Posts Tagged ‘photowalk’
A light rail hullabaloo
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A ‘long walk’ day appeared again on the calendar, and as is my new habit I took the T light rail into Pittsburgh. The transit agency which operates the service was doing some sort of maintenance at the stop I wanted to get off at, and thereby skipped it. I found myself on the triangle side of the Monongahela River at the First Avenue station thereby, and needed to catch a T going in the inverse direction to get to where I wanted to be.
This sort of transfer works a lot like it does everywhere else in public transit, you head downstairs, then back up to the platform that’s pointed the other way. Why not get a few shots along the way, when you find yourself in the midst of a hullabaloo?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Working escalators and elevators in the transit system are something this former New Yorker is constantly rendered speechless by.
I headed up to the other side. (Note, the shot above was captured before the first one, but this one isn’t a ‘marquis’ image, so there you go)
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It didn’t matter which line I took, they would all be stopping at the first station on the other side which is where I was going. Normally, I’m a Red Line kind of guy, but the Silver Line got there first.
When Autumn is turning into winter, I plan on riding the other two lines and seeing where they go. Of course, I know where they go because I’ve got a map, but you know what I mean. You can buy a day pass which allows hop on/hop off access for the T.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Back on the south side of the river, and at the Station Square stop. I had a plan for the afternoon, built around giving one of my legacy lenses (the 18-35mm f1.8 Sigma) a workout on the newish mirrorless camera which I’ve never used it on.
I hit the streets, and headed over to the nearest Incline for a ride up the face of Mount Washington.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I love inclines, which has been mentioned in the past. So old timey, and a cool way to get from A to B. I got a free transfer off of the T, as the Inclines are operated by the same governmental agency as the light rail.
Earlier this week, I described walking down the latter half of the PJ McArdle roadway that’s slung diagonally across the cliff face of Mount Washington, and on this day I was going to walk the upper section.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was pleasant in Pittsburgh, with temperatures in the high 70’s. A humble narrator had laid out a series of things to do, with the intention of getting back to that bar nearby the rail tracks, described in earlier posts by around 7 p.m. This shot is from somewhere around 2-3 p.m. so I had a lot of scuttling to do before that. I like to earn a beer.
Back next week with more, and lotsa choo-choos.
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Home, boys
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Pittsburgh is so damn cool. Yes, it absolutely blows walking up hills like this one a block from HQ. It’s also fairly challenging to walk down that particular hill. It’s so steep here that the various municipalities of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania is a commonwealth, which has a very odd way of doing business as compared to the more familiar organization of a “State” like New York or New Jersey) maintain hundreds of of municipal staircases and foot bridges just so people can get around on foot.
The housing stock is disturbingly heterogenous.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Homogeneity seems to occur when some historical builder had a largish lot to fill. Porches and yards are pretty common. This shot is from a neighboring town where the Fallowfield stop on the T is found. Wish I could say what the town/area is called, but my ignorance remains somewhat palpable. Heck – I’ve just gotten to the point where I’m beginning to understand the broad strokes of driving to various areas of interest and or the neighborhoods they’re found in, let alone knowing the nitty gritty stuff.
I’ve also started using ‘heck’ a hell of a lot mutha effin more. Potty talk isn’t really appreciated here in Pittsburgh. Being from Brooklyn, this deletes about half of my vocabulary.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Also mentioned in a prior post, I’m bringing a few of my older lenses out of retirement. This one is an old favorite, the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8. I was waving it around in my back yard recently, testing how it responded to the alien experience of being attached to a mirrorless camera. I was looking for a subject to put the thing through a few paces, and realized that although I’d mentioned the Mobile Oppression Platform many times now, I’d never shown off the ride.
Now seriously… doesn’t the MOP look like the kind of thing an Imperial Stormtrooper from Star Wars would drive around in? Whatever… 39 mpg, Lords and Ladies, 39 mpg. I stop strangers on the street and tell them that.
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.
Day late, dollar short
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned last week, a longish walk found me scuttling along the pedestrian/bike path of the PJ McArdle Roadway here in Pittsburgh, which connects the prominence of Mount Washington with the South Side Flats section found on the banks of the Monongahela River. I entered the roadway path at about the halfway point, leaving the upper section for a future walk.
There are some pretty impressive points of view available along this path, although negotiating your way to it is pretty terrifying as you need to cross several vehicle lanes which all lead into a primary crossing and tunnel leading out of the city.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My desire was to wrap up the walk at a spot I’ve become pretty entranced by, which also happens to host a brewery with outdoor tables. Further enhancement of my personal joy in this matter is provided by the bar’s proximity to a fairly busy set of freight rail tracks. The icing on my proverbial cake is provided by the fact that the tracks involve an at-grade street crossing, meaning that gizmos with signal bells with flashing lights and lane blocking arms activate when a train is nearing so I get advance notice of the approaching locomotive, and subsequently the time to run over and get into position.
That would be later on in the evening, though, and I wasn’t done kicking my feet about. This ‘zone’ in Pittsburgh hosts a lot of relict building stock, much of it seeming to date back to the early 20th and late 19th centuries.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I should mention that I’m making a concerted effort to not get all ‘history boy,’ quite yet, here in Pittsburgh. Partially, it’s because a series of existential issues concerning the ‘now’ are occupying my time. Also, I’m not really planning on becoming the walking encyclopedia that I was in NYC. Whatever happens to drift into my head and lodge there is osmotic gravy, but I’m currently not involved in any form of research.
That building above is pretty interesting, to me, at least.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After looping and scuttling about for a bit, one decided to head towards the ultimate destination for the evening – that aforementioned brewery. It’s a part of some gentrification scheme being pushed by a NYC real estate developer, wherein they’re making the same mistakes here that they made at the Bush Terminal in South Brooklyn. Saying all that, I don’t care anymore about stuff like that, and all I wanted was to pour a couple of pints of cold beer into the talkie hole on my face.
I enjoy the solitude and anonymity here in Pittsburgh. For the last several years along Newtown Creek it became a standard thing, for instance, to have a garbage truck driving by and hearing the driver shout out “where ya goin today, Mitch?” Once I was actually stopped by a DSNY crew who asked me to let the city councilman know about a broken water main that nobody cared about fixing which was getting in their way. It got fairly weird, being me. I like being some random bloke with a camera, again.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Frustrating is how I describe the situation when I’m approaching a set of rail tracks here in Pittsburgh, and I’ve just missed the opportunity to photograph a train. The only shot I really want from a freight train is one of the head of the snake – the locomotive engine.
Wasn’t a big deal, since my plan involved an hour and change of sitting on the keister and drinking, but still…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This spot has a fairly nice view of the Panhandle Bridge, which the T light rail uses to cross the Monongahela River, so I zoomed in on that while I was waiting for the show to come to me. When the train’s grade crossing signal alert bells started ringing again, I’d pay my tab and head back home. Luckily, they serve pretty good suds at this watering hole.
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.
Up, down, all around
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My plan for a ‘long walk’ on this particular day was to force myself into a state of continuous motion for around four hours, so after riding the T from the suburb of Dormont and into the City of Pittsburgh, a humble narrator started kicking his feet around.
My original route was altered by construction on the T which saw it not stopping where I had intended to go, but who cares about that? I soon found myself at a municipal staircase leading up the ‘Boulevard of the Allies,’ which in turn would lead me to a crossing of the Monongahela River over the Liberty Bridge.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was only the second time I’ve walked this path, one which I declare as being pretty cool. A recent addition to my kit has been a fishing hat that I bought at Costco for $12. The burning thermonuclear eye of god itself is a baleful entity here in the Pittsburgh area, and on relatively clear summer days it’s a malignant force. I needed something with a bit more cover than a baseball cap, and found my personal desires answered at a warehouse store found, in a shopping mall, that sits on land that used to be occupied by what once was the nation’s largest steel mill. I never felt more American.
It’s funny. My entire life has been defined by the NYC ‘thing’ where you’ve got a knapsack with you when you leave the house in the morning, which contains every thing in it you’re going to need until returning home at night. I’m still adjusting to having a car to stuff gear into, and that it’s ok to bring an extra heavy tripod with me because why not? The NYC experience saw me working feverishly to shave a half pound, or even a few ounces, of weight out of my camera bag, and carefully considering putting one lens or another into my camera bag based on how much the thing weighs rather than what it does.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’m actually pretty happy with the shot above, captured from the Liberty Bridge. Fairly frustrated was a humble narrator, however, as everywhere that one scuttled to in search of a neat freight rail photo opportunity was utterly empty of such traffic. As is always the case, when I’d walk away from the POV spot, you’d hear a train horn blowing and feel the rumble of it passing. Uggh. Frustrating.
One scuttled about for a while, pushing forward, and eventually – after the four hours of forced marching were over – headed back to the T and home to Dormont about 6 miles south of this spot and on the other side of a mountain. 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.
An examination is inherently a recrimination
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Another Doctor’s appointment found me parking the Mobile Oppression Platform on the roof of the hospital’s lot, where some pretty keen views of Pittsburgh were on offer. The Yinzers, which is what the Pittsburgh people call themselves, seem duty bound to park in the first available spot they see, and nearby an entrance or exit. Me? I go where it’s less crowded, and where you might be able to see something.
Thereby I always seem to park on the roof deck of these multi story parking facilities. Additionally, the odds of having my car damaged by somebody who isn’t paying attention, while they’re negotiating the narrow confines of the garage, is lessened in these less populated areas. I don’t mind walking a few hundred feet or taking a flight of stairs, in fact I prefer it.
The shot above is looking more or less south.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Looking more or less eastwards, over the historic housing stock at the edge of an area called ‘The Mexican War Streets,’ part of the larger ‘North Side,’ and towards the Heinz Lofts/Factory buildings. I’m told this section can get a little dicey at times, but I don’t have any personal experience to damn or bless that bit of transmitted knowledge. There’s a few places which I’m intrigued by that the locals have told me are fairly dangerous. I, on the other hand, grew up in 1980’s NYC, so… my perceptions of ‘dicey’ use a different rubric for ‘stranger danger’ than the one most have.
I was visiting a diagnostic lab at the hospital this time around, and getting ultrasounded. My new Doctor is pretty thorough, and the various concerns he has for me have manifested as a series of somewhat esoteric probings and banal violations of personal dignity, but I’m committed to the ‘program’ he’s got me on so there you go.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After having wiped the lubricant goo from the ultrasound off and then getting dressed again, I negotiated the maze of hallways within the hospital and then found myself back at the car.
What to do, what to do? Get a shot of the Heinz campus, obviously.
This zone of Pittsburgh is quite interesting, by the way.
“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 