Posts Tagged ‘Pittsburgh’
clustered towers
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
November 2nd found Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself waking up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. As mentioned in Friday’s post, it was a particularly foggy morning, but we had a mission. This trip to the Paris of the Midwest involved finding a rental property for us to land in, and we had a combination of professional realtor and Zillow appointments to oblige. You gotta eat, though, and on our way to a local diner for a heavy breakfast the car was parked in a multi story lot building which sits alongside the streetcar or “T” Red Line.
I know, it’s crazy. The Government types don’t want you to take your car into the city center to alleviate congestion, so they’ve set up for pay parking nearby mass transit lines rather than shaming you for not riding a bike into the City. Lots of people ride bikes here, and use them to commute (there’s bike and scooter share systems), but they’re not the answer to cancer or the cure for baldness like the bicycle people will tell you they are back in NYC.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The T is a smallish transit system, at least as compared to the Subways of NYC. It’s not 24 hour, but it offers fairly frequent service. Pittsburgh, historically, used to have an enormous web of street car or “trolley” systems prior to the age of the automobile, and the Eisenhower era’s Interstate Highway projects. You still see iron trolley poles all over the place, and I’ve read about streetcar lines that went all the way out to the exurbs like Butler – which is about fifty miles to the north of the City Center.
I should mention that I’m just starting to learn about this place which we’ve chosen to make our new home. Ignorance of this new place has been a fascinating experience for one such as myself, who can walk around Brooklyn and Queens and tell you where a building contractor sourced the bricks from for this structure or that one. It’s going to be a lot of fun to learn about Pittsburgh, I tell’s ya.
For instance – driving etiquette is different here. Look up the “Pittsburgh Left” as an example.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After we quaffed breakfast, we had a half hour or so to kill before our first appointment, and since there was an incredible Roman Catholic Church with a huge graveyard nearby, I drove us into the cemetery to take a quick lookie look.
Everything I’m up to at this stage of the process is basically scouting, but there’s LOTS of photographic opportunity here. After previous visits to the area, we had narrowed our search down to the South Hills area – a series of medium density suburbs found in the 5-10 miles from City Center zone. We felt an affinity for the neighborhoods found in the South Hills Borough of Dormont, in particular, so that’s where our focus point was placed.
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.
crystal stream
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On Halloween, Our Lady of the Pentacle and myself went to the local saloon here in Astoria for a spooky drink, and then headed back to HQ for the now daily ritual of packing boxes for our impending escape from New York.
It was raining, and one set out to capture the local milieu from up on the porch. That’s the bodega across the street from me here in Astoria, which I’ve shown you countless images of over the last decade. I couldn’t put much time into this sort of pursuit this time around, as on November 1st I’d be climbing in behind the wheel of the new car and driving it to Pittsburgh. We had a week’s worth of real estate listings to see, and the goal was to sign a lease in Pittsburgh before we came back to NYC.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The 1st of November was a travel day. With piss breaks and a meal or two factored in, the 370 miles or so to Pittsburgh from Queens is about a 7-8 hour long day of driving. 90% of that interval are highway hours, on fairly good roads with 70 MPH speed limits. From Astoria in Queens, it’s Triborough to the GW Bridge, and crossing the heavy road volumes of the Hudson River coastline of New Jersey will cost you a minimum of an hour’s worth of stop and go traffic. Once you’re about a third of the way into New Jersey heading west, it’s pretty clear sailing. The only thing that makes the drive concerning are the numbers of semi trucks encountered and the reckless abandon of about 50% of your fellow drivers who think 70 MPH isn’t fast enough.
Long story short, we drove to Pittsburgh. We stayed in an AirBNB, which we arrived at after picking up some groceries at a convenience store, drank a bunch of the wine we bought at the aforementioned shop, and woke up very early the next morning – November 2nd – to a heavy blanket of 1/4 mile visibility fog which had suffused into Pittsburgh and it’s suburbs.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
While drinking my morning coffee, I couldn’t help but record the scene from the AirBNB’s back yard deck. This was in an area which I’m told is called “the South Hills,” which is basically the sloping side of the highest point of elevation in the city’s center – Mount Washington.
We had a full day’s worth of realtor meetings, Zillow appointments, and all sorts of far flung destinations to visit. We literally had to drive to Moon, and Mars, and I had the desire to visit Carnegie sometime during the week’s time we’d be here.
More to come next week, from the misty mysteries of Pittsburgh.
“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.
over running
Friday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
My most recent trip to Pittsburgh ended with a boat tour at sunset, one offered by the Gateway Clipper outfit which operates out of a dock on the south side of the Monongahela River. Truth be told, one was rather excited to exercise his hand held night shooting skills.
Haven’t had too much of a chance to do this lately, what with all the tumult associated with preparing to move out of NYC and to this amazing City called Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
As the burning thermonuclear eye of God itself descended behind… Ohio… a few lens swaps were required. The trusty 25-105 zoom lens went into the bag, and the 85mm and 35mm primes came out.
The photographic situation and circumstance is difficult – you’re on a moving boat, and everything around you is either clad in deep shadow or brightly illuminated by artificial light. Sometimes, it’s both.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, unlike NYC, Pittsburgh still uses old school sodium lamps for their street lighting. NYC uses modern LED luminaires. The LED’s cast a cold blue glow whereas the sodium ones emanate w warm yellow/orange light.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The Gateway Clipper ride is about an hour in length, and is narrated by a tour guide. The boat itself has a bar onboard, but I wasn’t at all interested in libation. Truth be told, I was actually perspiring a bit as I was hard at work. Typically, I move about when onboard a boat, jotting from bow to stern, and port to starboard frequently.
Got to make the most of your investments, when you’ve actually paid for a ticket.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The shot above is one I dearly wish that I had the zoom lens on for, but it was a “worst case scenario” kind of subject. A fast moving freight train, backlit by very bright and strongly colored lights, seen from onboard a moving boat.
I keep on telling myself that there will be all the time in the world, starting next year.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
That’s downtown Pittsburgh, as seen from the confluence point of the Ohio, Monongahela, and Allegheny Rivers.
For a mega massive panorama showing this scene with both the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers – click here.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
We headed back to dock and my pal Max and I summoned a ride back to the AirBNB we were staying at. While waiting for the car, we noticed several people milling about who looked like super heros. Turns out that the local Marriot Hotel was hosting a bodybuilders convention over the weekend and a group of very fit people were flexing about.
It was time to pack up though, the next day would see us returning to NYC, and a long drive awaited us.
“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.
embodying that
Wednesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
One was desirous of “getting busy” with the camera after several days of catch as catch can shooting out a car window. Luckily, my pal Max and I found ourselves on Mount Washington’s Grandview Avenue just as the burning thermonuclear eye of God itself was descending behind… I guess it’s Ohio out here? That’s the “iconic” view of the dead bang center of the Pittsburgh Metro above.
My whole world is about to get rocked. Imagine… the world beyond New Jersey. I’m going into the west, like the colonial Dutch, or one of Tolkien’s elves.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I set up the tripod for these, and got fancy with how I was shooting them. This one looks up the Allegheny River from the prominence of Mount Washington. Can’t wait to start exploring this area in earnest and finding less common points of view, but for now – this’ll do.
The “shmear” of light in the midst of the Allegheny River is a tour boat operated by the Gateway Clipper outfit. This was a longish exposure.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The one above looks up along the Ohio River. Pittsburgh is where the convergence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers form into the headwaters of the Ohio. So much to learn…
That entire “zone” in the field of view of the shot above is – so far – “terra incognito” for me.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The highways in this area are wild. High speed roads with cloverleaf overpasses and ramps as far as the eye can see.
Such an interesting place this is.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I felt the need to zoom in on those highways, and study the massing shapes that they form. My perception of the “structure of things” in this area seem to be like that of a pearl necklace – with the high speed roads being the string, and the residential and commercial/industrial developments the pearls. That’s my first impression, of course, and I’m likely just trying to categorize and put something “in a box” based on limited observation, which is something I tend to do.
Give me a couple of years to figure things out, and learn the history of why things are where they are.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
After the burning thermonuclear eye of God itself disappeared, it got “proper dark.” Cracked out one last shot of the iconic view, and my pal Max and I headed off to dinner and then the AirBNB we were staying at. These shots were collected on the 31st of August, a Wednesday.
The 1st of September plan involved my pal Max heading off on his own, and for me to do a proper photowalk with the camera on my own.
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.
in pigment
Tuesday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Normally, when I show you a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge, it’s the full sized one and it’s overflying the East River. Instead, having driven some 400 miles from NYC to the Pittsburgh area, and then to one of its smaller neighbors – Saxonburg – I encountered this version of the “Great Bridge” at the John A Roebling House and park. There’s an 1832 vintage wooden cabin preserved there which the great engineer used as a workshop, and Roebling was one of the founders of the town.
No matter how far away you go, there’s a chunk of NYC waiting there for you. Inescapable. Saxonburg was a lovely, lovely town, overall. It looked just like a Norman Rockwell painting, or the setting of a Frank Capra movie. We found a coffee shop on their Main Street, and after getting fueled up with caffeine, headed back in the direction of Pittsburgh.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Luckily for me, the return trip to the City of Pittsburgh was My Pal Max’s turn to drive, and I got to shoot out of the car windows as he did so. We stopped off on the way to check out a few other spots on the route. Pittsburgh hosts 73 distinct neighborhoods, and many them are wildly different from the one “next door.” There’s a few picture perfect suburbs, several lightly populated exurbs, dense urbanity – you name it, and they’ve got an example to show you.
Everything here is connected via a network of expressways, highways, and secondary arterial roads. There’s a light rail system in the center of the city, and a network of bus routes which all converge on the downtown area. The buses are venous, as in they all go the heart of the City from the outlying areas. Unfortunately, if you want to transfer from one line to the next, you’d need to go all the way into town to do so, or so I’m told. Observationally, there’s a lot of neighborhood level bike riding, but getting from place to place is largely accomplished by driving a motor vehicle.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Crossing the Allegheny River, where the skyline of Pittsburgh suddenly rears up. That curvy roofed structure is the Pittsburgh Convention Center, and the black rail bridge in front of it was actively conveying a freight train over the water.
These shots were gathered right around “rush hour” in Pittsburgh. Traffic was moving slowly, at maybe 25 mph, during the rush.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
The highway we were on was going to carry us through the downtown area to another bridge crossing, one over the Monongahela River.
Along the way, I kept on clicking the shutter.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I’ve always been fascinated by the parabolas and massing shapes of highway ramps, even as a kid. There’s something sublime about them, and it’s always impressive to me that something this utilitarian can be visually interesting. Might as well make it look good too, right?
They used to care a lot more about this sort of esthetic impact in the early 20th century than they do now, the Civil Engineering types.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
On the Monongahela River, I spotted this tug towing several barges of minerals – presumptively coke or coal. These river tugs are configured quite a bit differently than the harbor or ocean going units I typically see. They also tow the cargo differently in this region, with multiple barges stacked up in front of the vessel.
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.
The Newtown Pentacle 