Country, early morning
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Salisbury Viaduct pictured above, which used to be a rail trestle but is now a part of the Great Appalachian Passage trail. Shortly after capturing this shot I bumped into a guy who was hiking from Washington D.C. to Pittsburgh via the GAP route. Nice fellow, European accented.
He had a clever accommodation regarding the carrying of his hiking and camping gear, which included a tent and other outdoor necessities, which was the modified baby buggy that was his companion. The seat of the thing was removed, and the three wheeler carriage seemed to be doing the ‘carrying job’ for him quite well.
Neat.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The viaduct itself offers a nearly bird’s eye POV on a fairly rural area complete with farms. To this kid from Brooklyn, these sorts of places are like visiting a foreign country and offer a lifestyle which is utterly unknown.
At any rate, it was time to head back to the car and get back to the road trip for me. I was heading towards a train yard which has been on my radar, and I had worked out a spot which was semi public where I’d be able to wave the camera around, without the threat of meeting either the local gendarmes or surly locomotive security personnel.
There are Woody Guthrie songs about the latter circumstance. Always a good idea to follow Woody’s advice.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I enjoy seeing the line of windmills up on that hill. Political back and forth notwithstanding, it’s silly to not harvest wind energy and convert it into profitable electrical supply. One of these days somebody will wake up and say ‘hey, the rivers and oceans offer a somewhat limitless supply of waveform energy…’ but…
What, you’re going to leave something that’s basically free on the table?
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.
Emperor’s new clothes
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Occasion recently found a humble narrator on a short road trip, and heading towards Western Maryland. Just a few miles after crossing the Mason Dixon line, I decided to take a break from the effort at the Salisbury Viaduct, and soon after walking onto the structure I heard the horn, and rumble, of an approaching locomotive.
It was Amtrak, and I was lucky enough to get a shot of one of their locomotives all done up in the new color way and trade dress that the passenger service has recently debuted.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I suspect that this unit was ultimately heading to Washington D.C., as it was passing through the panhandle of Western Maryland. I’m speculating here, but I’d also suggest that this train likely started its trip in Chicago in the dead of night.
Luckily, I had installed a ‘crop sensor’ lens on my camera which allowed for a 300mm zoom range. I was barely in position for this one, but managed to crack out these three shots as the train rolled past.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pleasing, the new design is, one declares. Supposedly, the entire fleet will be receiving similar paint jobs in the next few years.
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.
Moist
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One has been informed by several members of those age cohorts which follow my own, that the word which forms the title of this post makes them vaguely uncomfortable. My response to this usually involves mentioning the packaging og supermarket cake mixes like Betty Crocker’s with their promises for the finished product, and then questioning them what about why this word is so disturbing to them. It’s vague, their discomfort is, I’m told.
Pittsburgh and its environs received a near record amount of rainfall in April, which caused the rivers to swell and burst their banks. It was quite a hullabaloo. Thereby, the entire Pittsburgh region was overly moist.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s Point State Park, with its iconic fountain, positively buried beneath an admixture of the Monongahela and Allegheny River’s respective waters. As is my practice, I wanted to get no where close to such conditions, and a visit to the community of West End and its Overlook Park – which are several hundred feet higher in altitude than the water – was enacted.
My time here was somewhat limited, I’d mention, as Our Lady of the Pentacle would be requiring a ride home from some social ‘do’ she was attending. One got busy with the camera in the allotted interval.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A low laying bank of mist, and a precipitant one at that, blew in from the direction of the Ohio River. The precipitation caught and diffused the emanations of the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself, as it was dipping behind Mount Washington. There were a few other photographers at work up here, I’d mention – a couple of drone guys, and about three or four other stills shooters.
A kid standing next to me was obviously new to the ‘scene’ and had brought zero preparation with him for inclement atmospheric conditions. I had my umbrella with me, and a ubiquitously present and quite absorbent kitchen towel which I always carry, in case I have to wipe the camera down after a blast of rain comes through. You never know.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A rainbow set up behind Mount Washington and I made sure to get a shot of that. The flooding in Pittsburgh has since reversed, and the waterfront trails and the flooded park in the first and second shots have reopened for public inspection and use. Such is the nature of things, I guess.
For those of you who have accused a humble narrator of ‘drinking the kool aid’ on the subject of climate change, over the years, I’d ask – is the weather and your expectations of its seasonal variants different these days from when you were a kid? Does the winter seem warmer, the spring wetter?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking westwards, over the Ohio River, towards the bands of rain which the storm was blowing in, is what’s depicted in this shot. The ridge lining the start of the Ohio River Valley had already plunged the area into shadow, but the shot was a bit underexposed – purposely – to allow the rain some visibility.
Just as this shot was being executed, my phone chimed with a message from Our Lady that she was ready for me to come and fetch her. Five minutes, I replied.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking back at Downtown Pittsburgh with its flooded shorelines, just as the various office buildings began to light up for the night. The gear was then packed up, salutations offered to the young fellow standing next to me who owned an overly moist camera, and soon I was behind the wheel of the Mobile Oppression Platform and heading towards Our Lady.
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.
Back to HQ
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After a long walk down a steep hill and a thousand feet of steps, my dogs were barking. Thereby, I was quite pleased when a T light rail train set arrived to ferry me back to HQ, some five miles distant.
This option is pretty much going to not exist for the entire summer, which sucks, but the transit agency people are going to be reconditioning the concrete and rails which the T rides on. Necessary repairs, they say.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s going to be brutal for a lot of people, having this particular rug yanked out from under them. There’s going to be shuttle buses working the route, but a bus ain’t a train, and it’s going to take a longer time to get where you’re going. What are you going to do, fight City Hall?
If this was NYC, and MTA was running the project, the three month ‘T’ outage would probably balloon into five years.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Limping at this point, as all of those steps had triggered my ‘trick left foot,’ I managed to make it back to Dormont where HQ is located. That’s the block where all things Pentacle revolves around these days.
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.
A heck of a hill
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After having descended along the German Square stairs as described in prior posts, a humble narrator found himself in Pittsburgh’s South Side Flats neighborhood. This ‘zone’ is pretty urban in character, and ‘old timey’ in terms of its building stock. I’m of the belief that there’s a ‘historic district’ rule which applies to certain sections of the Flats, but as I’m trying to avoid deep dives into historical records these days…
This shot looks towards the Monongahela River and the South Tenth Street Bridge, and that’s one of Duquesne University’s buildings rising out of the bluff on the other side of the river.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Closer to the shoreline, and looking back towards the prominence which I had just descended from – that’s one heck of a hill, ain’t it?
My goal for the remainder of this scuttle involved getting close to the water, and grabbing a pint of beer at that brewery alongside the CSX trackage which has been mentioned several times.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While quaffing my Pilsner, I noticed a towboat navigating the Monongahela and passing under the Liberty Bridge. As you can tell, the sun was in the early stages of setting. Nice light.
I would be taking the T light rail back to HQ, which ain’t really that much of an adventure but hey – I love the novelty of surface based rail transit through an urban space.
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 