Posts Tagged ‘Pittsburgh’
Interruptus
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A humble narrator is feeling a bit off today, under the weather, all that sort of stuff. Thereby a single image greets you, but hopefully regular programming will resume shortly when the physical plant returns to a predictable homeostasis.
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“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.
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.
“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 Schenley Scuttle
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After entering Schenley Park via a southern entrance (as described last week), your humble narrator walked along the Junction Hollow Trail. Paved with asphalt, this is a pretty easy walk through a series of sports fields and open meadows of grass. On either side of the urban corridor it moves through, here in Pittsburgh, steep hillsides sprinkled with urbanized residential areas were observed.
Pictured above (I think) is the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge, which is currently undergoing emergency repairs that were undertaken after the nearby Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed suddenly back in 2022.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
There are rail tracks here (Junction Hollow!), which I’m told were once used as a main line right of way for the B&O Railroad. The rails seem to be polished and shiny, which suggests there’s at least occasional rail traffic here, but I didn’t see any while walking through.
One wasn’t here for rail shots, but I definitely wouldn’t have complained if serendipity struck. Frankly, a bit of serendipity would have been nice at this moment.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This is where I was heading to, anyway, Panther Hollow and Panther Hollow lake. Manmade, a significant amount of upland storm water drainage is directed towards this body. It, in turn, drains via another water way called Four Mile Run into the Monongahela River.
There were birds and critters, and a bunch of those icehole Canada Geese milling about and despoiling the shoreline with incessant pooping.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
High above, spanning the hollow, is the 1896 vintage Panther Hollow Bridge. This was my turnaround point on the walk, which is nearly always pre-decided upon on during this sort of outing.
I had to backtrack to the car, and reverse the steps which I’d already taken. The park itself was beginning to get populated with college students who were bounding about, jogging, doing yoga stretches – that sort of thing. People… yuck.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A conversation was started up with some random fella, who was walking his dog, and it turned out that his brother lived in Brooklyn’s Greenpoint so we found some random commonality between us. The guy, and his dog, lived here in the Run and he described the neighborhood’s charms in an effusive fashion.
I bid him adieu, and continued scuttling along back to the car.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It was late afternoon and time to head back to ‘my neck of the woods’ for… sigh… more on that tomorrow.
I said I wasn’t going to ever do that again… over and over, I said it…
“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.
Run, rabbit, run
Thursday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Recent endeavor found your humble narrator driving over to a section of Pittsburgh called ‘The Run’ which adjoins Schenley Park. I wasn’t visiting or exploring the community, rather passing through and I was following a trail map which led through the park.
At the nearby end of the Eliza Furnace Trail is found a parking lot, where the Mobile Oppression Platform had been berthed. I should have looked more deeply at the trail maps, as I could have parked a bit closer to my destination, but I’m never one to complain about a bit of extra walking.
That’s Pittsburgh’s Second Avenue pictured above, and the large property on the right is called ‘Blair Park,’ but it used to be part of a Steel Mill (or so I’m told). Still learning about this joint, me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Second bends onto Saline Street, which then leads into a neighborhood called ‘the Run.’ There’s a great local YouTube channel, produced by a fellow named Dean Bog, that offers a nice short about this area – check it out here.
Bog’s inventory of videos explore the various communities in the Pittsburgh Metro area, and they impart the ‘vibe’ encountered when exploring the habitations of the local human infestation. Here’s one about the part of town where HQ can be found and where a humble narrator dwells – the Borough of Dormont.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My goal for the afternoon, beyond getting some exercise and seeing a place which was novel and new, was to get to a spot called Panther Hollow in Schenley Park. The ‘front door’ to this park is nearby the campuses of PITT and Carnegie Mellon University, whereas a ‘back door’ is found down here.
Back tomorrow 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.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 