"Place, with a trace of humanity" Photography/Photo of the Day/Pittsburgh

In the snow

I Drove Home in a Snow Globe

and of course, returned to the park.  It’s just blocks from my house.  And the light was low, the visibility poor.  A stark and magnificent beauty in the midst of the storm.

What were the trees doing today?    One day winter, one day Spring, one day freezing and dark, one day a warm sun but a chill in the wind.  I wanted to see the branches  outlined in snow.  The dark branches highlighted with the new fallen snow.  Actually, falling snow.

I was rewarded with a stunning winter scene, just before dusk.

It had started to snow while I was at school. The sky heavy and gray.  Big big flakes.   Melting on the street as it was 38 degrees.  I drove home in a snow globe.

Oh yes, today I got out of the car, scared off a squirrel and photographed the snowy park bench and my favorite tree. The sounds muffled by the new snow, barely sticking to the road but highlighting the curved lines.

park Bench in snow

 

 

 

these are unretouched color photographs

 

park road in snow

 

 

 

 

Two roads diverged….

two roads diverged

 

Home to tea.  Homemade spaghetti and cheese,  steamed broccoli.  Leftover fortune cookie and a mandarin orange. Winter.

 


Someone Left a Fake Fur in the Snow

White snow on white fur. Too bright, the reflected light.  But what looks like just a pile of snow is some white fake fur puddled on the sidewalk as I got out of the car to go into school Monday morning.

Close up of the white fur with snow on top.

 


The Passenger’s View

Took the eighth grade on a Field Trip to the Carnegie Museum of Art to view the Tennie Harris,Photographer: American Story show. We had a wonderful day.  Here’s the view from the passenger seat.  (note the sidewalk on the right is stairs!) You can see the stop sign at the bottom of the hill.  And the reflection of the  school bus in the right side mirror. Shot through glass on a snowy day.

Through the front window. It was great to be a passenger.


School Chairs & Chain Link Shadows in the Snow

Someone left the chairs out in the snow. Today the sun came out.  I photographed these a couple of weeks ago and they just looked uninteresting to me.  So not the whole chair, just a part. It was the shadows that attracted me today.

This morning I saw my first sundog*.
I was unable to photograph it properly.
It was a stunning sunrise from the Birmingham Bridge.
I didn’t even know what a sundog was until Joanne
sent me a photo of one.
It was clear and cold, blue sky and a magnificent sun.
It is amazing how you can feel when it is light.
The view of the sundog from the school parking lot seemed less dramatic.
I was trying to show our librarian.  Definition below.
*from good old wikipedia
A sun dog or sundog (scientific name parhelion, plural parhelia, from Greek parēlion, (παρήλιον), παρά(beside) + ήλιος(sun), “beside the sun”; also called a mock sun or a phantom sun) is an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun.[1]

Sundogs may appear as a colored patch of light to the left or right of the sun, 22° distant and at the same distance above the horizon as the sun, and in ice halos. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season, but they are not always obvious or bright. Sundogs are best seen and are most conspicuous when the sun is low.

A classic assignment for beginning photographers- Capture the shadow!


The Carnegie Museum Fountains in Winter

Shooting a color photo that looks black and white is fun.  These pods looked chilly and the sounds of the water splashing gave a shiver right under my wool coat and scarf.

Ever watch kids play in fountains
in the summer months?
Not the day I shot this photograph/
and I doubt kids play in these
or if they do, I’m sure not for long.
Vigilant museum guards would
come out and put a halt to any splashing

February 1st after lunch on Professional Development Day.

Check out Keep or Pitch and vote today!


Carnegie Library in the Snow

Night light refelcted in the city, one of my favorite things to shoot- add the snow factor.


Seven Robins and the Female Cardinal in the Backyard Tree

I thought the robins used to fly south! Find the female cardinal.

The other day there were two red cardinals in the tree in the backyard. I couldn’t see them no matter how I squinted. Could really see with the 70-200mm camera lens though.  The neighbors in the back must have a feeder and the birds congregate.  As I waited for the stunning red cardinals, which did not appear, I counted at least 7 robins in the tree.  I didn’t see the female cardinal until I put the photos into  the computer.  Don’t robins fly south anymore?? I thought they were the first sign of Spring so that isn’t right.  I am glad I am not a bird.  Especially in winter. And what about all the cats in the neighborhood? Can’ t be easy.

 


Standing Right in Front of Me

Last night we heard this song in the Rain show and today I was humming it and a few other Beatles tunes, all mixed up.  A couple of friends are going to see Rain this week and then Sally wrote that she saw the Beatles THREE times as a teenager in the ’60s. Just ran through my thoughts throughout the day.  Steve was starting to walk down the hill in the snow to catch a bus.  I drove him to work in the all wheel drive and as we turned onto Friendship Avenue I saw this statue of Mary in front of the convent in Bloomfield. Shrouded in snow.  Since school had just been closed for the day, I got out and photographed the figure in the snow thinking of the words to this song- since she was standing right in front of me…….

from Let it Be by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.



Friendship Avenue in Bloomfield near West Penn Hospital

Lucille said a touch of red improves the shot. Find the tiny roses.


Snowstorm Softens Skyline Edges

Coming back from training in the West End I pulled into the Cigna lot and took a couple of chilly shots.  Although a color photo it appears to be black and white.  Looked for lights  in the city but the snow blocked the view.  You can see the snowflakes against the river background.  The railroad tracks, partially covered, made for nice lines. The best thing about being asked to drive across the city in the snow (when it feels like you shouldn’t get on any road!)  is that you get to see a view you wouldn’t have seen if you hadn’t made the trip. You might remember the blogpost - same vantage point- without the snow.

Pittsburgh

Where the rivers meet


Icicles Backlit by Low Beams on Josephine St

When I left Tess’s house after Book Club, the snow and streetlights created a dramatic winter scene.  She pointed out the giant icicles on the neighboring house.  Walked to the corner and took a shot but just not enough light to make them interesting.  A car came down the hill. I was able to catch some of the light from their low beams as they backlit the giant icicles that almost touched the ground.( Well, the deep snow covering the ground). The term chiaroscuro surfaces as I look at the shading now, the darkness, the light. An article about the use of it in photography Lighting is All About Chiaroscuro explains what I was trying to achieve with the use of available light.  The car’s lights timing saved the shot.

Caught the light just as the car approached the stop sign.


Jack and His Dad Climb Firehouse Hill – Columbus Ohio 2-20-2010

Saturday Afternoon Sledding on Firehouse Hill, Orange Rd- Columbus, Ohio


Finding Joy in the Snow 2-20-2010 Columbus

It is not all gloom and doom, piles of dirty snow.  A break in the Cabin Fever on Saturday.  Sledding down the Firehouse Hill on Orange Road in Columbus, OH.

Sledding in Columbus Ohio

Usually "unpeopled" photo of the day, grandson Michael as he came down the snowy hillside.


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