Squall Scuttling
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was a Sunday. Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself would have discovered along Pittsburgh’s Carson Street, having brunch with a few friends. The weather report warned of snow squalls and inclement weather approaching. After the meal, everybody else hopped into their cars to head to other destinations, whereas I announced that ‘I’m going for a walk.’ Our Lady departed with the others.
‘Are you sure’ they all asked, and reminded me about the forecast. I was sure. I had just eaten a bacon cheeseburger for breakfast, and needed to ‘earn’ the many fat calories it deposited within.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was awful out. Lots of wind, and bands of snow which produced instant white out conditions. I was wearing my warm coat, not the street cassock (aka filthy black raincoat) that’s normally utilized as my outer shell. The warm coat is a Carhartt with a temperature rating, whereas the street cassock is a military surplus navy policeman’s overcoat with a zip-in lining made of synthetic wool. One of the first things I did when moving out here was buy a warmer coat. This ain’t New York.
The street cassock is ideal for 90% of the weather I encounter in Pittsburgh, but when a bone chilling interval of midwestern winter blows in from Ohio and then just lingers… you need a stouter level of insulation. I was carrying my minimum kit camera bag, the contents of which I’ve described several times in the past.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One headed over to the waterfront trail which mirrors the shoreline of the Monongahela River, as that’s really where you’d want to be during near blizzard conditions. It’s logical, right?
Thing is, when you’re following your camera lens around, comfort isn’t one of the things that you’re building into the plan. If you want to get your shots, there might be some frostbite or heat stroke involved, so get used to discomfort. The outside world ain’t a studio, with controlled lighting and skinny art school chicks milling about. Get out there, suffer a bit…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I had to reel back a few episodes, in my relistening of ‘The History of Rome’ by podcaster Mike Duncan, as I had literally not been paying much attention to the entire sequence of ‘Tiberius to Caligula to Claudius’ episodes on my last session, despite having them playing in my ear holes. Sometimes it’s just noise that’s playing through my headphones, which replaces the inner voice dialog about how shit I am.
I’m still staggered by that survey a few months back in which about 40% of Americans reported that they did not experience an ‘inner voice,’ and that about 20% of Americans reported that their inner voices were actually either devils or angels talking to them.
Wow. Internal dialogue is often all I’ve got…
Me? When you start a conversation with ole Mitch, I’m already ‘gaming’ your binary responses to arguments which you might counter an assertion with. Am I the only one who thinks through ‘if they say yes, we do this. If they say no, we’ll react this way instead? Game theory? Anyone? Inner voice reacting silently to things while the outer voice says things diplomatically?
This is why I’m lonely.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
South 10th street bridge, pictured above. I was heading towards that brewery I hang around by the train tracks, but this wasn’t going to be a ‘get a drink’ sort of day due to the inclement clime. I was ‘pretty hep’ on getting a few shots of a CSX train in the snow, should the universe decide to give me something that I wanted. Bah!
Scuttle, scuttle, scuttle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was positively horrible out. Windy, cold, blowing snow everywhere. My toes and fingers were numb. The eyes were weeping.
I was so happy.
Back tomorrow.
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He’ll sleep well tonight
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Final images from the longest walk I’ve been able to take since the ‘orthopedic incident’ hobbled your humble narrator are on display today.
After walking through one of Pittsburgh’s central corridors, and visiting a brewery found alongside some train tracks, one began the journey back to HQ in nearby Dormont.
It’s quite a small ‘shlep’ to get to the light rail station from this spot.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As is my habit, I kept shooting while in movement. I’m planning on doing some ‘proper’ night shooting excursions in the spring, by the way. By proper – I mean tripod and full gear. For this walk, I was carrying my ‘minimum’ kit, and everything was hand held.
The day after this walk – snow, rain, and freezing temperatures returned to the Paris of Appalachia. That began a long cycle of ‘no bueno.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I haven’t been pursuing the low light dealie during my recovery period from the busted ankle, for obvious reasons. Frankly, it’s taken a lot of effort to just walk around during the afternoons, but there we are.
Also, I need to restate the fact that I’m not doing any historic research about Pittsburgh at all. None. My ignorance is curatorial.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Although I regularly pass through this Station Square Light Rail Station, I’ve remained inexperienced regarding the bus stops which are found there as well. As is often intoned, I’m planning on getting familiar with how the buses here work in the near future. It’s ’next.’
I had to cross a pretty busy street, so I hit the ‘walk’ arrow on the talking lamp post and it began telling me to wait.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
You see these talking lamp posts all over Pittsburgh, Philly too, so it must be a PA thing. I presume they’re accommodations for people with sensory deficits. It’s all pretty civilized, if you ask me. We didn’t have talking lamp posts like this back in Queens. The NYC version would probably tell you to ‘hurry the ‘eff up and get the ‘eff across the street, what are ya? An icehole?’
At any rate, this icehole chicken crossed the road, as I truly needed to get to the other side. That’s where the station is.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The T reliably got me back to Dormont, where my favorite local Pizza guy also happened to be open.
Turns out that the there’s this guy in Pittsburgh named ‘Antknee,’ who also grew up in the world’s only ‘true’ place – known as Brooklyn. He learned how to make pizza in Greenpoint, on Manhattan Avenue. It’s a proper NYC slice he offers, as far as the napolitan. His Sicilian slice is a bit smaller than the NYC standard, but it’s covered in charred pepperoni. Mmm.
Back tomorrow with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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Two pints worth of ‘Hey Now’
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Triskedecaphobic? Don’t worry, your humble narrator got extremely lucky in terms of timing regarding these shots, so hopefully some of my good fortune will rub off on you during this Friday the 13th.
After a marathon scuttle through the heart of Pittsburgh, one had arrived at the Sly Fox Brewery and the Pittsburgh Subdivision Tracks of the CSX RR outfit in the South Side Flats section. I hadn’t ordered my drink yet, as I was some 40-50 feet over the tracks on a causeway, hovering.
CSX #5464 came through the pass first. I’m told it’s an GE ES44DC model locomotive.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just as I was fixing to head downstairs and buy a drink, a Towboat was spotted navigating on the Monongahela River and under the Liberty Bridge.
There’s a flight of stairs here, but as is my practice, I decided to audit the elevator’s service instead. I’ve got legit reasons to use the elevator although it’s an elective, mind you, but I think it’s important to see how the ‘other half’ lives.
By the other half, I mean people with mobility issues. Everybody forgets about them, all the time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Next up was CSX #5456. It was heading ‘away from Ohio.’
I had a lovely stout, if you’re wondering. Tasted almost like licorice.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Also moving ‘away from Ohio,’ the next train was CSX #7422.
This one came through as I was finishing my second pint of stout. That was my limit for the day, so I headed inside and resolved my bill.
Trains come through here in the late afternoon and early evening about every 20-30 minutes. Sometimes it’s an hour. This isn’t a hard rule, just an observation. Isn’t true all the time, but when it is – they just keep on keeping on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just as I was leaving the brewery, CSX #5429 hurtled through as well.
I boarded that elevator again, and used it to bring me back up to the causeway, which connects at sidewalk level to the street which leads back to the T station and my ride back home.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is what the brewery looks like, for the curious. Out door tables, train tracks, beer, food, a bathroom… what else could you ask for?
Back next week – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Gazing, a ride, and then a ‘hey now’
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This shot involves the ‘gazing’ part from the title. Downtown Pittsburgh, with its shadow casting monoliths.
They don’t seem to do ‘set backs’ out here, so the massing of the upper floors of these towers mirror their bases. This causes a permanent sense of ‘dusk’ for these downtown streets, except for those narrow stripes of sunlight which somehow manage to beam past them. No Bueno.
This walk had been a pretty involved multi hour effort, but I wasn’t done yet.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The T light rail stop at Gateway Center was entered. I used the elevator to get down to the platform level, just to see how well it functioned. Your humble narrator will often go out of his way to see what people who are less abled might be experiencing in these sorts of municipal systems. But for the grace of god…
I boarded the first T that came into the station, and merrily sat down. First time I had sit down since I was moving through Skunk Hollow about two hours prior.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It would only be a few stops on the T, and all in the ‘free zone.’ The light rail runs for free at the City’s core. It’s all very civilized.
The light rail unit made its underground stops, then emerged back onto an elevated causeway at First Avenue Station, whereupon it then proceeded across the Panhandle Bridge spanning the Monongahela River.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The transit service vomited me forth and onto the mean streets of the South Side Flats section, at the Station Square stop. Soon, I was kicking dirt again.
My plan for the rest of my day involved reward for the effort.
The brewery which I haunt is a 15 minute walk from this spot, and I was powerfully thirsty by this point. Hadn’t had a drop of liquid pass my lips since leaving the house, and I’d pretty much walked here from all the way over in East Liberty.
I’ve had to break my usual rule of not carrying water with me on photowalks in Pittsburgh during the summer months, but during the winter months? Not so much. If you drink liquid, you’ll need to pee. That creates a logistical problem, even in a place which routinely deploys Porta-Potties around the city for use as public bathrooms.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The light was pretty great, so I cracked out a shot or two of the Liberty Bridge. This bridge is the ‘other side’ of West Liberty Avenue and the Liberty Tunnels which I showed y’all recently.
A quick call to HQ revealed to Our Lady where I was and served well enough as ‘confirmation of life’ for her to say ‘Have Fun.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It had been about a month since I was able to grab a beer and hang out by the CSX tracks here on the South Side. Missed that.
Tomorrow – lotsa Choo Choo.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
Double time
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The last phases of a recent, and quite long, walk occurred along familiar territory. After debarking the Herron Street Bridge, one ‘hung a left’ onto Pittsburgh’s Penn Avenue. My next destination was off in the distance, where those tall buildings lurk.
As mentioned at the start of this multi week series of posts, the weather was on my side for once. It was fairly warm, with mild winds, and no precipitation was forecast.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A rail trestle, one that connects to the 33rd street rail bridge, was observed on Penn and then one moved on after cataloguing its location. This would be a great spot for getting shots of that ‘white whale’ rail service – the one which I can never seem to reliably catch shots of – the Allegheny Valley RR.
I kept on keeping on.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Some of that new construction cracked me up while walking along. Antics… wonder if this one passed inspection… I’ll bet it did.
This section is kind of a boring walk, with shops and stores selling stuff. Former warehouse buildings, some converted over to U-Haul dealerships or strip clubs, with some still warehouses still functioning according to their built purposes. There’s a few auto mechanic, and services, oriented businesses and at least once every two blocks there’s an opportunity for you to buy some branded Steeler’s ‘merch.’
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The 40th street Bridge was passed by next.
At this stage, I was mainly carrying the camera rather than wielding it, as I had just passed through this section a mere week before this occasion.
Along the way, conscious arrangements of my feet on the pavement were conducted, vouchsafing the gamey ankle and working on improvements to ‘gait.’ Can’t run before you can walk, all that.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Next up was the 16th street Bridge.
The short time goal for this section of my day involved getting to one of the T stations, to grab a quick ride to the South Side, and thereby save myself a couple of extra miles of walking and gain an hour of daylight.
By the time I got back to HQ, and checked, it seems that I had broken well through that noisome ten mile barrier which has defied me since the orthopedic incident.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Finally, the last bridge on this section of the walk, and it was the approach trestle to the Fort Wayne Rail Bridge. Whew.
Back tomorrow.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
Buy a book!
“In the Shadows at Newtown Creek,” an 88 page softcover 8.5×11 magazine format photo book by Mitch Waxman, is now on sale at blurb.com for $30.
The Newtown Pentacle 