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How Ohioans Turned Neighborhood Walks Into a Weekly Creative Ritual

by Nadya Ellerhorst

Three people with cameras standing outside a closed metal garage door on a beige industrial building. One person is holding the camera up, taking photos.
Photo Credit: Chris Pender

The Northside Neighborhood Photowalk is turning casual strolls into a creative Cincinnati tradition, where photographers gather to document “little moments.”

Is this your dream afternoon? Walking around, taking photos, and meeting people who also love photography?

Then you might be a fan of the Northside Neighborhood Photowalk in Cincinnati, Ohio. The group started in 2024, and since then, they’ve met up weekly for the last year, rain or shine, to stroll through the city’s vibrant neighborhood and take pictures.

A group of people standing on the corner of a crosswalk outside Cincinnati Public Library’s modern brick and glass building on a sunny day.
Photo Credit: Carter Hall
A triptych of outdoor scenes. Top: People in conversation on a grassy path. Middle: A group walks on a sidewalk into a forest. Bottom: Person holding a log and pointing out mushroom growth.
Photo Credit: Sue. Z
A group of people are walking down a tree-lined street in the warm glow of sunset, with cars parked on the right and a large brick building nearby.
Photo Credit: Hannah Rimstidt
A paved walkway is flanked by raised garden beds and arches on a sunny day. Behind the walkway is a red-brick building with large windows and an orange construction lift in front.
Photo Credit: Daniel Iroh

From iPads to box cameras, group members use all kinds of photo-making tools to document anything from architecture and people to friendly neighborhood cats (we hear that the last one is a favorite!).

“It connects us in ways that make photography a community-based hobby as opposed to being something I do solo,” says photographer and one of the founders of the photowalk, Daniel Iroh.

The “walkers” have traveled a little further than the neighborhood, too—making group trips to the city’s downtown and parts of Kentucky and Indiana.

Empty swimming pool with dry leaves, surrounded by bare trees and a chain-link fence. Sunlight casts shadows of the fence and trees.
Photo Credit: Santiago Álvarez Gandía
A person wearing a bright yellow hooded jacket and dark pants walking down a narrow urban alley lined with brick walls, metal staircases, and trash bins on a cloudy day
Photo Credit: Jack Conyers III
A white car is partially wrapped in clear plastic, parked in a dimly lit area.
Photo Credit: Sam Redding
A old red parking meter labeled "Open" stands on a black pole amidst green bushes. In the background cars are parked on a sunny street.
Photo Credit: Carter Hall
A collage of three images shows people interacting with cats outdoors. One cat sits on a ledge, and another is petted by people near a fence.
Photo Credit: Sue. Z
A quaint house with red siding and a gray roof is partially obscured by lush greenery. It rests under a bright, blue sky with scattered clouds.
Photo Credit: Jack Conyers III

They recently released their first yearbook featuring photographs from members and hosted a bring-your-own-prints “PhotoFair” in partnership with a Northside gallery.

From snow day sledding to back-alley strolls, Northside Neighborhood Photowalk is an exquisite example of building a creative community and finding beauty around us.

We’re inspired!

*Invites buddies on a photowalk*