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!

Nike the Service Dog, Named For Greek Goddess of Strength, Speed & Victory

A gentle spirit, kind eyes.
She travels to nursing homes
makes people smile. Feel better.
Especially Ms. P’s first grade Friday!
Ms. P’s class had a visitor today.  The Art Room is just across the hall. Lucky me!
Email Kirk Sciarretti to arrange a visit- kasciarretti@live.com

Steelers Inflatable in a Silver Pick-Up

Arlington Avenue.  Driving down the curvy slope, slick tracks under your tires make a distinctive sound.  Note the trolley tracks and wires. They still run!  I had to turn around and get this inflatable.  From the rear. Drove up the hill again and came down, took a shot of him from the front.  It was the unexpected sight of a huge Black and Gold inflatable, leaning over the cab of the silver pick-up.  This view was the better one.  Playoff fever mounts as Sunday night’s game with the Jets is on everyone’s minds.  Well, most everyone.  It helps us make it through the winter.  And if you want to purchase one of these blow up football friends, get down to Mike Feinberg Company”The Party King” in the Strip on Penn Ave.   Fans have a variety of ways to express team spirit and I know everyone will sport Black and Gold at school on Friday.  Throughout the city!  I find team allegiance an interesting study.  Where you are born, where you live, family traditions, civic pride. There are photographers who photograph the Steelers Fans for years.

What determines the level of team pride?
My headlights reflect on the truck, the headlights from the oncoming car on the wet street...

Who Remembers Kickball?

You have to have a good ball to play.  One with some bounce.  Similar rules to baseball they say.  But you could get the ball thrown at you as you rounded the bases and be called out. Everyone wanted to pitch.  I left school Friday afternoon and saw this kickball on the playground in the snow.

The rusting chain link surrounding the playground. The red rubber ball birghtened the scene.

First Snow

As I left school, I saw the snow on the tree. When I walked across the street I saw the Scarecrow people and the ever-blooming flowers in the hanging pot! Happy December

Right across the street from school I saw this tree with a dusting of snow
I didn't get the Blessed Mother in the shot, but she was there!

Found Doll

Today I drove across the city from one school to another and returned at the end of the day, drove around the block, just to see how the light had changed on the scene with the doll. The white soft body and bright limbs caught my eye.  I will drive by tomorrow morning and see if anyone picked up the doll.

Can you tell I was driving down the hill? Arlington is full of hills.

Silvery Skyline

Can someone explain the building the jail (the four red brick structures) on the Monongahela River Front?

Riverfront Jail Makes No Sense to Me
Arlington Avenue view of the city on the way home from school.

Cathedral of Learning and School

It’s dark in the morning on the way to school and you know how I like to shoot at red lights.  Saw the Cathedral peeking through the driveway as I looked to the left out the driver’s window.  Then when I got to school in Arlington the sun was coming up and I could see the Cathedral in the distance.  The school buses lined up, waiting to let the children get off to go inside for breakfast.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Hard Rain Falling

A rain so hard I had to pull over on 18th Street hill, watch the water flow down and hit the backs of parked car tires. Splash up.  As I sat there, I noticed the downspout or gutter spewing water like a firehose.  Shoot just as the wiper goes by to the right. June afternoon thunderstorm.

June afternoon thunderstorm.
Deluge, torrents, downpour. Water running down 18th Street curb.

Almost Late for School

You get behind a garbage truck on a narrow street. A school bus bears down on your tail, headlights reflected in your rearview mirror. The minutes tick tick tick.  You watch the men pitch the bags into the back. Both sides of the street. You should have left home earlier, not stopped for coffee, gone a different route. You make it in time.  But you might as well relax and take out your camera and shoot because there is no getting by.

You're stuck on Spring Street behind a garbage truck. It's a narrow street.
Just relax and photograph the scene where you are trapped.