Posts Tagged ‘Oakland’
Around and around
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
When a humble narrator finds himself driving around Pittsburgh, the camera is always sitting on the passenger seat, and is preset for a certain kind of capture. If i find myself sitting at a light, or have pulled over somewhere and am saying ‘wow, lookit that,’ said camera is often rudely thrust through either the Mobile Oppression Platform’s moon roof or the drivers side window so that a quick image gets captured.
Recent endeavor found me heading over to the City’s ‘Oakland’ section, which is when the shot above was captured, depicting the Cathedral of Learning looming over the scene.
I was on my way to attend and observe a meeting of a local transit group, who are headquartered in this section. The irony of driving to a transit group’s meeting is not lost upon me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After the event, I was struck by the manse across the street from the meeting’s address. The housing stock in this section of Pittsburgh is astoundingly well wrought. Oakland and neighboring Squirrel Hill, in my experience, are the most ‘urban’ sections of Pittsburgh in terms of overall population density. There are other sections which are also quite ‘urban,’ but these exist within the negative connotation of the term – crimey, grimey, etc. There’s a potpourri here.
Where HQ is located in the South Hills, alternatively, is quite suburban. Saying that, analogizing things back to my frame of reference back in NYC, when I say ‘suburban’ I mean the Queens/Nassau County border or the Yonkers/Westchester border and not ‘deep suburban’ like Suffolk or Putnam counties.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Liberty Tunnel – or ‘tubes’ – pictured above, a mile long and hundred year old vehicle tunnel that’s punched through the base of Mount Washington on the southern bank of the Monongahela River. One was sitting at a light waiting for my chance to turn into the facility and head back home, when the fancy of getting a night shot of the place struck me. It’s a long light, after all.
The settings on the camera were previously configured, as mentioned above. Daylight wise, that means f4 and ISO 800 with the exposure settings dialed into whatever they need to be. Night wise it’s f2.8 and ISO 6400. The model of camera I use has a swivel out screen, which allows one to point it at something which would otherwise require a gymnast to use the diopter eye piece in order to compose and adjust exposure on otherwise.
Back tomorrow with something very different, at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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Soggy in Pittsburgh
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pittsburgh’s Oakland section, where you’ll find the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University and a staggering number of cultural organizations like the Carnegie Museum, is the most ‘urban’ part of the metro area – to my eyes. It’s crowded with high pedestrian volumes, stores operating at street level which are selling sandwiches and tacos, and there’s densely packed automotive traffic as well. There’s people zipping by on bikes, and crazy guys screaming ‘President got his hand in my pocket’ to no one in particular. The streets are noisy and narrow and kind of dirty… like I said – ‘urban.’
My soggy companion and I diverted from the ‘main drag’ and soon found ourselves walking down one of the many ‘alleys’ or ‘Way’ streets. They call an alley a ‘way’ here. Guess ‘way’ sounds better than alley.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The ‘Ways’ are proper but narrow streets, I’d mention, but this is where the garbage trucks operate and you see a lot of the surrounding building’s infrastructure along these alleys. There’s plenty of business addresses based along these back streets, I’d mention, as well as student housing and parking lots.
As described earlier this week, this walk was a bit of an experiment. My car was parked in the downtown area, and my companion’s was in a lot about a mile and change behind us. My friend and I’s goal involved walking mostly downhill from Oakland back to my vehicle, whereupon I’d drive him back here and we’d then go our separate ways.
It worked out, the plan, I’d mention.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is a pretty interesting section of Pittsburgh, I’d also mention.
The post steel mill economic plan for the city is defined by the phrase ‘Ed’s and Med’s’ which indicates a ‘bend over backwards’ municipal policy to satisfy the aspirations of both the Universities (Ed’s) and the Hospitals (Med’s), and to draw in National level investments for both systems. Hey, the Polio vaccine was perfected by Jonas Salk just a few blocks way from this spot, so there’s precedent.
A few miles away, one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever heard of is being worked on – self driving and autonomous Semi trucks – so the plan is definitely pulling some bucks in from the tech industry and automotive sectors.
I’ve said it a bunch of times over the years – when there’s an example of a self driving locomotive, I’ll start taking that self driving car aspirational technology seriously. If ‘self driving’ hasn’t been sorted out on vehicles that operate on tracks…
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.
Pitt
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pictured above is the Cathedral of Learning, which is the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh’s campus. The locals and students refer to this university as ‘PITT,’ so there you go – I’ve learned something. Mission accomplished, you 42 story tall gothic skyscraper you.
A particularly abundant band of rain had appeared, the minute we left the Heinz Memorial Chapel, which sits directly opposite and across a planted plaza from the Cathedral of Learning, so it seemed logical that we should scuttle quickly over to its entrance and check out one of the public spaces within.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My companion, an accomplished fellow who has published photo books about Pittsburgh and has resided in this city since the time of the Reagan Presidential Administration, informed me that this ground floor section is a PITT student center. There were dozens of kids scattered all over the place. They were doing what modern kids do – ignoring everybody around them and staring into computer screens with their headphones on.
Y’know… I’ve got a pet peeve about that sort of thing, and believe that when you’re in ‘meatspace’ the goal should be to interact with the fleshy eidelons of your fellows, rather than isolating into the abject loneliness and curatorial space of an online world. I also advocate that you shouldn’t turn on a television at a party, as the point of such gatherings is interaction rather than consumption of entertainment products. Online interaction tends to reinforce bias, whereas disagreements and arguments with real people in the real world are often an eye opener, and forces one into considering points of view and opinions from outside your daily round or experience. Talk, not type, say I. If you can’t get punched, you’re not really committed to defending an argumentative point of view.
One makes an allowance for sportsball related gatherings, as a note, as far as turning a TV on at gatherings.
Personally, I don’t back off the possibility of enduring physical violence in return for the advocacy of my own ugly points of view in the meatspace, and confrontation with others on my opinions has grown me as a person and forced me into becoming nearly empathetic. It’s a good thing to find out you’re wrong about something.
Kids these days, huh?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Eventually, the overly moist atmospheric conditions outside subsided, and my companion and I resumed our walking about. I’m told there’s other public areas at the Cathedral of Learning which are found ‘upstairs.’ Looking forward to someday conjuring up a situation, one where I might be able to see those spaces sometime in the future. We had miles and miles of rainy day walking ahead of us still, to get back to where I I had parked the car.
On the plus side: Hey, I say it all the time – cities always look their best when it’s raining.
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.
Heinz Chapel
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I was hanging out with a friend while on a recent walk, and we were trying out one of my ‘clever plans.’ As mentioned in the past, one of the things that’s been driving me batty is the fact that there’s large sections of the Pittsburgh Metro which you basically have to drive to. This negates the point of, and puts a delimiter on, how far a walk can range as you eventually have to get back to the car. Solution?
We tried out an ‘I park my car at the end of the walk, whereupon you pick me up and we drive to the beginning point of the walk whereupon we park your car, then walk all the way back to my car whereupon I then drive you back to your car’ scheme. It worked out pretty well, this, but it was absolutely pouring during the interval we were walking. Whatcha gonna do? Best laid plans, amirite?
When it’s raining like this, part of the photowalk deal is finding interesting places that you can step into and wave the camera around, which is how we ended up inside the Heinz Chapel, in Pittsburgh’s Oakland section, which found on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh (or ‘PITT’ as it’s colloquially referred to hereabouts).
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Heinz Chapel itself is pretty lovely, but we had less than a half hour inside available to us, as the staff were about to start a private tour of the place for some group. We were allowed us to briefly photograph the joint, but were in a bit of hurry due to the tour’s starting time looming.
Officially, it’s the Heinz Memorial Chapel, which opened for business in 1938, and its founding and construction were funded by Pittsburgh’s own Heinz family – as in the 57 varieties, ketchup, and baked beans Heinz’s.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’d love to get in here sometime with a proper tripod and do some photographic studies of the interior space, but since we had a deadline I used my ‘platypod,’ and a 16mm wide angle lens was affixed to the camera. The platypod gizmo is an easy to carry camera accessory, and one which is almost always found in whatever camera kit bag that I’m carrying on any given day.
I’ve got two bag setups, if you’re curious. One’s a ‘sling bag’ and the other is a knapsack. Both get an insert packing cube sort of thing which is customizable. I’ve got two of those which are set up in slightly different fashions. The Knapsack is great and voluminous, but the form/function of the bag gets in my way when I anticipate changing lenses frequently, as I was planing on doing this particular afternoon.
The sling bag is a lot better for that sort of thing.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The problem with the platypod is that it’s essentially a table top camera support, meaning that you’ve got to find a surface for it to rest on – as opposed to a traditional tripod which is freestanding. Saying that, the platypod is brilliant when you’re in a natural setting.
The four ‘feet’ of the thing are connected to its central plate by quarter inch 20 turn screw holes (which is pretty standard for camera ‘stuff’). There’s a set of spikes which come with the thing which you can press into soil or whatever to anchor the camera plate down to the planet, but I made a set of ‘feet’ for it which use silicone furniture casters so as to not scratch or damage finished surfaces, nor mar the paint on the hood of my car when I set it up for that sort of circumstance.
It’s also pretty compact, which permits the capture of odd angles like ‘worm’s eye’ views, with the camera sitting just above ground level.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was dark within the Heinz Chapel, which called for the sort of camera support described above, but I could have gotten away with handheld/high ISO shots if I wanted to – as in the shot above (f4, ISO 3200, 1/60th of a second). My preference, however, for shots like these is a narrow aperture of f8, ISO at 100, and set whatever the exposure time to whatever it’s required to be. Higher ISO equates to noisier images, and I like the smoothness of lower sensitivity.
I’d really like to spend a bit of time in here at some point, and get all ‘tricksy’ with the shots, using exposure and focus blending. One exposure for the stained glass, another for the walls, etc., combine them all in my digital darkroom. That sort of thing, all artsy fartsy.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Heinz people told us it was time to split, as their private tour was about to begin.
One last handheld shot, and then we stepped back outside into the rainy day. Being the kind of nerd I am, I had to inform my companion of the fact that it wasn’t actually raining, rather we were experiencing a precipitous mist. Didn’t change the fact that it was pouring rain, but it was an opportunity for me to start a sentence with ‘Actually…’ and seem intelligent by offering trivia, and that is something I cannot resist.
Look at me – I’m smart, not dumb, like people say.
As you’ll see tomorrow, we were lucky enough after stepping out into the precipitous mist to have another fairly epic public space to visit, and seek cover from the rain. 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.
Heinz Chapel
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the Heinz Memorial Chapel pictured above, which offers 57 varieties of interdenominational religious services and…
Actually, it’s a ‘sacred space’ dedicated to and built by the Heinz family of Pittsburgh. The Heinz Chapel opened in 1938, at a ceremony led by the son of Henry John Heinz, founder of the H.J. Heinz Company.
Now simply branded as ‘Heinz,’ the company are the purveyors of various preserved vegetables and condiments, which includes their category defining Tomato Ketchup. The scion died in 1919, and his three children carried on with his desire to memorialize their grandmother Anna Margaretha Heinz after he passed on.
The Heinz family is still quite prominent in Pittsburgh, through their philanthropic Heinz Endowments fund, and for serving in the endless sea of Politics. If there was a Batman here, he’d secretly be a Heinz, rather than a Wayne.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was rather late in the day when I arrived at the Heinz Chapel, which unfortunately severely limited my time there to a ‘run and gun’ sort of visit. They roll up the sidewalks in Pittsburgh pretty early, I should mention. This was about 4 in the afternoon.
Luckily, the person who was serving as the attendant allowed me usage of the lavatory, which had become something of an urgent need, and I then had just a literal minute to grab a shot of the chapel itself before she would be turning off the lights and locking the doors.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As I said about St. Paul cathedral – wow.
This is a spot which I’m definitely going to revisit soon, as I’d love to capture some of the abundant detail within the chapel from behind the lens.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 