Brent Balzer
I build things, break things, and photograph things.
Software engineer by trade. Home lab tinkerer by night. Photographer when the light's right.
The short version
(the long version involves a lot more Docker logs)
I'm a software engineer in Port Washington, Wisconsin who probably over-engineers everything. I built an AI system that monitors my home server and fixes problems before I wake up. I wrote a custom storybook app that generates bedtime stories for my kids. I have opinions about reverse proxies.
My home lab runs 35+ containers on a Linux server and a NAS. It handles everything from my photography portfolio to family apps to intrusion detection. It's the kind of setup where I spend a weekend automating something that takes 5 minutes to do manually, and I'd do it again.
When I'm not writing code, I'm usually behind a Sony A7IV chasing golden hour, out on the kayak pretending to fish, or building something new that my wife is probably going to ask "why do we need that?"
How I spend my time
Flask apps, Next.js sites, AI agents, automation scripts
Docker, Caddy, Authelia, CrowdSec, and a lot of YAML
Sony A7IV + GM II glass, mostly golden hour and portraits
Local rivers, when the weather cooperates
Working on it
Docker containers
running from a closet
unplanned outages
this month (knock on wood)
side projects
most of them actually finished
What I work with
No percentage bars. Just the tools I actually use.
Languages & Frameworks
The stuff I reach for first
Infrastructure
Where I probably spend too much time
AI & Automation
Making the machines do the boring stuff
Creative
The non-code stuff
The full list
Things I've built
Most of these started as "this'll take a weekend" and… didn't.
Claude Orchestrator
How I wrangle AI agents
A Flask dashboard for managing multiple Claude AI agents across 35+ projects. Real-time streaming, cost tracking, session management. Basically mission control for AI-assisted development.
Self-Healing Infrastructure
Because I don't want 3am alerts
An AI agent that watches all 35+ Docker containers, figures out what broke, and fixes it without waking me up. It reads logs, diagnoses issues, and restarts services. I sleep better now.
Photography Portfolio
photography.brentbalzer.com
Custom Next.js site for my photography work. Client galleries with password-protected access, blog, admin dashboard, the whole thing. You're welcome to browse it.
Home Lab
A Linux server, a NAS, and too many containers
35+ services running on hardware tucked in a closet. Caddy handles routing, Authelia handles auth, CrowdSec watches for threats, and everything is monitored around the clock. It all just works. Usually.
Family Apps
Built with love (and TypeScript)
A custom mailbox app lets family send video messages to my kids. The storybook app generates personalized bedtime stories with AI. My wife has a newsletter platform. Over-engineered? Maybe. Worth it? Absolutely.
Fishing Log
Yes, there's an app for that
I kayak fish on local rivers and wanted to track my catches, spots, and conditions. So naturally I built a full web app for it instead of just using a notebook like a normal person.
The other side
When I put the keyboard down, I pick up the camera.
My Gear
The tools behind the images
Body
Sony A7IV
Lenses
Sony GM II Series
photography.brentbalzer.com
Words I live by
“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.
”
Say hello
Got a project, a question, or just want to talk shop? I'm all ears.