Posts Tagged ‘photowalk’
Getting there
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As mentioned yesterday, my buddy was doing an appearance at a comic convention in Downtown Pittsburgh. He’s a bit of a star, and the convention organizers put him up in a hotel for the show. The shot above is the view from a hotel room window on its twenty something’s floor.
Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself joined him and his spouse for dinner and drinks, leaving the car back home in Dormont so that a humble narrator could imbibe. We took the T Light Rail into town, and called for a cab afterwards.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s been a while since someone else was doing the driving for me here in Pittsburgh, so I took the opportunity of being in a ride share LYFT car to shoot pix out of the open window on our way home afterwards. The sun sets a bit later hereabouts than it did back home. It’s weird seeing it light out at 9 p.m., but there you go.
I’m absolutely fascinated by the web of off and on ramps here in Pittsburgh, which had been mentioned in the past. All of those curvilinear massing shapes…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One realizes that he’s likely the only person on earth who sees a high speed road and says ‘ooh, look at them parabolas,’ but that’s me. I’m like the Kiwi – a fuzzy little fruit with a lot of personality and quirks.
As always, 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.
Convention Center fountains
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A buddy of mine is a very successful comic book artist, and he was in Pittsburgh recently as one of the invited ‘marquis name’ guests at a Comic Convention which was held at the Pittsburgh Convention Center which is found in the downtown area.
I’ve mentioned the convention center in the past as being an interesting bit of architecture, and even noted the tunnel that sits in the middle of its two halls which allows public egress to the Allegheny River and the bike and pedestrian trail found along its banks. Saying that, I had never seen what it looked like when they turned on the fountains at the Convention Center. Wow.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The water cascades down out of some recessed area, and there’s lighting which cycles through a few different colors, and which is positively nice. I couldn’t help but snap out a few shots, and make a mental note to come back here sometime soon with the whole kit to gather some artsy fartsy filter shots of the thing.
This was really neat. On either side of the tunnel, up on the level which I was standing on, there’s pick up and drop off lanes for automobile traffic, and foot bridges across the tunnel for pedestrians to get from one side of the facility to the other. Neat!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Unlike the Javitz center in NYC, where Andrew Cuomo established a mass casualty hospital ward during COVID, the convention center here in Pittsburgh is a functional entity and is popularly attended. A can of Coca Cola does not cost $7 within it. It’s also not a glass island found in a ragged no man’s land at the edge of the City far from transit.
It’s got pretty fountains, too.
“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 on the Ohio River, part 1
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself attended another rainy day boat tour recently, one which proceeded down the Ohio River. It was teeming, unfortunately, but that’s the gamble you make when you buy a boat ticket in advance of the date. This one was offered by the Doors Open Pittsburgh outfit. It proceeded from a dock on the Monongahela River and headed over to the Ohio River, where a circumnavigation of one of the largish islands found in Pittsburgh was accomplished.
We’ve experienced a weird couple of weeks in Pittsburgh. Our next door neighbors suffered a pretty involved house fire, one which saw a massive response by local firefighters who saved the building but not before some pretty major damage occurred. This really freaked us out, I should mention. Horrible stuff. Nobody got hurt, thankfully, but seeing somebody’s entire life go up in smoke was a pretty awful and unsettling experience. In a separate storyline, we got an up close look at the Opioid Epidemic in this region which was… it was wild.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the boat we were riding on, there were a small and soggy band of camera wielders which I soon found myself a part of. We were all compressed into a spot which offered some shelter from the rain. It was difficult to keep the lens clean, but there you go.
From what I could discern of the narration, over the sound of the rain itself hitting the river, the facility pictured above is some sort of wastewater plant.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One of the more intriguing places here on the Ohio River is called Brunot’s Island. It’s private property, and owned by an electrical transmission outfit, and thereby unavailable to public inspection. There used to be an automobile racetrack there, I’m told. I’m also informed that bird watchers and nature enthusiasts will sometimes kayak to and landfall/trespass on its privately owned shorelines during the summer months.
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.
I dunno, that way
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Longish walks offer a humble narrator contemplative space, intervals of introspection, and a chance to not be plugged into the hive mind. I don’t do the ‘phone thing’ when out and about, for instance. I have the thing with me, of course, as I’m tracking my step count and miles crossed – just for nerdy fun. What I’m not doing, though, is tweeting or something. That’s an ‘at HQ’ activity, unless something extraordinary has just passed me by that I feel some urgency about, in terms of sharing it with the world.
What I focus in on mainly, and in order, are: personal safety, not injuring myself by ‘walking funny’ or taking unnecessary risks, the next destination on my path, and finally – photo composition. I’m always looking up, down, all around. Every now and then I do a little spin while scuttling along to see if I’m missing anything.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This particular walk began on the south/other side of the Monongahela River, saw me entering a shadowed vault under the highways, walking up a set of municipal stairs and then ‘boom’ – here I am. Which direction was I walking in? “That Way.”
In the case of this particular day, I found my toes pointed towards Point State Park here in Downtown Pittsburgh. It’s the tippy tip of the triangular delta which is theoretically the titular center of all things.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It’s a really ok space. This is right where the three rivers converge, and it’s a pretty popular spot. A few different flavors of Cop patrol around on bikes in this area; State, Local, Park, so it’s pretty safe. People spread out blankets and sunbathe or picnic. Dogs get walked. That sort of thing. It’s nice. Anyway, that’s where my toes had pointed me at.
Sometimes it’s best to ignore the satellite navigation in your pocket and just scuttle about – a wandering mendicant with a camera.
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 very air
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The light is very different here in Pittsburgh, with its river valley atmospherics, than the skies that I used to experience back in the oceanic climes of NYC. It’s been mentioned a few times here, the volatility and changeability of Pittsburgh’s weather. Apparently, it’s the interaction between the flat plains of Ohio and Pittsburgh’s location in the foothills of the Appalachian range, coupled with the corduroy riverine terrain which generates the dynamics above. It could be gray, then raining, then bright sun, and then overcast again all within a couple of hours.
Observationally, Pittsburgh’s specific location is one that causes most of the truly severe weather just blow around it (so, meteorological kudos to George Washington). 50 miles north or south, they’re getting blasted with snow or even tornadoes, and in Pittsburgh it’s just drizzling. I’ve apparently gotten lucky in terms of the move, as this year had a mild enough winter that the TV news meteorologist people have commented on it.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Thing is, and you may have noticed this in the last few months, is that the sky here is a distinct part of the setting, so I’ve been making it a point of exposing the images in a manner designed to capture the circumstance. Back in NYC, if you wanted to ‘place’ an image it was just a matter of getting a landmark like the Empire State Building in it and no matter what the subject was, the visual subtext indicated ‘NYC.’
I’m working under the theory right now that Pittsburgh’s ‘Empire State Building’ which ‘sets the place’ is the sky itself, with its dynamic stacks of clouds and omnipresent turbulence. When we first moved here, one of the new neighbors advised that Vitamin D supplements would be advisable, given that on average – 2 out of every 3 days in the Pittsburgh region are at least partially overcast. The locals complain about experiencing ‘SAD’ or ‘Seasonal Affective Disorder’ due to a lack of radiate exposure to the burning thermonuclear eye of god itself, and that these supplements help vouchsafe one against the phenomena.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
In general, you’re a lot closer to the sky in this part of the country than you are down on the coastline. The first shot in today’s post depicts UPITT’S Cathedral of Learning in the Oakland section, the second is from the Strip District along the Allegheny River, and the one above was captured while onboard a boat navigating the Monongahela River during a period of fairly heavy rain.
In all three shots, what caught my eye was the sky vault itself, rather than the arrangements along the ground. I don’t know, maybe it’s my imagination. Is any of this real? Where am I? Maybe I’m on a ventilator somewhere and this is all just some fantasy that’s playing out while my brain is dying. Who can tell?
Back next week 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.
The Newtown Pentacle 