!!!!! Okay, interesting way to advertise your spa but yeesh! Farmers Market on Melrose Place (no, I'm not kidding - this street *is* Melrose Place!): Some nicely landscaped homes nearby: And not-so nicely landscaped: There *might* have been a little Photoshopping here :wink: Yep, we're in West Hollywood alright! Stopped at the Abbey for a drink: Okay, last of the scary back alleys, I promise! Last of the Googie gas station! And back to LAX - hope you enjoyed!

So I finally made my way to California - specifically Southern California, and more specifically L.A. to celebrate my birthday and see a taping of 'Hot In Cleveland'. Part 1 of 2, I'll add more detailed captions when I can: Landing in LAX, downtown L.A. in the distance: Yes folks, this is the 'Theme' Building (apparently most people don't know this has an actual name?) For those who might be hoping for a thorough photo exploration of L.A.'s inner city... this is as close I got this time around: Heading toward the Inland Empire (where we were staying with family): Yeah, that's ONE house on the right - the pinkish stuff is floral groundcover: Glad we didn't have to go through whatever the hell that smog cloud of doom was! We made a quick stop near Lake Elsinore and were en route to San Diego: Palomar Medical Center in Escondido: I *believe* that's San Diego in the distance: Suburbia of San Diego: Unfortunately, the only shot of downtown San Diego I was able to catch - bad weather and a hectic schedule were at fault: Had a great Mexican dinner in Old Town - this place has the tortillas prepared in the storefront: Immaculate Conception Church: Two night shots of Old Town: And unfortunately, a downpour prevented any photos of downtown San Diego. The next day, we headed over the mountains via the Ortega Highway: I should have packed some Dramamine! Great views, as long as you don't sh!t your pants around the sharp curves! Fortunately there's a rest stop near the peak: Heading down the other side, we pass through a little bit of home - well, the Cleveland National Forest: More curves, more of me holding on to the car's 'oh sh!t' handles! Fortunately, things evened out: Close to the coast: We had some friends who took us to some new construction along the water: Yep, that's a dolphin! It cracks me up that people can actually grow these gorgeous Bird of Paradise plants (being from Cleveland and all): Time to head over toward Laguna Beach - the coast was pretty much filled with these houses stacked on top of each other: Lunch at Greeter's - apparently the 'Greeter' was a well known local back in the day: Views of and from the Boardwalk: Off we go to South Coast Plaza (helLO, gotta get some shopping in!) The mall itself isn't much to look at, and of course it's surrounded by suburban office park dreck: Although if you have to have an office tower in the 'burbs, this is a little more appealing than the rest: Next up - L.A., Studio City, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.

Folks, let's not derail the thread with baseless speculation. Thanks.

"I find it highly disturbing that they allow this type of rouge advertising all over the general area on PUBLIC property." Rouge advertising? ROUGE? That's almost as bad as mascara advertising!! ;-) Not sure if it's exactly *rogue* advertising but my understanding is that those decals were placed in front of vendors that had some sort of tie-in to Cleveland Fashion Week via sponsorship, etc. That said, if rogue advertising is the biggest problem our neighborhoods have, maybe we should count our blessings? :-)

Very nice photos! I agree, I'm liking the look of the Medical Mart more now than I did with the renderings.

^They did say "IMO" so it's not as though they're putting their comments out as fact; something a lot forumers could do a little more of, IMO.

Welcome to the forum; I'm not familiar enough with the neighborhood history to know specific answers to your questions, but if you'd like to see some recent photos, I attended the Columbus Day parade in 2011: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,26415.0.html

"A certain business owner who I designed a logo for, agreed to pay me in royalties vs. a flat fee for T-shirts that I'm designing for his patrons. The problem is that I have no idea what the going-rate is for somehting like that. All I know is that it better be worth my time!! Do you have the agreement in writing, preferably notarized and hopefully reviewed by an attorney?

^The Euclid Arcade has the terra-cotta treatment and a barrel vault ceiling - and yes, has a slight bend. In other news, Best Buy at Steelyard Commons is closing on May 12th. http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/the-best-buy-store-at-steelyard-commons-is-closing

Time to get back on topic, folks.

From the turnaround near Shooters on the West Bank:

As someone who is old enough to remember Prospect Ave. 'back in the day', but young enough to see how it's changed... those outfits are nothing new to the area, but those wearing them... well that's a whole other story. Not unlike when Lady Gaga came to town.

^It's 18 office floors, 3 floors of parking and 1 story of maintenance "penthouse".

"However, with pretty much 0 knowledge of anything to do with photography/cameras I'm looking for a nice book that can teach me the basics of cameras and the art of photography. I'm hoping someone on UO has a recommendation or 2 for a book that's worthy of purchasing." When you ask for advice about photography, it's not unlike asking about who makes the best pizza in town - you get lots of different answers. My approach to photography is very right-brained; I've learned some of the basic settings on my DSLR and which work better in different scenarios but if you asked me what shutter speed I used for a certain shot, I wouldn't know (or care) off the top of my head. I have a little bit of a photographic memory, so if I see something that catches my eye, I snap a pic and then do some post-processing to try to present the image as closely as I remember it. Others approach it like engineering and get geeked out figuring out if 1/2000th on such-and-such setting is going to make something 'pop'. Neither approach is wrong, it's just depends on your preference - but that's probably a bit down the road. My advice is to try to understand what kind of photography you're going for; what you'd like to do with the photos, etc. If you're not planning to blow them up, or quit your day job (fyi, I still have a day job), you may want to get a decent point and shoot within your budget and just get out there and start snapping away. A good point and shoot will give you a good intro into how to use different settings, framing, etc. As you take more and more photos, you'll also learn how weather conditions and time of day affect your images. I'm a graphic designer so I have Photoshop but I know there are some photo editing programs out there that aren't too expensive. I wouldn't bother with a book beyond checking one out from the library - the photo you posted shows you know a good shot when you see one. Hope that helps a little.

Taken over the course of two weekends. Some Cleveland shots from my neighborhood; this house is available for about $65K (short sale - the house is actually in decent shape but the owner has had some issues): The social hub of the neighborhood, Lincoln Park. The former Our Lady of Mercy church on Lincoln Park - likely to redeveloped as residential: Lemko Hall, once a social hall for the area's Carpatho-Rusyn population, it's now mixed-use with retail on the ground floor and condos on the upper floor. The building famously appeared in the movie 'The Deer Hunter' and was the site of the film's wedding reception: Newer infill on the left; the former St. Vladimir's church in the background - it's now home to a Latino parish - Iglesia Nueva Jerusalén: Iglesia Nueva Jerusalén: New infill in the neighborhood: Flora: Cluster of older brick homes: More new construction in the area - it sticks out like a sore thumb (maybe in a good way?); at 7,000 sq. feet, it's one of the largest newer homes in the area: Typical older Tremont home on the left - compare to the new construction on the right: View from University Road - most homes in the immediate area have rooftop decks specifically to enjoy this view: The older bridge in the foreground is the Innerbelt bridge, due to be replaced in the future. In the background you can see supports for the new Innerbelt bridge under construction: Further down University Road, newer infill - these usually sell for around $300K: Not all of the area is new infill, though: Some of the infill pays more homage to the historic styles than others: And then some of it, well... Looks like someone decided they didn't want to sell to the developer :) The area sits on a ridge, so occasionally you'll see this: These are among the first new developments in the area - Tremont Ridge: This building suffered a fire and sat boarded up for quite some time - nice to see it rehabbed. Note the leg lamp in the window - 'The Christmas Story' was filmed at many sites in Cleveland, including Tremont. Mural on the side of a wine/martini bar: The small commercial strip at Literary Road and Professor Avenue (the area was once home to a college, thus the street names): Detail work on St. John Cantius church - built to serve the area's Polish population (I believe they still offer Mass in Polish); the exterior was cleaned a while back - notice the black soot that still remains. The area sits uphill from the industrial valley, many buildings were coated in black soot: Directly across from St. John Cantius is the Treehouse with its mural espousing Guinness: With plenty of bars in the area, I imagine they don't have a problem getting membership: Local development non-profit: St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox church - another Tremont landmark that was featured in 'The Deer Hunter'. Someone is obviously a fan: With a mild winter this year, we've had more flowers blooming a lot earlier than we're used to: Older wood-frame home on Lincoln Park: Another historic church on Lincoln Park, built as Emmanuel Evangelical in 1908, now serves a Latino congregation as El Calvario Pentecostal: As mentioned before, the area sits above the industrial valley, home to one of Arcelor-Mittal's larger plants. Part of it was recently constructed: And part of the historic plant remains (and in operation, though not at the capacity it once had): One of the larger historic homes in the neighborhood: And with that, we move on to Columbus en route to a friend's birthday party in Cincinnati. A pedestrian walkway over the highway: New construction for the Ohio State University Medical Center: Part of the downtown Columbus skyline: On the southern end of downtown, the Miranova condo and office tower: We stayed with a friend who lives in the German Village neighborhood; such a charming area - lots and lots of brick: We went to dinner and all of a sudden, tornado sirens were going full blast - fortunately we were spared any damage: Unfortunately, it was just a quick overnight stay, but I managed to snap a few shots of the area on the way out: Last photo of Columbus before we head south to Cincinnati: This is pretty much everything you see for the two hour drive between Columbus and Cincinnati - flat, farms - not my cup of tea: Yes, yes it is - we're driving through it at the moment :D Closer to Cincinnati, a massive bridge replacement project over the Miami River valley: En route to downtown Cincinnati, there's the stalled Kenwood Town Center office building - hope they get this resolved, it looks like a modern version of Detroit's Michigan Central Station :( Wish we had better weather - I always love the shot coming around the bend on I-71 southbound. Cincinnati's new tallest building, Queen City Square is in the distance: Construction of the new casino on the right: We stayed at the Cincinnatian, which had this parked out front: Cincinnati's former tallest, Carew Tower: And any time I visit Cincinnati, I always stop at the Orchids at Palm Court. Always. Back outside, the Tyler Davidson fountain, on Fountain Square: Um, what exactly is going on here? :sly: Carew Tower from Fountain Square - such a handsome art deco tower: It started to rain a bit, so we ducked into Tower Place - like many inner city shopping centers, this place has had occupancy troubles. Still - it has some redeeming qualities like the Rookwood Pottery tile work: The former Gidding-Jenny department store, with this huge cartouche - also Rookwood work: With that, it was time go to the Hyde Park neighborhood, where my friend's birthday party was held: After a few too many drinks, it was the next morning - not great weather but I managed to get out and get a few shots: I just think if this building had different proportions, I'd like it a lot more. I'm still not convinced about the 'tiara' on top - I know about Cincinnati's "Queen City" moniker but eh... Looking south, the landmark Roebling Bridge and the Libeskind-designed Ascent condo tower, located across the Ohio River in Covington, Kentucky: Time to head back home: The Mount Adams neigbhorhood on the way out of Cincinnati: After two-ish hours of driving through flat farmland, this was a sight for sore eyes: After another two hour drive (of less flat but still rural scenery), this was another sight for sore eyes :) Good night from Cleveland!

Great thread and some fantastic shots! Hope you don't mind - I added Cleveland to the thread title so people know where the photos are from. ""A New Day in Cleveland" recently done by jmicha and any of MayDay's surpass anything I could do." I'll respectfully disagree with you - you're a talented photographer, and it'd be great to see more. :-)

And with that, please take the 'multiplier effect' discussion to an appropriate thread or to PM. Thanks.

This is a great place to find books and other printed materials, especially the historic stuff: http://nobs.nobsweb.org/?page_id=63 NOBS Akron Antiquarian Book & Paper Fair The 30th Annual NOBS Akron Antiquarian Book & Paper Fair will be held on Friday, April 6, 2012 and Saturday, April 7, 2012 at the John S. Knight Center, 77 East Mill Street, Akron, Ohio. The Fair will be Friday 3:00 pm to 8:30 pm and Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. General admission: $5.00, Students: $3.00, NOBS Members: FREE. More than 35 dealers will be on site, offering selections that are: “Old and Rare, Readable and Collectible, First Editions, Children’s Books, Americana, Maps, Prints, Illustrated Books, Mysteries, Science Fiction, Cookbooks, Civil War, Aviation, Art, Literature, Travel and More!” Additionally, there will be something new at the Fair to celebrate our 30th year. A one hour session on Saturday, April 7th will be devoted to discussing how much old books are worth and another session will be a roundtable discussion about collecting illustrated books, school books and paper ephemera (mainly autographs). At 11 am on Saturday in the lobby to the Exhibition Hall, Jim Best, owner of The Bookman of Kent in Kent, Ohio will give a one hour talk about what determines how much old books are worth. At 1 pm on Saturday in the lobby to the Exhibition Hall a one hour session will be devoted to collecting books and paper ephemera, featuring Larry Rakow, owner of Wonderland Books in Cleveland Heights discussing collecting illustrated and pop-up books, Reene Alley, of Talmadge, discussing collecting old school books, and Garry Gibbons, owner of Historical Realia in Wooster, discussing collecting paper ephemera, mainly autographs. Both talks will be FREE and open to the public.

I called this one at about 8:30am today - something just didn't sound right. Oh, and did she know the robbers? Sure did - the guy was her drug dealer! :roll: http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_cuyahoga/police-kidnapping-carjacking-at-steelyard-commons-was-a-hoax

Agreed; if forumers can't make a point without making a dig at another city, they'll get some time off.

^Just playing devil's advocate, are they doing this with the proper permits?

"If the rumor that he's talking to a bank for the corner of my street, I'm happy for him." Welllll, if it's a bank *branch*, there's not much difference between those and fast-food restaurants; after all, it's usually a smallish building with drive-up lanes and "adequate" parking nowadays. Even if it's built up to the street, it's a corner lot and they'll need entrance/exits for both frontages :-\

Yep, she's a beauty.

Welcome to the forum - I modified the title of your post since this forum's membership goes well beyond Northeast Ohio. That said, I work in downtown Lakewood - I like the area but it's really disheartening to see so much history and site-appropriate architecture (aka built up to the street) be demolished for fast-food spots, WalgRiteCVSetc. On top of that is the removal of quite a few stoplights on Detroit (though my understanding is that was a state-level mandate); there are some beautiful things about Lakewood - its commercial center isn't one of them. :-(