Larimer Laundromat in Late Afternoon Light
March 5, 2010 Corner of Auburn and Larimer Ave Pittsburgh PA
Winter Night Lights in the City
Days are longer now. Natural light still shining yesterday at 6:30 PM as I drove from school- teachers had to make up time off for the G20 days. The sunlight through the new library windows so intense it hurt our eyes. The blinds are on order. The bright light a welcome change. Birds chirp in the morning now. The snowpiles melting. You feel a “lift”. Wednesday night I drove down Hampton St. and this house on the corner shone like daylight it was so bright. Unexpected cheery lights
As a lighthouse beacon for wayfarers traveling city streets at night
Twisters Ice Cream at Night in the City
Coming off the Bloomfield Bridge I took a left to avoid the potholes and discovered Twisters Ice Cream. The dangling cones? Whoa. Drove around the block. Haven’t sampled their advertised soft or hard ice cream click on their name for a link to a map and review.
No parking on Main Street in Bloomfield, so shot from the driver's seat
One Whitewall in the Snow at Night
Mark Identified the Model as the One "Pop" Drove In Florida
Unexpected Window Decor in the Snow
Vase of Flowers or Figurine? Taxidermist Handiwork Mounted on a Branch.
Finding Signs in the Snow
Found these signs as I drove to Dorothy's for tea.
Wedding Flowers in the Snow
What photo to put up? A dilemma. There’s the ongoing documentation of the storm, the damage done- like the aluminum canopy over gas pumps all twisted as if in a tornado, buckled under the weight of the snow. Or an Alpine mountain (i.e. huge pile) of snow that looks like Geology class. So many layers, the striations from the different days. The bottom layer almost black sedimentary rock- coal! A dusting of confectioner’s sugar on top. The snow I shoveled today felt like the stuff in the movies, that ersatz fluff in the Nutcracker that floats down onto the Snow Queen. If you need to Create Fake Snow Falling from a Ceiling for a School Play there are instructions. Tomorrow’s shovelfuls might be like concrete. And it’s snowing as I think of what to share. Lots of comments and emails about Spring and the hope for pictures with green in them. Hmmm, what to do? I’d set this up on my front porch after returning from a happy Valentine’s wedding in D.C., souvenirs from a lovely celebration.
Charlotte & Joel married on her Grandparents' Wedding Anniversary (wed 2-14-1942) Their photo on back of program
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.
Wild Turkey in the Snow
Unusual back up on Bigelow Boulevard and no traffic from the oncoming direction. Saw the wild turkeys eating the corn put out for them. Usually you would fly by doing 45, no chance for a shot. I was driving from school, surprised by the long two lines of cars as I approached Herron Hill intersection. Fluffy large flakes and an increase in wind? Just driving and thinking. Inching up to the light. Thinking. The huge TV at the gym explained the clog. Showed the scene I’d just driven by but I’m not reporting on that. Today it is just Wild Turkey in the Snow.
Wild Turkey in an Urban Landscape, No Still Life Today
But today it is just the Wild Turkey in the Snow.
TV Still Life in the Snow
I counted fifteen recycle bags. The discarded television looks really heavy to me.
Waiting for pickup. Any idea what year the Television set was made?
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.
Usually "unpeopled" photo of the day, grandson Michael as he came down the snowy hillside.
Giant Cyclops in the Snow on Carson Street
Family, friends and neighbors suggest pictures for me to shoot. Tess said, “Ruthie, you have to get a photo of the giant Snow Cyclops!” But he was over on the South Side and for 9 days I wasn’t driving anywhere.
Thursday night I left the Art Institute downtown and headed for Book Club on Josephine Street, and there he was waiting for me. Not melted yet! Deep and dirty piles of snow so nowhere to park. Pulled into the bus stop, pushed the flashers button. Got out of the car completely, careful of traffic on Carson Street, and felt like photographer on assignment. Self-imposed! Thanks Tess. Kyklops Tattoo for all your tattoo needs!
The temperature rose today so I was lucky to catch him before he started to melt
“By Their Sidewalks You Will Know Them” Guest Poet Timons Esaias
Tim's Poem Came to Mind as I Admired the Concrete First Time in Two Weeks
*NOTE to poet(s) not knowing HTML code I am restricted by the format of this blog template and or the limits of Text/Edit from word.doc to Mac? and the poem will not publish in the original format. It is a five stanza poem and the breaks occur after -out. -Way. -human. – eternal. Hence the hyphens for space and breath.
By Their Sidewalks You Will Know Them
-
Originally there were eleven Commandments
Moses, perhaps confused by the unfamiliar
snow, ice, and sidewalk,
botched one, and left it out.
-
But Buddha said that though Life is Pain,
falling on ice is gratuitous pain
and those who cause it, by neglect,
should never escape the Wheel of Rebirth;
and Lao-Tzu agreed, for those who will not
clear the path will never find the Way.
-
Zoroaster, in the endless war of light
against ice, demanded diligence;
claimed that those who surrender
the public way to the Enemy
have empty souls,
can scarcely be regarded as human.
-
The Prophet, regarding sidewalks and snow,
is silent; but his sura
Sand Drifting Against the Caravanserai Gate
is thought to apply. The condemnation there
is brutal and eternal.
-
Plato counted safe sidewalks as fundamental
to the ideal Republic, noting that those remiss
in this clear duty lacked all character;
and his pupil – perceptive, immortal Aristotle-
further declared, famously, that
lack of character
is destiny.
Timons Esaias is a writer and poet living in Pittsburgh. His short stories, ranging from literary to genre, have been published in fourteen languages. He has had over a hundred poems in print, including Spanish, Swedish and Chinese translations, in such markets as 5AM, Bathtub Gin, Main Street Rag, Willard & Maple, Elysian Fields Quarterly: The Literary Journal of Baseball and many others. He has also been a finalist for the British Science Fiction Award, and won the Asimov’s Readers Award. His poetry chapbook, The Influence of Pigeons on Architecture, sold out two editions. He is Adjunct Faculty at Seton Hill University, in the Writing Popular Fiction M.F.A. Program. This poem was originally published in hotmetalpoets.com when it existed.
How City Students Walk to School in the Snow -View from the Bottom/View from the Top
Some Ft.Pitt Elementary students have to climb these city steps up the hill to school. The blue sign says Rosetta Street. When I got to school, I could see two city trucks and a crew clearing the steps for the children to walk. I thought their efforts should be documented. The unsung heroes of the storm. What a lot of snow to shovel. The clock tower peeking through the trees is where I teach on Mondays and Tuesdays. Photographed Tuesday Feb. 16, 2010
City Crew Clearing the Steps for the Students on Tuesday
City Steps to Ft PItt- View from the bottom.City Crew Shoveling the Steps so Students Can Walk to School
Feral Cat in the Snow
We call her Long Tail. Her 3 siblings had bunny tails, about 3" long stubs.
Braving the snowstorm to look for food. This is one we caught, had fixed and returned to wild.
Great Winter Escape Post-Gazette in the Snow
Post-Gazette Vending Promoting Winter Escape
Valentines in the Snow
Valentine Teddy Bear in the Driver's Side Mirror Frankstown Ave. Pittsburgh PA
Highland Park in the Snow & Mural of Highland Park in the Snow 2-12-10
o
Vision of Highland Park Restoration Painted by Artist Mark Runco
CONTACT INFO If you need a mural artist come Spring email Mark Runco <panzagallery@mac.com>
Dog Follows Rider in the Snow
Round the Corner at Sheridan Ave and Grafton St.
Snowlamb in Workgloves on Bryant Street
Snowing again. Late afternoon walked/trudged down Grafton Hill to the Smiling Banana Leaf for Vegetable Pad Thai takeout, the Walnut Market a couple of packages of frozen chopped spinach to make a pie & Breadworks bread. This little guy caught my eye.
Good thing there was a red wall so the flakes could be seen.
Hidden Pictures-Find the Neighbor’s Car
The shovel handle lets you see it’s not a Black and White photo. 19 inches and drifts much higher. Tomorrow I’ll dig out my car. Couldn’t make it up the hill last night so it’s down on Grafton flats. Looks similar to this shot.
A bit of the license plate and the antennae visible, but that's about it.
What I Saw on the Way to School This Morning
The angle of the frozen water layered with the multicolored stones was a good find.
Garbage on the Sidewalk -Corner of Arlington Ave and Cologne Street
Deflated Inflatable on Way Home from School
One Last Santa Spring Street Porch Rooftop Thursday 1/28/10
Recent Comments