Archive for August 2024
Lookie loo
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As a humble narrator navigates through his daily rounds, here in Pittsburgh, moments often occur that cause a moment of reflection to manifest. The insane terrain, the disturbingly heterogeneous housing stock… everything here is so different than the world I grew up and lived in most of my life – which is just 400 miles away on the ocean coast. It seems like it’s an entirely different country here.
More accurately – it’s a different country back there, in the archipelago city-state of NYC which squats just off the coast of America. This is the actual ‘country,’ and the megalopolis which spawned me is the exception rather than the rule. These days, I live amongst the Americans. Just yesterday, I saw some bloke open carrying a holstered pistol at CVS when I was picking up a prescription, which struck me as odd. Expecting trouble? He was picking up hemorrhoid cream.
Nobody else seemed to notice, or find it odd.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I get around, here.
Spotted this house in a neighborhood somewhere in the middle of Pittsburgh. Wasn’t intending on taking a photo of this house for any particular reason, instead, I was just tuning up the camera’s ‘exposure triangle’ while in the front seat of the car – for current lighting conditions and focused in on the first thing which caught my eye. Look at that joint, though – what an interesting and quirky building that is, ain’t it? Especially so for a residential structure found in an urban neighborhood.
I’ve had to redefine what I consider as ‘urban’ since moving out here nearly two years ago. It’s a whole other kind of city, Pittsburgh.
There are areas in Pittsburgh which sport a ‘density’ that begins to touch some of the outlier neighborhoods of NYC, but the de facto suburbs in New York are FAR more populated and ‘dense’ than even the dead bang center of Pittsburgh is.
It’s a whole other banana out here, in fact it’s a plantain in comparison. Starchy, and not as sweet, but quite tolerant of high cooking temperatures.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are a tremendous number of ‘cul de sac’ streets in Pittsburgh where the only way out is the way you came in, a quirk of the region’s unique geography and Appalachian terrain. You see these ‘No Outlet’ signs everywhere, indicating that you’ve arrived at one of those cul de sac’s and you’re either ‘hanging a U’ie’ or reversing back out. Also ubiquitous is signage which admonishes one to ‘Watch Children,’ an odd municipal command in a region of the country which is so absolutely preoccupied with Pedophilia and human trafficking. I try to pretend that the kids aren’t there, or at the least are just large and hairless squirrels.
It’s my belief that these signs are indicating that the local kids are up to something sinister, so I’m keeping an eye on the youngins. I’ve seen a lot or horror movies, and a surprising number of them are set in Pennsylvania. The kids are up to something here, according to the signs, so watch out.
Back next week with something different 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.
Instituendi vigilantes
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described yesterday, a night out at Pittsburgh’s Sly Fox Brewery allowed for some fun socializing time, as well as multiple opportunities to photograph passing rail traffic. The Pittsburgh Subdivision tracks of the CSX outfit run directly past the brewery – and since I like both beer and trains – it’s become a regular ‘spot’ for me to kill a few brain cells and spend some camera time.
Our Lady of the Pentacle was accompanying your Humble Narrator on this particular evening, so food was ordered, and we ended up hanging out at the establishment for a few hours with a friend.
Good times, I tell’s ya, you’re lucky if you got ‘em, good times.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX was having a fairly busy night, and there were trains moving through pretty frequently. The drill goes like this: I’m sitting there, joking around and sipping on a pint when the signal arms begin chiming, and then a train horn blares in the distance. A humble narrator leaps to his feat saying ‘here we go’ and scuttles over to the fencing separating the tracks from the public seating area. One rapidly figures out the camera’s exposure triangle for the current conditions, and then gets busy.
The trains are moving quite a bit faster than perception suggests, and the lens I was using operates best at narrow apertures (f8) so a higher ISO (800) is called for. Ideally, shutter speed should be at least about 1/500th of a second in this sort of scenario. That freezes the action, and the higher ISO allows for detail without the shadows consuming all the detail.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When it got actually dark, the 24-240mm zoom lens had been swapped off the camera in favor of the 35mm f1.8 lens which replaced it. The sensor ISO sensitivity setting was jacked up to ISO 6400, and the shutter speed reduced to the lowest I could go without motion blur becoming a problem – about 1/200th.
Back tomorrow, with something different, 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.
Trio impedimenta
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A warm Friday night revealed that a humble narrator was back at the Sly Fox Brewery, in Pittsburgh’s South Side Flats neighborhood, photographing passing rail traffic while inhaling a couple of drinks. This time around, it was a cream ale which struck my fancy, rather than the Pilsner I normally favor. It was a fairly productive evening, and Our Lady of the Pentacle was there as well. Me?
Can’t resist a train shot. I’m particularly pleased with the shot above, wherein light and circumstance conspired to offer a dramatic moment as CSX #170 rolled into frame.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
CSX #170 is a GE AC44CW model locomotive, one of 2,834 such units built sometime between 1993 and 2004 by General Electric Transportation Systems. On this particular summer evening, it was also nicely lit as it hurtled along the tracks.
It’s odd to me… the locals here in Pittsburgh don’t even seem to notice the trains flowing past, except as an inconvenience which interrupts the flow of automotive traffic. I guess when you’ve grown up with something so ubiquitous, it just fades into the background. Sort of the way that pausing a conversation while the FDNY is screaming past your house in NYC seems normal.
Wonders, I tell you. Wonders!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My understanding of things is that these tracks are called the Pittsburgh Subdivision by CSX. The right of way here was originally established by the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie RR back in 1879. Said tracks, which long time readers will tell you I’ve been haunting since moving here at the end of 2022, seem to be busiest in the late afternoon and early evening although there’s intermittent traffic moving along them all day long.
Back tomorrow with more 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.
Ambulans mortem
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator was out for an early walk, on a particular section of Pittsburgh’s Great Allegheny Passage trail, found in the Homestead and Munhall areas. After marching to the Whitaker Flyover bridge, which spans a grouping of rail tracks parallel to the trail, I was rewarded with a less than sudden appearance of a Norfolk Southern train set.
‘Less than sudden’ means that they were changing crews about a half mile away, and that I stood there for around a half hour waiting for the thing to move into position for the shot above. Sheesh!
The flyover bridge is a somewhat recent addition to this milieu, I’m told, and was installed along with another trail connector bridge found a couple of miles away in Duquesne, to ensure continuity for the GAP trail and to avoid having the citizenry using the trail crossing the very active tracks down below. I’ve learned this from signage.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My schedule for the day was cramped, and I had allocated just a few hours for the outing. Time was short and I was glad of the fact that the crew change finished up and the train started moving. It passed under the bridge I was standing on, and started heading roughly westwards. I altered my perspective, and got blasted with engine exhaust.
Me? After gathering these shots, I changed lenses back over to the big 24-240mm zoom.
The bridge sports a chain link fence, which negates usage of that larger lens. Instead, I had been using a ‘nifty fifty’ at this point, as the size of that lens easily fits into the diamond pattern of standard chain link.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A shlep still stood in front of me, and I had to scuttle back to where the car was parked a couple of miles distant to get on with the rest of my appointed rounds for the day. I had also left my water bottle in the car, and was looking forward to having a good long suckle from its icy content.
Back tomorrow, with something just a little different.
“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.
Mors ac dissolutio
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was a warm summer morning which greeted a humble narrator, one recent day, and it saw me revisiting a now familiar section of Pittsburgh’s Great Allegheny Passage Trail. The turnaround point this morning’s efforts would be the Whitaker Flyover rail bridge, a location which has often proved fruitful in terms of there being abundances of locomotive traffic observable in past outings. Well, I also like it, at least.
This was a short walk, and I enjoyed all three hours of it despite it being a very ‘summery’ day, even as early as 11:00 a.m. or so. Humid, shvitzy, strong sun – it was that sort of morning. Feh. The afternoon was solidly booked up with mundane pursuits, so my morning hours were precious.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s a Norfolk Southern train in the shot above, heading through Munhall, and then continuing on its way through Homestead in the direction of downtown Pittsburgh. It was pretty far away, this train, but that’s where that new lens I’ve been using comes in handy.
I soon broke away from the ‘official’ trail for a bit, and walked along the rail access road, hoping for a shot to materialize before me. A couple caught my eye, but nothing truly novel or obscene appeared.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
For instance, that shot above is one which I seem compelled to capture every time I’m here, depicting the Rankin Bridge overflying a set of four rail tracks. The locomotive hardware in the shot above was static and being stored in between missions.
Tomorrow – more ‘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.
The Newtown Pentacle 