Bruce Menefield - Jazz Musician

Bruce Menefield, a Jazz musician based in Cincinnati, is shown practicing and commenting about his approach to this great music. Bruce then performs at the Hyatt in downtown Cincinnati . © Melvin Grier

Pardon The Intrusion

On a yearly basis personnel from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources rides a tiny elevator  some 400 feet up the interior of a smoke stack at Miami Fort Power Station. Once reaching that level they remove the chicks from the nest that has outside and inside access. The young bird's parents are none too happy with this intrusion and buzz the nest at incredible speed. The chicks are carried to a ground level office where they are banded and introduced to a few schoolchildren.It makes for "cute" pictures. I chose to take the elevator ride and try for the adult birds. This photograph from May 25, 2005 is the result.© Melvin Grier

City Chicken

The Hamilton County Fair has taken place in the Carthage neighborhood for at least 153 years.It affords city people the opportunity to get up close and personal with farm animals and displays of prize winning produce. You might even see a lady dressed in a chicken suit working with... chickens!! The issue now is whether or not the public really cares since attendance is way down. Some have suggested that safety might be the reason why only about 9000 people attended this year's Fair.  There is talk of moving the Fair to a more rural setting. When you  hear a man tell his daughter " no that's not a dog, it's a goat", you walk away convinced that the Hamilton County Fair should stay where it is. © Melvin Grier

Death Stop

On April 25, 2006, 48 year old Angela Grayson waited at this Metro stop for a bus to work. At about 11:22 AM she was shot and killed by a criminal firing at someone else. This photograph is one of a series that I've shot documenting the memorials to homicides in neighborhoods that are near downtown Cincinnati. In the May 2008 issue of Cincinnati Magazine  a selection of these memorial photographs ran with an essay by Kathy Y. Wilson. The shooting of Angela Grayson happened in Avondale, a short walk from where I live. Shootings have reached epidemic proportions in some communities. I have chosen to support CeaseFire Cincinnati, a group that is trying to do something about this dangerous problem. © Melvin Grier

Jazz Drummer

Mark Lomax, one of the new wave of young Jazz musicians playing in and around Cincinnati, performs at the Hyatt Hotel in a concert produced by "Doc B". Because of a combination of factors this fine series was discontinued. The music never received the support from some of the public who claim to love Jazz.   © Melvin Grier

Inner-City Masjid (Mosque)

While one of their group enjoys his meal, the other members of the Masjid wait for their plates after Friday prayers in the Over the Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. © Melvin Grier