School’s Out for the Summer!
Well it WILL be out come Monday, June 17th (the final day without students)
The lockers were all opened and cleared out after the students left. What a collection in the lost and found.
I still have to turn in my keys and get signed out. The grade summary reports got turned in Friday. The books packed from the shelves in boxes or cupboards. Ripped down the bulletin board paper and thought about what color for next fall.
This lone work boot and the baseball were in the hallway by an open locker.
Thought about how I could have rearranged the still life to improve the composition but didn’t touch it,
just moved myself and the camera.
Happy Summer- I’m turning off all alarms.
Happy Father’s Day to my Son
Happy Father’s Day!
I’m a proud mom! Here is my son Mark who is a wonderful father to Anna, Michael, Jack and Maura. (Excellent Mom Erika, too)
Bringing Maura home November 2008
No matter the season…………….
Coaching Michael
Sledding with Jack
At the Pirates Game Willie Stargell Statue- Mark with Anna and Maura (and Grandma on camera)
PNC Park Pittsburgh PA
(and if you are new to following the blog you might enjoy this Father’s Day Tribute to my father) (more…)
Mazeroski in Moonlight, After the Prom
Pittsburgh Carrick 2013 Senior Prom was held at the Lexus Club at PNC Park tonight.
I went and took pictures of the kids and it was a great evening. My friend Steve picked me up and then had to turn the car around to be in the homeward direction.
This is what we saw at the circle by the Bill Mazeroski statue-
I got out into the chilly air and took a few shots. The clouds kept drifting over the moon, making the clouds luminous.
p.s.
In case you don’t know about the Greatest Home Run Ever Here’s the youtube video of Bill Mazeroski running to home in the 1960 World Series
Getting Ready for Baseball Season in Pittsburgh AND Florida
Everyone has their favorite teams. Depends where you live, where you were born, where you moved, or who your family roots for, what players you like…..
some fans prefer football but the beginning of baseball means that Spring will be coming.
The Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training is already happening in Bradenton, Florida.
I know cause my friend and frequent commenter, Sue R. is headed down to watch some games. Has her tickets. Seriously. She is one proud Lady Buc!
This post is for her so she knows that the fans at home are getting ready, too.
My favorite part of the photo is that the house number is also the Pittsburgh area code. 412!
Hope you are enjoying the warm weather and that the Pirates are looking good, Sue. It’s snowing right now. Nothing major but it is gray and cold and snowy.
You can find Sue at PNC Park when the season starts. And then it will be SPRING!!!!
River Catches Lights at Dusk
It’s been a week of bridges on the blog. Here’s one more. I thought the lights in the river look impressionistic. A soft focus on the bridge. Need to keep tripod or brace better against the light pole to avoid camera shake. You know how I like it when the sky grows dark and the lights come up. And I like to catch reflections.
Once known as the Homestead High-Level Bridge over the Monongahela River, it was rededicated in 2002 to honor The Grays Baseball Team of the Negro League so is known as the Homestead Grays Bridge. Built in 1936.
“It is notable as the first bridge to utilize the Wichert Truss, which uses a quadrilateral shape over each support.” says wikipedia.
Sunday- Pittsburgh Pirates Win 11-5 PlusTaralli and Fireworks at Saint Rocco Festival
Sunday afternoon my friend Steve and I drove downtown to look for the Toynbee tiles.
He’d seen a documentary about them but that ‘s another whole post for tomorrow. I want to read more about them and view the documentary myself before I write about seeing them. We found three. Stay tuned……
We decided to check out the baseball game and considered getting a last minute ticket. (Note how full the stands are these days!)
Here is the view of PNC Park from the Roberto Clemente Bridge above the Allegheny River.
Later in the evening we met some neighbors at the Saint Rocco Festival in Morningside at St. Rafael. There was singing and dancing the Tarantella. We ate a meatball sandwich and looked at the beautiful handmade cookies in the baskets. I asked the name of the cookies and the woman said Taralli. I went to my favorite authentic Italian recipe blogger, Chicago John and searched for a recipe for these particular cookies and didn’t find one but I am hopeful he’ll have one. Here’s a recipe I was able to find for now.
The evening ended in fireworks and lots of smoke.
Some of you may have seem my post of the Festival last year when there was a full moon. Just clouds this year.
If you want to read about Saint Rocco’s story it’s here
An Egg, a Baseball and a Boy
Practice stop-motion shots. Anticipate the action.
Try to feel the timing.
Press the shutter at the right time, once, instead of fifty times. Hopeful.
Improve.
Sometimes the stop-motion looks frozen to me, perhaps too still. Wonder if it needs a little blur to show the movement.
As you read about my shooting where you are, these are examples of how you can be on vacation and work on your skills, simultaneously.
Have fun doing it, too!
Chef at the next table- House of Japan
Jack trying to beat the ball to first base.
And jumping off the board into the pool. Looks like a cut-and-paste figure.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Dreaming
Dreaming-
definitions 3 and 4
a wild fancy or hope
a condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration
Not a long exposure photo as suggested by the challenge originator, but I took this picture Saturday morning at the T-Ball game and saw that line of little legs and shoes dangling, not long enough to reach the dirt.
Field of Dreams. Dreaming of the big leagues, the hits, the runs. A double play. A perfect pitch. Bases loaded. A championship, a home run, safe.
Fellow Bloggers interpretations of the weekly photo challenge are so different.
Jack Runs to First Base AND Guest Blogs
This is Jack. You might remember him as Superman just a few months ago. The red cape is folded up and put away these days. He’s headed for Kindergarten in the fall. How quickly they grow up.
Photo one is Wednesday night T-Ball game between the Mets and the Yankees. Shooting into the sun.
And for the guest blog portion of today’s post………
Photo two- Jack set up the sock monkeys for a photo in his dad’s chair.
He took it with the iPhone with no help from me. He told me “they smiled real good”. The kids see me photographing and it is something they want to do. He took three shots.
What Mark Did With My Camera When I Went to the Concession Stand
Mark, will you hold my camera while I take Maura to the concession stand?
Scroll down and see the Stop Action Video, These are all stills I put into iMovie to make a stop action clip with all the photos Mark shot while he held my camera.
We were disappointed that Mark’s HS friend and daughter and his parents couldn’t make it. A flight cancellation due to thunderstorms in NYC put the squash on the long awaited weekend plan.
It was a hot afternoon
Mark holding Maura and Anna on the Roberto Clemente Bridge approach. Maura had just been awakened in the car when we arrived at the park. I had fun buying team regalia for the family in the Strip District the day before they came to town.
Mark photographed me with my granddaughters by Willie Stargell statue
Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers.
Headed for the car in the garage.
Night Game- Pirates 5 – Mets 4 – PNC Park – Pittsburgh PA
It was a beautiful night, capturing the sunlight as the sun went down. And it ended up being an exciting game with a win by the Pirates. A few fireworks. Perfect weather. They close the Roberto Clemente Bridge for pedestrians to walk across to the Park. Reggie Howze is the saxophonist standing on the bridge.
Backlit Bridal Party in Baseball Dugout
Juniata College, Huntingdon, PA. A relaxed bridal party shot on campus, Saturday’s wedding. Both bride and groom are alumni, as are some of the attendants, too. The groom played baseball and football and the bride a serious runner (just signed on to run the Boston Marathon again, oh my)
Bright sun, green mountains and blue sky. A happy couple. A perfect day. Wishing them every happiness, always! 
PNC Park at Dusk
from the archives- Pittsburghers will notice fewer lighted signs on the downtown buildings in this shot- taken 7 years ago this time of year. Tuesday’s post will be back in “real time” . Baseball equals summer to me! 
Almost Full Moon Over Roberto Clemente
Saturday March 19th will be the SUPER MOON. I shot this on the way home from class on Wednesday night. I was shooting the statue of Roberto Clemente and noticed the moon in the frame. Going to try and shoot the super moon Saturday night.
No Concrete Proof
The lights at night, the moon, the swollen river rushing below the bridge, the lifelike statue- created a presence.
Mazeroski in the Snow
Read a tip to revisit something you’ve already photographed, but return in another season or different time of day. After photographing Heinz Field the other day before the AFC game I swung by the Bill Mazeroski statue above the Allegheny River and shot him running into home plate, surrounded by snow. Some of you may remember my photographing the statue unveiling. No people in this shot. I had dinner with my friend Sue R. who is a serious fan and a member of the Lady Bucs Club. She has her tickets to go to Bradenton for Spring Training games. I told her about shooting the statue in the snow and she said she was looking forward to seeing him. Susan Wagner is the sculptor of this incredible statue.
A memorable moment frozen for all time!
50th Anniversary at Forbes Wall in Oakland- October 13th- 1 PM
The radio will be playing the game. Starts at 1 and the home run hit by Mazeroski will play at 3:36 PM. Lots of the team will be there. My friend Sue will help interview and point out players for a friend who is filming the occasion. Very exciting, And Happy Birthday to Marianne who was at the game with her Uncle Bobo in 1960. Learned at the Rick Sebak lecture that no beer was sold inside the ball park at that time. You could buy it outside and bring it in. So not the actual spot of the wall where the home run went over but a piece of the wall to commemorate the game.(click for details)
Going to be a crowd here today to listen to the rebroadcast and celebrate.
Signing the Star Spangled Banner at the Pirates Game
O say can you see……My friends’ daughter Deaidra and the Pressley Ridge Signers signed the Star Spangled Banner before the Pirates(11) vs Cardinals(6) game Wednesday night. The attendance sparse- a little over 11,000 but there were thunderstorms earlier so might have deterred people from coming out. It was a great night!
Mazeroski Statue Unveiled
99 year old photographer James Klingensmith pictured, shot the photo the statue is based upon - sculptor Susan Wagner
Fireworks Shot from Roberto Clemente Bridge & River (2 views)
Pirates game Saturday night, perfect weather, a Luke Bryan Concert after (had never heard of him but apparently I am the only one who has not) Fireworks by Zambelli. Won’t go into the details on the outcome of the game (OUCH) but a stunning display of color and sparkling light over the city.
Looks like an upside down dandelion gone to seed.
Flags Fly at PNC Park
Happy Flag Day. Happy Birthday David.
My brother’s birthday is today. Flag Day. A legal holiday in Pennsylvania. There will be garbage pick up. A non-holiday holiday. No special holiday meals. I see flags and red, white and blue bunting around town. Some flags up since Memorial Day.
Here are the flags at PNC Park with the city behind!
I remember walking to the Betsy Ross House when our parents lived in Philadelphia, Mark in a stroller. Philadelphia may be the home to the first Flag Day. When I was a kid there was a piano in the classroom and we sang a lot of flag songs.
Roberto Clemente/Sixth Street Bridge Sunday Night
A dry ride home despite reports of severe thunderstorms. It was blue sky and white fluffy clouds, sun, intense green from the rain. When I got back to the city it had gotten dark. I pulled over by the Renaissance Hotel on Duquesne Blvd and caught the bridge.(Click to learn more about “self-anchored suspension”)
It was okay but I drove around the block for both arches, shooting through the windshield while sitting at the red light.
Roberto Clemente Bridge/Sixth Street
Night Game
Baseball game, almost summer. Lights in the city at night offer invitation.
To see the photo that inspired the beginning of today’s poem in Pittsburgh Post- Gazette ( Color Theory) click link here
PNC Ballpark lights cast a glow in the sky.
What I Saw on the Way Home From Class Tonight
It’s been a week for baseball. I was driving from Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild on the North Side where I am editing a video portrait in a cool class. And I saw the lights! Took the Chestnut Street Exit and over the 16th St Bridge and around back to photograph the enticing light. Like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a magnificent spacecraft landed. The sky aglow. Shot from the car at the red light. At Yankee Stadium in the game today, my cousin Lori threw out the first pitch and served as honorary bat girl for the Yankees.( click link underlined for short video clip of highlights)
If this scene doesn't make you want to buy a ticket and see the game, I don't know what would entice you.
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