Archive for June 2023
Not shy
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One hasn’t really explored the ‘close/near’ vicinity around HQ all that much, which is specifically Pittsburgh’s Borough of Dormont. Take a look at that terrain and you can probably guess why. That this is one heck of a hill to walk up is something I can tell you from experience, and I also gotta tell’s ya – walking down it ain’t all that simple either. That’s Downtown Pittsburgh on the horizon, peeking out over the trees, which is found roughly 5 miles away.
Also, I don’t really like taking pictures of residential neighborhoods, which Dormont mostly is. People get all bent out of shape when they see some bloke with a camera wandering around as it is. Fair enough, I guess. They’re all paranoid about ‘pedos’ out here. There’s billboards. Another big worry is ‘human trafficking,’ apparently.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve been playing around in the dark, however. HQ has a deck facing out into our yard which adjoins another ‘thing’ I never encountered before moving here, which is a ‘paper alley.’ It’s used as community drive, is a semi paved street that goes all tree and vegetation halfway up the hill before it then joins with two other alleys at the top of the hill, forming a T shaped intersection that parallels a nearby street. All of this is found in between all the houses/yards and whatnot. Interestingly, it’s meant to be owned by the Post Office, but is administered by the local municipality. Commonwealths, amirite?
The deck situation allows me to experiment with different camera setups in dark situations. I had a porch back in Astoria, but that was pretty much a light and air pollution hot spot because of the traffic, bridges, highways, restaurant exhausts, and LaGuardia.
Here’s something I can tell you – a 35mm f1.8 lens can allow a shot – no more than 8 seconds – of the night sky before motion is recorded into the image due to the rotation of the earth, relative to the starry dome. 4 seconds is actually preferable. ISO is basically whatever it has to be for the exposure, and for the other settings to be valid.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Lastly… if you’re going to be playing Bagpipes while riding a unicycle around Pittsburgh on a sunny afternoon, somebody is going to take a picture of you. Possibly video as well. Don’t get all prissy at the photographer, as he’s not the one who decided to ride around a park on a unicycle while playing bagpipes. You’re not shy, as you’re the one riding a unicycle while playing bagpipes.
Sheesh.
Back next week.
“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.
Run, Montour, Run
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An exercise day, which I’m trying to have occur every other day, arrived one morning and I drove over to the Montour Trail in pursuit of a bit of a walk. This trail is about 150 miles long, and whereas I could technically walk to Washington D.C. from Pittsburgh, I’m basically exploring the Montour Trail a few miles at a pop. I’ll pull the car into one of the lots attached to the trail, which is a former railroad ‘right of way,’ and then walk to the next parking lot and back. This usually ends up being 2-3 miles one way and then back again. It’s an easy walk, usually on a well graded and crushed limestone surface, and you’ll see bike riders and joggers doing the same thing as me, except I’ve got a camera. It’s actually… nice…
The water pictured is Montour Run, and there are former railroad bridges spanning the stream. Some portions of the Montour Trail are a walk through what this city boy would call woods, whereas others give you an interesting POV on the surrounding area’s industrial present or past. Here’s a few other sections of the Montour Trail I’ve visited, with this one found in the South Hills of Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As you see in the photos, spring had just sprung. I encounter the term ‘run’ for a waterbody everywhere in Pittsburgh. It seems to indicate a steadily flowing stream or creek with mostly shallow water no more than few feet deep, but which is typically a few inches deep. The nature of the terrain is definitely part of the reason these waters flow, but I have the distinct sense that it was the railroad people who shaped these runs when their tracks were being laid down, to act as drainage for their infrastructure. ‘Run’ also seems to be an artifact of earlier times, like the word ‘Kill” is back in NYC – Kill Van Kull, Dutch Kills, etc.
I was extremely happy, of course, since there was a sewer plant on the opposite bank and it’s been a while since I smelled the good stuff. You can just see the treatment tanks peeking in at the top left of the shot.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On roadways which adjoin the ‘run’ waterways, you encounter signage admonishing drivers to be mindful of flooding during weather events or the spring thaw. I wonder how high the water has to rise for that to happen?
A bunch of kids who I ran into later on during this walk had been swimming just upstream, and I also saw several people fishing as well. This area of Pittsburgh is home to a gargantuan park complex called South Park, and the Montour Trail section I was in had to be less than a mile from the edge of the place. There’s conservation areas here as well, not sure if this is one of them or not. From what I understand, designated conservation areas are either watershed or ‘natural island’ related. Probably both.
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 