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abandoned school

by Kaylah Stroup
Last week we showed some out of town explorers a few of our favorite spots around Cleveland. One of our stops was the abandoned middle school I blogged about a while back. This was my third time shooting it and I’m still not satisfied. I just want to shoot every corner of this place. This school is one of the very first abandoned places I ever shared
here on the blog. It’s also one of the very first I really really loved. It’s just so wonderfully colorful, and even after all these years of being abandoned it’s  still packed with things. Things that help you get an idea of the lively place this used to be. Notes filled with secrets, and papers with names. Little pieces of what used to be.

I guess in the grand scheme of abandoned buildings this place isn’t
really all that great but for some reason I can’t get enough. I just feel a special attachment to it. I’ll honestly probably cry when/ if it gets demolished.

The first time I went I didn’t own the 10-22mm yet, which quickly became my absolute favorite lens to shoot with. For the longest time I swore I didn’t need anything other than a 40mm or 50mm but abandoned buildings got me itching to shoot wider. I wanted to show more than the tiny details. Other than my bike, that lens was my best purchase last year. I’m pretty excited about the shots above. The first one is probably one of my favorites I’ve ever taken in that school.

Hope you’re having an awesome start to your week!
xoxo


See more posts about this school here, here + here.

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Movin’ on up!

by Kaylah Stroup
Things have been a bit quiet here on the blog front lately. Maybe not post wise, but I’ve been bad at responding to comments, emails, and everything else in a timely manner. Why? I’m moving! I’d been looking for a new apartment since around mid-summer. I wasn’t hunting too seriously up until recently but I had been keeping my eyes peeled for things that fit my criteria. I wanted out of Lakewood, to be closer to downtown, in a specific neighborhood that offers bike lanes, and a bit of a more friendly, down to earth atmosphere. Every time I’d find something that looked perfect, I’d end up scrolling to the bottom of the post and seeing those two awful words – “no pets”.  It’s 120% not even an option to move without those three goofs so the hunt went on. At times I was almost positive I was going to be stuck in this apartment for another year. It’s not like it’s all bad, that apartment was exactly what I needed a year ago, moving to the city for the very first time. But I’ve outgrown it, it no longer suits all my needs.

The night before Christmas eve I found the place! I was hunting craigslist, as had become habit every night, and there it was! I immediately emailed, explained I would have called but it was late and I didn’t want to interrupt any family get togethers but welcomed the landlord to interrupt mine as soon as they got a chance because I was beyond interested. She called the next morning while I was on my way to my parents and we set up an appointment for the day after Christmas. I was filled with butterflies. What if this was it? Would I have to move immediately? What if the place was a dump inside? What if they changed their mind once they saw photos of Klaus or when they saw my hair and tattoos?

All my fears were erased when I walked in the door and saw the place. It was perfect. Wait, back up a second, I lied. All my fears weren’t actually erased, they just changed. Now I worried that it was too good to be true. What if they were scam artists? What if someone else jumps in and rents it before me? The take home from that story? I’m the queen worry wart, or maybe just princess. Queen title goes to my mother! (Hi Mom!)  I hate having to make quick decisions that will affect my life for a long period of time, and dang, moving is scary. But hey, the best things are always scary at first. A few days later I signed the lease and I’m actually already staying over at the new place!

Packing up my things left me full of mixed emotions. I’m obviously beyond excited I finally found the perfect place for where I’m at at this time in my life. But at the same time, I’m sad to leave this place. I’ll miss the free heat that was always set WAY too high, sometimes frustratingly high, and the huge windows that filled the space with tons of natural light.* That apartment will always hold a super special place in my heart for being the very first place that was MINE. Despite the fact I was a homeowner before moving to the city that apartment is way more special and holds way more amazing memories than that home ever did. There couldn’t have been a more perfect place for me at the time than that one!

So, you’ll have to forgive me if I’m a bit slow getting back to you or if the blog seems a bit slow for a day or so. But once I get things in place, these next few months will be full of new room tours, new adventures, and so much more! I can’t wait to tell you all about my new place! Now I’m back to unpacking and trying to figure out where to put all my dang globes!
xoxo

* I will not miss living on the third floor, carrying groceries up ALL THOSE STAIRS, expensive laundry in the basement, and the lack of air conditioning! BUH-BYE

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found on the beach

by Kaylah Stroup
Back in May of last year while wandering the beach I noticed I was seeing a lot of lighters. Every few steps I was finding one. I decided to pick all of them that I
found up in hopes that I’d maybe find enough to take a neat picture. By the time I was done, maybe an hour and a half
later, I had found fifty lighters total. I decided to stash them away in my car and continue collecting them throughout the entire summer. I was curious how many I’d find and I, of course, wanted to take a nice big color order photo of them all together.

Well, I collected a total of 199 lighters. In those seven months I visited the beach maybe twice a month or so which really isn’t very often for me at all. I can’t even imagine how many I would have found if I went more often. After I cleaned up the lighters I headed to the other side of the beach to shoot some photos only to find at least eight more on the walk. 

It’s crazy to me how much litter washes up the beach. While the amount of lighters and trash I pick up is shocking it’s nothing compared to everything else that makes it way onto the sand. I was particularly taken aback on the day I went to lay out my lighters for the above photos. SO. MUCH. PLASTIC. It’s so colorful, it was weren’t absolutely disgusting it might kind of be pretty.

xoxo

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Project 365 + why you should do one too!

by Kaylah Stroup
At the beginning of the year I made one of my goals to do a 365 photo project. Back in 2010 I completed one (but for some silly reasons didn’t share it on the blog, just on flickr which I have since deleted. D’oh!) and since then I’ve been itching to do another but always made excuses until the beginning of this year. Even though I haven’t taken my photo for the day yet, I’m fine counting my chickens before they hatch and saying this year’s project 365 was a success!I’m so happy with my project 365 that I’d like to encourage others to take on a year long project as well! Project 365 is a super simple concept – one photo a day for the whole year. Lets first get it out of the way that you don’t need a fancy camera, the camera on your phone will work just fine. You don’t have to be good at photography, and you can’t use the excuse “my life isn’t that exciting!”

Here are some reasons you should do Project 365 in 2015…

  • Everyone likes a challenge right? I like a project that I can do a little of each day for a long period of time. The feeling of accomplishment at the end of the year is great!
  • You’ll get to know your camera better which in turn will make you a better photographer. You’ll learn more about lighting, composing, and how to use your camera in just about every situation.
  • It’s a great way to help remember all the little special moments in your life! At the end of the year you’ll get to look back and see what you did that day, who your were with, what your hair looked like, what you were wearing, etc. It’s a lot of fun looking back through the pictures, especially when you can look back and see things that you would have otherwise forgotten! Photos are awesome little triggers to other memories alongside what is captured. The photo below, in the box, of mine and Elycia‘s feet doesn’t mean much to you but I can tell you so much about that day that I’m not really sure I would be able to remember otherwise. Nearly all of my photos spark lots of other little reminders about when it was taken.
  • You’ll get less shy about taking pictures in public. This is something I’ve struggled with for a long time. I’m so weird about taking photos in public but forcing yourself to do it often is the only way to get over it. You’ll become more calm in public with your camera and not feel so strange about pulling out your camera to snap that perfect picture!

 Tips for a successful 365 project… 

  • Take your camera everywhere! Did you read that..? E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E. Everywhere you look there is a photo opportunity! Have a really great meal at your favorite restaurant? Take a picture! Love the way the rain looks hitting your window? Take a picture! That squirrel that always hangs out in your yard? Take his picture!
  • Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You’ll have awesome days, and you’ll have days you want to delete your photos. In my experience, I’ve found that even the photos I hate when I take them, I end up happy that I have them.
  • Don’t quit if you miss a day (or three!), it’s not a huge deal in the long run!
  • Tell your friends and family you’re doing it. It’s a much easier project to complete when you have others supporting you. They’ll be a great reminder especially in the beginning when forgetting you’re doing the project just might happen! Setting a timer on your phone to go off until you get into the swing of things will help too.
  • Keep up on the project. Going to edit your photos? Do it the same day instead of letting them pile up. Staying on top of the project is one thing that I know helps me tremendously. I edit and add the photos to my 365 post every two or three days that way I never have a large backlog.
  • Keep a list of things you might possibly want to photograph so you never have a day where you say “there’s nothing left to take pictures of!”

I like blogging about my 365 project weekly just so I can easily look back on them. But there is lots you could do with your project even if you don’t have a blog. Websites like Blurb, and Tiny Prints allow you to create your own photobooks! How awesome would it be to have years and years worth of these to look back on?! A 365 project means you’ll have something everyday to upload to instagram. There are tons of groups on flickr to connect with others doing the same thing. There are even websites such as 365 Project, and Blipfoto where you can upload your photos daily. Basically what I’m saying is there is no reason not to do one! So, what’s stopping you?
xoxo

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Favorite 10 abandoned spots in 2014

by Kaylah Stroup
Earlier in the week I was going through my posts from 2014 to make up a little list of my favorites from the past twelve months. It was a great year, so naturally I had a lot of favorites. I was trying to keep the list varied but kept finding I wanted to add posts about abandoned places. They just kept adding up so I thought it might be fun to do a little recap of my favorite abandoned spots I visited in 2014. Well, I should reword that, these aren’t necessarily my favorite spots but ones that yielded the prettiest photos and my favorite blog posts.

Cleveland, Abandoned, Observatory,
Cleveland, Abandoned,
Cleveland, Abandoned, rubber ducks
salton sea,
Cleveland, Abandoned, church, decay
Cleveland, Abandoned,
amusement park, roller coaster

There is still so much to see in Cleveland but I’m hoping, in the new year, to make a few trips specifically to see some abandoned places I have my eye on. Here’s to 2015, may it be chock-full of adventures.
xoxo 

You can find the rest of my posts on abandoned places under the “abandoned” tag.

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This year I…

by Kaylah Stroup
became a city girl!
got a cozy little place to call my own.

traveled more than I’ve ever traveled before.
fell madly in love.
spent more money on photobooth pictures than I want to think about + managed to convince the lead singer of my favorite band to get in a photobooth with me.
 made one of my best purchases ever.
explored oodles of forgotten structures.
dyed my hair a bunch of beautiful colors.
 saw my city from vantage points most will never experience, some high…
and others low…
above photo by Jeff
collected more and more plants.
watched the sun rise in a ghost town in the middle of the desert.
rode a jackalope.

above photo by Mickey. 
ate more macarons than I’ll admit to.

saw wild horses for the first time ever.
ran into dinosaurs just about everywhere I traveled.
made pretty pictures from trash.
picked up a relaxing new hobby.
 rappelled in a cave!
 above photo by Jeff
slept in a wigwam, more than once.
swam in the ocean in February.
above photo by Mickey.
started to get the hang of night photography.

And oh so much more!
xoxo

For the past few years I’ve been doing a “This year I…” post. See 2011, 2012, 2013. 
If you do a “This year I…” post, leave a link in the comments. I’d love to check it out. 
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Merry Christmas

by Kaylah Stroup

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from all of us over at The Dainty Squid! I’m taking the day off to relax (…errr holidays are never actually that relaxing, are they?) with my family. I’ll be back tomorrow at least five pounds heavier, full of Christmas candies, and with your regularly scheduled post.
xoxo


Ps. If you forgot how to wrap your cat for Christmas, or just need a smile today, for ya!

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The Rubber Duck Factory

by Kaylah Stroup

Last week some friends came up from Columbus to spend the day exploring Cleveland with me. I was racking my brain all week, trying to decided which places I knew of in the area would be perfect to take Jesi. We both prefer spots with things still left in them so that’s what I was really going for. I mapped out four fun spots. Our first stop would be the rubber duck factory. It’s not actually a rubber duck factory at all but I’m the sure pictures below will be able to give you some indication as to why its called that by other local explorers. It’s a large building, most likely used as some sort of warehouse. Now it’s filled with colorful graffiti, broken pallets, oodles of paperwork, and obviously rubber duckies. In a few rooms the roof has caved in. The building has very clearly seen better days and my guess would be that there’s no saving it now. Its in rough shape.

This was my third time visiting the building. The first time I visited this building I didn’t take any photos at all. The second time I went back I was excited to shoot the ducks but was ultimately disappointed when I found maybe a total of fifteen. I assumed people stealing them one by one eventually added up. This last time I knew there had to be more. So the three of us each set off to gather some. Even if we only ended up with fifty or so like I presumed would happen I would have been happy but after a few minutes, we hit the jackpot. In the lower level we found where they were all hiding. We grabbed boxes, started filling them, and within no time at all our pile was massive!

We ended up spending a few hours in that one building, just gathering ducks, taking pictures, telling TMI stories, giggling, and having a grand old time. It was perfect.
xoxo

Prints available on society6. 

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Dittrick Medical History Center

by Kaylah Stroup

Recently it came to my attention there was a museum I’d reeeeally enjoy right under my nose, Dittrick Medical Center. I think a reader might have mentioned it to me a year or so ago, before I moved to Cleveland and I bookmarked it as something to visit in the future but forgot about it completely until my pal, Jason, invited me to visit with him and a group of friends. My first visit was short but I was instantly enthralled. I immediately knew I’d have to head back for a more thorough visit and to take some photos. The permanent exhibits at the museum feature medical instrument collections to document the development of medicine. You’ve heard of the Mutter Museum, correct? Well it’s similar in a sense except instead of specimens, it’s the tools. There are stethoscopes (pictured in this post) as well as a handful of other diagnostic instruments in their various different stages of evolution. There are also a few period rooms including a 1870’s doctor’s office, a 1900 pharmacy, and a 1930’s doctor’s office.

In another gallery adjacent to the main Dittrick Museum gallery is The Percy Skuy Collection of Contraception Through the Ages. There’s a wide range of contraception items, prototypes, manufacturing devices, and literature. With over 800 items, it’s one the of the world’s largest collections of contraceptive devices. One of my favorites sections was the folklore and oddities case which includes a handful of outlandish-seeming contraceptive practices. In the museums collection are a mule’s earwax, weasel’s testicles, and a bone taken from the right side of an all black cat.

It’s a relatively small museum, I’d say it’d take the average person around an hour, if that, to check out. Seeing as admission is free, yes FREE, there is really no excuse not to visit! It’s absolutely worth a peek!
xoxo

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