Soggy socks at Carrie Furnace
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Bands of thunderstorm were blowing through, and it was occasionally raining furiously, at the Carrie Furnace. You do the best you can with the circumstance when you’re behind a camera, so I did. I intended on using every minute I was there productively, so a solid three hours of focus occurred.
A humble narrator has attended enough of these sorts of photographer focused events in the past to know that the areas in today’s posts were where most of the rest of the attendees would go first so I went there last instead.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a bunch of informal etiquette I follow in these sort of gatherings, including making sure I don’t walk into someone’s shot without first checking if their shutter is open. Not many of my fellow travelers on this outing did the same, which was kind of annoying.
I’d love to get locked in here for an entire night. Sunset to sunrise. All by myself.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Most of the shots in this series are at least a few seconds long, and shot at a fairly low ISO. That made the rain basically disappear. I decided that ‘telling the story’ properly needed at least one shot where the rain was visible, hence… above.
A quick scuttle through the downpours occurred, wherein a set of rain slicked steps were mounted and I proceeded into the main chamber of the furnace.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Western Pennsylvania, once you leave the ‘city’ areas, is extremely dark. I mean, blindly waving your hand in front of your face dark. My old flashlights weren’t cutting it, so another new toy I’ve acquired is the Nightcore T4K. It’s expensive, as flashlights go, but it’s about the size of a BIC lighter and super bright. Also, it recharges via USB-C. The same company also makes a great head light which is very popular with the camping and hiking crowd.
I was using the thing inside the building. It’s got a burst mode which pumps out about 4000 lumens worth of light with a ‘throw’ of at least 60-80 feet. I’d trigger it for half a second to a second, which allowed for a sort of camera flash effect which I could bounce around off the walls and floors while the shutter was open.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Everybody else had moved on from this spot by this point, and I soon found myself all alone up in the furnace for a good long interval. Perfection!
On my way out, somebody told me that they knew where I was from outside, as they’d see a burst of super bright light peeking out of the machinery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There’s a fascinating section of the site which allows for this sort of view. Luckily, it was starting to get truly dark outside, and as I always say: The night time is the right time.
Back next week with the last post in this series, and a culminating bunch of neato photos.
“follow” me on Twitter- @newtownpentacle
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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.
Inside a wet giga-machine
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I was visiting Carrie Furnace, here in the Pittsburgh exurb of Swissvale, when the vault of the sky burst open and it began pissing down with heavy rain. I made my way over to an enormous mechanical structure which offered some cover and did my thing there.
They have one of the old locomotives which brought coal and coke to the mill on display.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This mega machine was how the steel people unloaded the fuel carried in by the locomotive. It was dropped into hoppers which then transported it to where it was needed, and this giga mechanism was how they did that. The whole thing is rusted out, decaying, and was soaking wet. I picked my way along it carefully, avoiding the areas demarcated by yellow chains which the Carrie Furnace people had forbidden.
You are required to wear a hard hat on-site. Couple that with my two bags that were loaded up with about 25 pounds of various tools, the umbrella, and managing the camera and tripod – I was constantly adjusting straps and leashes and belts.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I spent the interval of the heaviest downpour amongst the giga-machine’s innards. Shelter from the storm allowed me to fold up the umbrella for a spell and leave it sitting on the ground. There’s an earthen berm on the south side of the Carrie Furnace site, which is heavily wooded. On the other side of that is another set of rail tracks and the Monongahela River. On the opposite side of the river is the Homestead Pump House.
Of interest to some, my backpack these days is a very waterproof Patagonia brand bag. Everything within was dry as toast. As is my habit, a sling bag was hanging off one shoulder onto my hip, used for the stuff I need at arms reach when shooting. The sling bag is fabric, and it got quite moist.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This one looks out of the mechanism towards the actual ruins of the #6 & #7 furnaces. The rain was attenuating, and somewhere above the clouds the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself was descending behind Ohio somewhere. The sunset was meant to happen sometime around 8:30-8:45 this particular evening (July 30).
I reclaimed the umbrella and zipped up my sling bag.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One last shot from within the mechanism, and a plan was hatched to scuttle across the muddy site in a manner which would offer the most ‘rain shadow’ protection form the inclement circumstance.
After all these years, I have all sorts of tricks I use to stay somewhat dry. Rain shadows are amongst them.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I headed over to a concrete structure which had still had a roof on it.
A quick check of the lens revealed that it had suffered only a few droplets of rain, which were quickly wiped away. I was just getting started, after all. I had three hours on site and I planned to use every second of them.
More 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.
All wet at Carrie Furnace
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Carrie Furnace and the ‘Rivers Of Steel’ outfit, which and whom I’ve mentioned before, were offering a ‘photo safari’ event at sunset on a recent evening and a humble narrator could not resist the opportunity to be there. For a brief history of, and shots of what I saw the first time I visited the site (in the early afternoon) check out: part one, part two, part three, part four.
I had been looking forward to this one, and telling people that because of my interest in the experience I was expecting a ‘Blizznado’ or some other crazy meteorological event to cancel it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Four easy words to learn and repeat are: Mitch is always right.
A thunderstorm front was offered for consideration by the TV weather people, one which was scheduled to hit Pittsburgh at exactly the interval of time which the photo safari was scheduled for.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just before the rain hit, a CSX train set hurtling across a trackway on the other side of Carrie Furnace’s fencelines.
It wasn’t a lightning maker, this storm, instead it was cold front pushing through after a week long siege of high 80’s temperatures coupled with extremely high humidity. Sigh… you work with what you’ve got.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Just after the Carrie people gave us the safety talk and a set of rules for being on their property, the sky opened up and it began to rain cats and dogs. That would describe the experience for about the next two hours.
A humble narrator is an old hand at getting caught out in the weather, and my fancy little umbrella was thereby deployed. One made it a point of spotting and seeking out ‘rain shadows’ offered by the ruins.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The weather situation was something I was aware of before I arrived, and I had thought out what I’d be focusing on accordingly.
That’s a ‘Torpedo Car’ which the Carrie people have on display, and the flooding around it was actually a blessing. I used the tripod and set the camera to no higher than knee level for this one. Low and slow.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The storm intensified, and the rain was absolutely cascading out of the atmosphere. I had a full kit with me, and a couple of new toys were in my bag which I didn’t get to use because of the precipitation. Notably a very bright strip of LED lights which are powered by a USB connection, and a power bank battery unit for them to connect to. I didn’t trust either of them to withstand a soaking rain so I kept them in my bag.
Over the next few days, I’ll show you how another one of my new toys performed. 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.
Curvilinear footpaths
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There was an public event scheduled for the evening, at a sports ball stadium occupied by the Pittsburgh River Hounds soccer team, so there were scores of their fans gathered in the parking facilities of that institution. Many of them were tailgating, and the BBQ smelled pretty enticing as I exited the pedestrian/bike path of the Fort Pitt bridge onto the enigmatically named ‘West Carson Street.’ This is a wide and fairly high speed local arterial street, one which stitches several important bits of transit infrastructure together. The West End Bridge and a primary arterial road called Saw Mill Run Blvd. are to the west, the funicular inclines and Fort Pitt Bridge in the midst, and the T’s ‘Station Square’ light rail junction as well as the Liberty Bridge and tunnels are found along its length. After crossing under the T’s Panhandle Bridge approach ramps, this via publica becomes East Carson Street, which leads into what’s essentially a nightlife district. Lots of stuff along its path, many of which are interesting to one such as myself.
Ain’t exactly pedestrian friendly though, West Carson, and although I normally cross this interval on the parallel rail trail found along the waterfront, one figured on daring the sidewalk (or scare walk). Kind of a weird place to scuttle, I’d offer, but you never know how something tastes until you try a bite of it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The goal for this scuttle, beyond scouting with the camera and learning the foot paths, was to get in some exercise. My goal for a longish walk like this one is to hit about 10,000 steps, which I did. I can actually walk 5-6 miles, which is more or less what those steps equate to, standing on my head. Lately, I’ve started incorporating the altitudinal side of Pittsburgh into the calculation, so my phone’s health app told me that I had also walked something like 12 flights of steps as well. Cardio, lords and ladies, cardio.
Saying that, I was fashvitzed by this point, and just wanted to get back to HQ for a shower. I negotiated my way back to the T station, at Station Square, and waited for my chariot to arrive.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Based on the frequent mentions offered about the service, you’ve probably guessed that I’m a fan. One of the factors which made Our Lady of the Pentacle and I choose Pittsburgh as a home base, and Dormont in particular, was the availability of mass transit. I like having the car available, mind you, but I also like leaving it at home and scuttling about on foot. I still haven’t taken a bus anywhere.
Back tomorrow with something I’d been looking forward to shooting for a couple of months.
“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.
Point Scuttling
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One is still learning his way around Pittsburgh, and after a bit of a scouting mission to the metro area’s ‘North Side,’ a scuttle back to the south side of the City was enacted. The Allegheny River was crossed, and my ultimate destination at the T light rail station was on the other side of the Monongahela River.
I leaned into it, and actuated the camera along the way.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m starting to notice the little things. The minutia as opposed to the grandiose. I like the downtown area for these walks, as it’s relatively flat. The more elevated and hilly areas require a bit more planning, which tends to reduce the serendipity that is preferred. If you leave a car ‘up there,’ you need to get back to it somehow from ‘down here.’ It’s a pickle.
Downtown, you can just sort of follow your toes, and go wherever they happen to be pointing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are very few places back in NYC which could be defined as being ‘alleys,’ but Pittsburgh is full of them. This is a legitimate vehicle lane, I would mention, and periodically I’ve found myself driving through these narrow byways to get here and there. I think they’re legit, I should mention, as Google maps has directed me through them. Of course, the same application has sent me all over hill and dale in a haphazard fashion here in the greater Pittsburgh area, so…
Onward and… well, I mostly stay at whatever altitude I’m at, so… Onward and across?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I was heading for a crossing of the Monongahela River which I hadn’t used since the winter, the Fort Pitt Bridge. Along the way, and I think they call this area ‘The Cultural District,’ I remarked to myself about how many sky bridges there were here and wondered if they’re counted when discussing Pittsburgh’s many bridges.
One was also looking over his shoulder a bit in this area, as it’s one of the spots where the local drug enthusiasts gather. Debased, the local junkies form a fairly pathetic and predictable population. I’m basically the only person you see waving a camera around, so the junkies tend to lock their lizard brain onto me as I’m walking by. So far so good, and I know how to handle that sort of thing from my long years of scuttling about in distaff sections of New York, but it’s best to,pay attention to your surroundings in this zone.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I made it to Point State Park, where Pittsburgh’s famous convergence of the 3 rivers occurs. There’s a mega fountain there, one which I’ve recently learned is fed by a fourth river, an underground aquifer.
As is always the case, hundreds and hundreds of people were in the park. Pittsburgh is a bit of a tourist draw for the regional vicinity with its Casino, and Sportsball Stadiums. They’re not pulling European package holiday tourism here, but there’s a not insignificant economy built around people visiting from out of town locales in Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio and other neighboring states.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I finally made it to the Fort Pitt bridge and scuttled up onto the pedestrian/bike pathway. The last time I walked this path, it was early February and the pathway was a skating rink. This time around, I had to cant my funny little $12 Costco fishing hat to one side in order to provide myself with as much shade as possible.
Back tomorrow with the end of this journey, which began on Pittsburgh’s North Side when I was scouting for a set of train tracks.
“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 