Author Archive
Shocking coruscations
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My scuttle down the Lauer Way steps in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes section was meant to be just a part of my walk, the first third of a fairly long route. As mentioned previously, this was the last day of that crazy heat wave which afflicted most of the country in July. A cold front was scheduled to blast through Pittsburgh, and would bring thunderstorms and terrific amounts of rain, but it wasn’t meant to roll through for several more hours.
Apparently the weather forecast people underestimated its speedy advance, which led a humble narrator into a bit of a pickle..
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described several times, Pittsburgh has quite a dynamic atmosphere. I’ve always known oceanic weather, given my long occupancy in the archipelago of New York Harbor. Large shifts in dew point and temperature are fairly predictable and play put over hours, given the governing effect on weather systems that is caused by the nearby ocean. Here – big fronts of continental plain origin can just blow through suddenly, and you can observe five different kinds of sky in just an afternoon. River and mountain valleys found next door to the flat lands in Ohio are the cause, or so I’m led to believe.
My plan had been to hang around on a rail bridge spanning over a set of Norfolk Southern rail road tracks, and wait around for a train to come. I fitted the correct lens for that job onto the camera and got busy waiting.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve shot here before, and it’s a fairly decent spot where you can actually see the signal lights. Said lights can tell you if and where a train is coming from, once you learn how to read their codes.
That sky though… it was turning a bit ominous and the wind had kicked up significantly. Right about when I shot the exposure test image directly above is when I felt the first drops of rain.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
An unholy storm broke out suddenly. One found a spot to stand in which there was a bit of tree cover, but once the storm really started whipping around that became a precipitant liability. Within a minute, I was soaked to the skin, except for a patch of my shirt where I was protecting the camera, directly under my chin. My other hand was grasping the umbrella, but the rain was coming down diagonally at the moment that the shot above was gathered so the umbrella wasn’t all that useful.
Sheiste!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The spot I was in was pretty far from anything that could be construed as shelter from the storm, but I used my NYC honed senses to find and occupy a spot between a building wall and a mailbox, and then positioned the umbrella so that it was touching the wall. This kept my torso, and both the camera and the bag, somewhat dry. I whipped out my phone and called for a Lyft ride out, but this was about 5:30 p.m. on a week day so I had quite a wait ahead of me.
Double sheiste!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After getting back to HQ, and by that point the storm had passed and the weather had become unbearably beautiful, I peeled off my soaked clothes and laid out all my possessions to dry. The camera was fine.
Moe the dog was particularly amused by the predicament, and he is pictured above in a moment of his reverie.
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.
Lauer Way Steps
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The day which I had picked to visit the Lauer Way steps here in Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes area was at the very end of that crazy heat wave which had plagued the nation for a couple of weeks. A cold front was forecast to blow through later in the afternoon, trailing a powerful line of thunderstorms behind it, and I calculated the timing that would save me from getting wet.
I was totally and absolutely wrong in my calculation, which wouldn’t be the first time that I screwed myself over, but that’s just tomorrow’s post being foreshadowed for you.
After descending down the first section of the Lauer Way steps, there’s a very narrow road cut into the steep hillside which one encounters.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking left, my first thought brought a shudder, as I pondered about having to potentially drive through here. I also wondered how you’d bring a fire engine, garbage truck – or really any large vehicle – through here. Jeez.
Heck, I was thinking about how difficult and nerve wracking it would be to drive my Toyota RAV4 through here, and that my Mobile Oppression Platform really isn’t all that much bigger than a standard car and even then it would be a difficult route to navigate. Brrr.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking in the other direction – and same deal.
I mean… it’s a paved road, and there were fire hydrants and such, so obviously it’s done by someone, but wowza.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The steps continued their downward journey, after a bit of wooden patchwork that had been married to the older steel and concrete dealie.
I was traveling light, I should mention. Prime lenses in the bag, along with my trusty umbrella and the now ubiquitous water bottle. Last time I was weighed in at the doc, I asked them to indulge me and we did one with and one without the camera bag.
Seven and a half pounds in toto, as it turned out, for my ‘bag of prime lenses’ bag configuration, with umbrella and water bottle riding within, as well as the camera strapped onto me separately.
Bare minimum kit, just what I need, most of the time.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Lauer Way steps don’t go all the way down to flat land, instead they terminate on a street called ‘Fritz.’ From there, about 3-400 feet of cross scuttling will find you at the last section of the German Square steps, which terminate at a pedestrian bridge over a set of Norfolk Southern rail tracks. As you may have guessed in recent months, rail is a big draw for me, in terms of pointing the camera at something.
That pedestrian bridge is where I was heading while the wind was starting to pick up, and the skies darkened. That cold front was a bit ahead of schedule.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The views from Fritz Street were great. To the left is Pittsburgh’s ‘Downtown’ section, and the red brick section of the shot is the city jail. Instinct found me constantly reaching back to my bag and touching the umbrella. One of my little dealies is to constantly and obsessively check the contents of my pockets and bag to ensure that I haven’t dropped or lost any of the gadgets in the bag, or my keys, or wallet.
A mundane fact I’m quite proud of is that a part of my key ring is the last surviving part of the very first key ring I was presented at 8 or 9 years old by my parents back in Brooklyn. My wallet is a 1983 vintage Levi’s velcro one, purchased at the Gap in Brooklyn’s Kings Plaza shopping mall back in Tenth Grade. I’ve never lost either one, which elicits a somewhat shocked reaction from others. Those little check in’s of mine pay off.
Back tomorrow with more.
“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.
It’s all going down, man
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Explorations of Pittsburgh’s ‘City Steps’ continue to fascinate me, and recent effort found a humble narrator once again scuttling along in the Allentown section of the South Side Slopes section, and marching inexorably towards another set of the City’s municipal stairs. Legally speaking, these stairs have the status of sidewalks or streets – open to the public, 24 hour, and all that.
This area is part of Mount Washington, although it is significantly lower in altitude than the prominence of the land form that is served by the two surviving funicular ‘inclines.’ There are hundreds of instances, and variants, of these municipal steps to be found in Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This set, dubbed ‘Lauer Way,’ is a relatively shallow example of the phenomena. They lead down to a one lane street and after about a block, connect to the German Square steps which I’ve mentioned in the past.
Also as described in prior postings, descending down these stairs offers one a pretty good workout for the legs, hitting hard to reach areas in the front of the thigh and the entire calf. The views are pretty sick, too.
The shot above depicts the South Side Flats and the South Tenth Street bridge crossing the Monongahela River.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This photo looks back up to where I started and as you can see – these stairs are fairly steep. Glad I was walking down them rather than up.
A few weeks ago, somebody in the comments asked ‘who maintains the steps and cuts back the foliage?’ As you can see, the answer is pretty much ‘no one,’ and I’ve found that holding onto the bannister is a pretty good idea when one is negotiating them.
Back tomorrow with more.
“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.
Montour Trail at Library Junction
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Recent endeavor found your humble narrator at the Library Junction section of Pittsburgh’s Montour Trail, taking a short walk on a very hot day. It was lovely, and one of the best kept sections of the ‘rail to trail’ setup which I’ve encountered. The surrounding countryside was suburban leaning into rural (there was an injured horse’s rehabilitation farm nearby).
Nothing in the way of sewer plants, running water, railroads, or anything else which most would consider as being ‘horrible,’ so I was a little bored on this section – to be honest.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was fiendishly hot out, and quite humid as well. One scuttled about two miles in and decidedly said ‘meh,’ then turned around to head back to the car. Sometimes you come home empty handed, photography wise. Other times you get lucky, but that’s the price of always seeking novelty, I guess.
My headphones were playing one of Dan Carlin’s ‘Hardcore History’ podcasts, specifically ‘Twilight of the Aesir,’ which discusses part of the struggles experienced by European cities during the ‘Vikings vs. Franks’ era of history.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There was a bit of historic signage describing the function of this section of the Montour Railroad, click here for a photo of the sign if interested, but suffice to say for the ‘TLDR’ crowd: in 1918 there was a mine nearby, and the Montour RR outfit built a right of way here to service it, which also connected to the B&O RR’s right of way as well.
Back tomorrow with something 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.
Direct or suffused
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator needs a break right about now, which is why single image posts depicting rail traffic observed in the greater Pittsburgh metro area will be greeting you all week.
Above is an Allegheny Valley Railroad train moving through a trenched set of tracks on Pittsburgh’s north side.
“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 