The Newtown Pentacle

Wednesday

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Your humble narrator recently found himself driving past the Wheeling & Lake Erie rail yard in Greentree, which neighbors Pittsburgh’s Dormont – where Newtown Pentacle HQ is found. They weren’t doing anything terribly exciting down there, mainly maneuvering the rolling stock around from one track to the other. I was just passing by, and then I parked the automobile, cracked out a few shots and then got back to my daily round.

The shots in today’s post are were captured mid October, incidentally. I’m still maintaining my advance ‘lead time’ here.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Usually, some variation of this scene is the first shot I take when going out for a walk. It’s my front yard, and the corner at the bottom of the steep hill which I sometimes mention. Not a terribly exciting composition, admittedly, but the reason I pop out this shot is to figure out the ‘median’ exposure triangle which I’ll likely be using for the rest of the day’s effort.

It’s like a gray card for the photographic environment, this practice. lets me know that the ‘sun is dark today’ or that ‘there’s too much light.’

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Our Lady and myself attended another festival/town event here in Dormont, and the titular ‘main street’ of the Borough was closed to traffic while a music festival was underway.

Hundreds, I tell you, hundreds of people were there. There were vendors ‘tabling,’ which included the PA Constable’s Office doing recruiting, and the officer therein was a really nice guy who answered several of my rather specific questions about their patrol and responsibilities. I’m not looking to become a constable, but now I know what their enforcement duties are and what they do. Neat.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

The clarion call of lonely places was singing in my ears. Empty alleys where… but this was a ‘social’ day, however. Hanging out with and getting to know the neighbors. Music was playing from three stages, and a couple of the local breweries were set up nearby selling beers.

It was a warm day in Pittsburgh, middle 70’s and bright sunlight. Shirt sleeve weather, basically.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

Personally, I find this sort of thing somewhat emotionally draining. To start – afternoon alcohol drinks put me to sleep early these days, and there’s lots of potential hazards to pay attention to as the human still about. Increasingly, my ‘all too human’ need to be ‘amongst people’ is squashed by my ‘I hate everyone’ instincts. I’m really, really, struggling to try and ‘remain positive.’ Staying ‘chipper’ is a bit of a challenge.

I don’t belong in this sort of scene… happy people being nice, while the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself is bouncing around above… this sort of thing is more my speed.

Human… all too human… me.

– photo by Mitch Waxman

After the festival, our neighbors and Our Lady decided on one last beverage, which we obtained at the local dive bar. While staring out the window of this joint (which I’m not really a fan of), a passing ‘T’ Light Rail unit caught my attentions. I’d be riding one of these the next morning, when my next scuttle would occur.

Back tomorrow with something different, thereby – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.

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“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.