I was born and raised in the Greater Cincinnati Area, but my family were definitely not "city people" - it was rare that we were ever actually downtown, and those moments were generally reserved for sporting events (which I never enjoyed) or special events such as the rare music concert here and there.
Suburban life was very boring to me, and once I got older and was able to branch out myself I realized how much I actually enjoy the downtown portions of the city and the more immediate areas. I unfortunately did not have this revelation until after I had moved to Dayton the first time for school, but when I returned for a few years I was able to take much greater advantage of living so close to what I would consider a thriving city - and maybe I'm biased, but so far it has proven to be my favorite city in Ohio, especially when it comes to street photography.
The residential areas are full of old, decorative buildings and houses of a bygone era, fortunately well-preserved to this day in many instances. Northside is a personal favorite, though unfortunately COVID hit mere months after I had moved into a rented room for a year so I didn't get to experience the area the way I wanted (and I had met my wife during this period so I was back and forth between Dayton and Cincinnati quite a bit again before ultimately moving back to Dayton with her).
Below is a collection of some of my favorite photos of the area which were taken in September of 2023 when I went on my first real "photo walk" for street photography - this was the moment I fell in love with the craft, though my "style" of street photography is ever changing at this point (which I've come to accept). That said, these images hold an importance to me and have continued to motivate myself to keep going.
As always; stay curious!
