Posts Tagged ‘Pickman’
Millvale, too
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described yesterday, before a humble narrator found himself getting lost in anecdotes about those bizarre behaviors which the humans display as they’re operating vehicles, a visit was paid to the Millvale Riverfront Park trail, along the Allegheny River. I had a pretty basic camera kit with me, and my goal (beyond getting some exercise) for the day involved scouting out shots which I’d return to during future outings when the scenery isn’t quite as devastated by winter as it currently is.
Y’know, when it’s like… nice out.
By basic, I mean that I had a zoom lens hanging off the front of the camera, and there were a couple of bright prime lenses in my camera bag (just in case) but I had left most of my gear back at HQ. I only ended up using the zoom.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These circumstances here are promising, I think, and especially so when I return with a tripod and filters and work towards capturing some ‘razzmatazz’. Don’t get me wrong, I’m digging the composition on these, but it’ll be a much nicer scene when there are leaves on the trees and the lighting isn’t quite so overcast. I think this will be a ‘morning thing.’
It was a dark afternoon on this visit, however, with a solid ceiling of clouds, and there was meant to be a raining ‘cats and dogs’ event later on that evening.
Millvale, as in the community itself, is entirely unfamiliar to me. First time visiting, and as I was in a waterfront park/trail area it’s not like I interacted with anyone other than the two bicycle assholes mentioned yesterday, or visited any other local institutions, so I cannot say much about the place beyond that there’s a waterfront public park here.
That’s actually good enough for now, but I do wonder what’s just up the hill from here, where the humans infest. Will have to come back sometime in the future and find out.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
These tracks seem to have once connected to Herr’s Island, which housed stockyards of ruminants which destined for the abattoir, and eventually the shop windows of local Butchers – ‘back in the day.’ The tracks spur off of a right of way which – in modernity – is trafficked by the Norfolk Southern RR peeps.
Back tomorrow, with a few odds and ends.
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Millvale scuttle
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One piloted the Mobile Oppression Platform over to the community of Millvale recently, to check out a ‘river walk’ trail that I’ve had pegged on my Google maps inventory for a while now. This spot is on the north coast of the Allegheny River and just east of Pittsburgh proper. Active rail moves through here, and there’s also plenty of ruined rail infrastructure to inspect as well.
Funny thing is, this was a particularly annoying afternoon for me but that had little to do with the two or three miles of photowalking which I came here to experience. In general, but specifically on this afternoon, the human infestation just sucks the joy out of everything.
People, amirite?
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This trail is a part of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, a combined bike and pedestrian dealie which snakes all around the Pittsburgh Metro area.
There’s a parking lot, which is where I left the car while walking around – as you’d imagine. When it was time for me to leave, I get into the car and pull out of the spot. Where I pulled out, it’s a marked lane indicating travel in the other direction, which means I needed to cross to the other side of the lot where the intended direction is allowed to travel. Thing is, just as I pulled out of the spot and into the lane, I see these two guys on bikes riding towards me, so I immediately come to a complete stop with the intention of waiting for them to pass before I do anything else.
Now, these two guys – they were the ‘Bro Type’ of bikers. You know these sorts of testosterone monkeys – wearing Oakley mirror sunglasses, bike helmets, the biker’s stretchy shorts, and logo laden silky bicycle shirts. The bike is outfitted with multiple water bottles and gadgets. The sort who talk about riding a bicycle with the thousand mile stare of a combat veteran.
One of them (the apparent Dominar who likely self describes himself as an ‘Alpha’ or ‘Sigma’ male) rides up to my drivers side window, while I’m waiting for them to pass rather patiently – with a sneer on his face – to inform me that ‘it’s one way, asshole’ and then gestures at my rear view mirror in a manner that indicated he was planning on knocking it off the door.
Why are ‘the bicycle people’ always such complete and utter dicks?
Four wheels bad, two wheels good, that’s why. Seriously, their two road bikes probably cost as much as my car did. They were drivers too, obviously, as I saw them unloading their bikes from a rack on the back of a Subaru. I’ll bet you anything that they wouldn’t have sat there patiently waiting for me to pass if I was walking past their car.
When the guy mouthed off at me, I let him know what Brooklyn sounded like, and he seemed shocked by both the depths of my profanity and the revelation which he received about his Mother’s sexual proclivities. Specifically shocking to him was Mommy’s passion for lying down with the beasts of the field, while singing Dixie.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Closer to home and later on in the day, I found myself merging into a turn lane in the center of the City, something which another driver some four to five car lengths behind me displayed great umbrage over.
A tiny person who was driving a gray Volkswagen, this eidelon of assholes started steady honking her horn at me while throwing up both middle fingers, and unintelligibly screaming hostilities out her car window. This series of behavioral tics were observed in my rear view mirror when she was merely two car lengths away, as traffic compressed behind a red light – which also seemed to upset her. The tirade continued for about two to three miles, until she triumphantly passed me by at a traffic light, with one last middle finger salute offered as she passed. Wow.
Road rage is a really, really weird phenomena and I just don’t understand why the angry humans act as they do. It doesn’t make sense, and why do something so high energy if it isn’t going to achieve anything at all? I mean… there’s traffic and a red light. Why would you accelerate your vehicle if you’re coming up to a complete stop?
It… doesn’t… make… sense…
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Scuttling Hollow
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While walking through a Pittsburgh neighborhood called ‘The Run,’ one of the first things I noticed and pointed the camera at was the Swinburne Bridge. It’s a 1915 steel girder affair, which carries Frazier Avenue over the ravine which the Run community is embedded into. Clicking that link above will bring you to a page at historicbridges.org, which will tell you all the nitty gritty about it – when, where, who, and why.
I was heading for an area called Panther Hollow in Schenley Park, and was walking there shortly after having parked the Mobile Oppression Platform in a public lot set up for visitors to the network of trails that snake around Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A neighboring span carries I-376 (aka Penn-Lincoln Hwy./US Hwy. 22/Hwy. 30) high over the ravine. The entirety of this high speed roadway is a fairly massive structure, which was built in 1956 as part of the Federal Interstate Highway System build out.
I continued on towards the entrance of Schenley Park, where I was happy to find a Porta Potty waiting for me to ‘dewhizzulate.’ I know that it’s odd to constantly mention when and where I took a piss in these posts, but as a lifelong New Yorker… the idea that such public amenities exist at all are still startling to me.
Imagine it… an acknowledgment of human biology… by a government…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Panther Hollow itself is set into a ravine or valley found between two steep hills which are built out with residential and collegiate buildings. The name of the place comes from the observance of wild Panthers here during the 18th and 19th centuries, critters which are also known as Mountain Lions. Sportsball teams associated with the nearby PITT university use Panthers in their branding, thereby.
Back next week with more from Panther Hollow – 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.
Rolling, rolling, scuttling
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As described in prior posts, one was engaged in a constitutional walk with an ulterior purpose of capturing a few photos along the way. I was scuttling along Pittsburgh’s P.J. McArdle roadway, which that suspension bridge pictured above is a part of. The bridge overflies a set of Norfolk Southern RR tracks.
There was some kind of track maintenance operation underway that was kicking up a good amount of dust, just around the bend.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The characteristic rumble of a locomotive engine from the direction of that bend signaled that a train was about to appear. The shot above is significantly cropped out of a full frame shot, in order to provide detail, I should mention. But… a train was coming.
Hooray for me, I can be happy again.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Happily photographed, the train continued along its way and so did I. This was a relatively short walk, and I had other things to do back at HQ. I looped around the waterfront and headed back to the T light rail station, where I caught my ride back to Dormont some five or so miles distant.
Back tomorrow with something different.
“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.
Now, more than ever, scuttle on
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Tote that camera, lift them feets, scuttle forth – that was the order of the day for a humble narrator, after clearing the deck of other ‘have-to’s.’ The now familiar routine of climbing a hill, and then another shallower hill, found me again standing at the T light rail station here in Pittsburgh’s Borough of Dormont, waiting for a ride ‘into town.’
It was exercise day again, but I really wasn’t feeling it. The main thing I was feeling was pain in my right shoulder, and a certain bewilderment about how I managed to injure myself while sleeping. Doesn’t matter, really, as everything hurts all the time these days. Pain is my oldest and most loyal friend.
The plan on this particular day – which was a Tuesday – was to commit about three hours of time to constant movement, with the hope that I might randomly encounter a few things worth pointing the camera at.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My first destination involved what was probably trespassing, but there we are. I hung around this area and did a bit of scouting nearby these railroad tracks, but the signal boards visible behind me were all flashing steady red indicators, and there was some sort of track maintenance hullabaloo underway in the distance – so ‘No Bueno’ as far as trains a the time I was there. One hung around for a few minutes nevertheless, whereupon the fact that this was a ‘photowalk’ and not a ‘photo stand around and wait’ occurred to me.
One of my many rules, loosely followed during these photowalk/exercise day outings, is to keep moving. If there isn’t anything interesting going on when I’m passing by, it’s ‘not meant to be’ and I should keep scuttling along until something interesting collides with my path. I call this ‘serendipity,’ but I’m famously an idiot. Just ask anyone.
A humble narrator is not a patient man, but I’m working on that flaw. I’ve got an entire portfolio of flaws, just ask anyone.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s the downtown Pittsburgh skyline pictured above, as seen from alongside this set of empty railroad tracks. A South Hills bound T light rail train set was leaving the Panhandle Bridge over the Monongahela River, and crossed into the camera’s frame.
I would encounter rail traffic later on in my afternoon, I’d mention, which you’ll see ‘shots of’ in a subsequent post. The History of Rome podcast was still active on my headphone’s playlist, and was describing the reign of Emperor Tiberius and his treacherous Praetorian henchman Sejanus. Given that I’m a huge fan of the British ‘I, Claudius’ television series, it’s difficult to not picture a young Patrick Stewart when Sejanus comes up.
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 