Waiting for Barges on the Allegheny River Late in the Day
Standing on the Roberto Clemente Bridge from Sixth Street. Saturday night.
Following Mr. John’s Truck Up the Narrow Road
One day BEAUTY, the next day NECESSITY- Andy said the blog is like a Carousel Slide Show and you just don’t know what’s next–
On the way to school one morning. Shot with old iPhone 4. How about that narrow road Parkfield Street?
Not sure how a toilet got named a John, so I looked it up and found out they are named for Sir John Harrington and that there is even a toilet museum.
One of my favorite posts on the blog is the pink toilet in the snow.
Cars Driving Uphill Have the Right of Way
….and so when I leave school and I’m driving down Parkfield Street (AKA the Cow Trail) and someone’s driving uphill, the road’s so narrow you have to pull over to the curb and allow the uphill car passage. Even pulled over it can be a tight squeeze.
Wouldn’t you know it, I got lucky on Monday afternoon and as I’m at the curb I look out the passenger window and see the neighborhood of Carrick and St. Basil’s Church up at the top of another hill. One shot with the window down and then I put the camera back in my school bag and take my foot of the brake and head down the hill as the uphill driver gives a wave of thanks.
Looked up St. Basil‘s story, too.
This shot shows Pittsburgh topography. Hills and more hills.
The trees are full of leaves now. Shot with the Canon 70-200mm lens as I was headed to the Girl’s Softball game.
Sure Sign It’s Spring
Bloomfield Bridge Tuesday afternoon waiting at the red light I looked next to me and saw a vision.
Top down on a shiny brightly colored convertible.
A definite change in the weather and I took it as a sure sign that Spring is finally here. (it’s a Murano by Nissan).
NYC Transportation
Another gallery from NYC trip over Spring Break.
Remember the 25,000 dollar Pyramid Game Show? A category is on the card and your partner lists all the things that are in that category. Things that Have Wheels? Things that you ride? Things that help you get around.
NYC Afternoon
Corey is filming his cousin Michael and his brother Justin is resting up for his ride. Watched this effort for awhile. They used to skateboard. I talked to them and asked if I could put them on the blog.
And now it is Justin’s turn
E Rossi Co doesn’t have any pictures of the new pope yet, but are expecting delivery soon.
Seems everyone is on some sort of device.
The hair color (above) matches the shoes on the man below!
And a Fiat 500 but not sure what year? Anyone??
Bleecker Street West Village
On a cell phone while making a delivery.
Good thing it isn’t the Sunday Times
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.
Incline Operator
Meet Chuck Wise. He says his job has its “ups and downs.” You can find him on youtube he told me! Thanks for the tour, Chuck. I was showing fellow blogger Vastly Curious around the Burgh Wednesday night, all the fine sights ( the city view on Grandview Avenue in Mount Washington)
Brrrr it was windy out on the platform.
Churck Wise (like the potato chip he reminded me so I’d spell his name right) has been operating the incline for about 15 years, just as his Great Grandfather did.
He graciously allowed me to photograph and blog him.. Thanks Chuck.
Length of Track: 794 feet
A Pick-Up Truck Bed Filled with Legs on a Snowy Highway
Guest blogger again today. The blog has been a family effort as of late. I’ve been out here for ten days and going back home New Year’s Day.
Today”s guest blogger is none other than my nine year old granddaughter Anna who shot this scene with her mom’s cell phone from a moving car.
She saw this pick-up truck on the way to swim practice. What I love is that she saw it, got her mom’s camera on the phone going and captured the shot and THEN she texted it to me saying “I just blogged for you”. People write to me and tell me they see something and think, ahh Ruth would photograph this. People have called or emailed suggestions of things to consider photographing for the blog. If I had seen this truck filled with a pile of fake legs in the back
And then there are these moments of serendipity.
I asked her where she thought the truck was going
Her reply “Probably a dummy store.”
Anna has shown me photos before to be on the blog but I said We’ll know when it is right! Today it is perfect.
10th Euro Car Oktoberfest Held at Volkswagen of America Westmoreland Site
It was a gorgeous October day. On the warm side. Guys in T shirts and shorts. Saw a few VW tattoos. I took the scenic route from Columbus as I made my way back home to Pittsburgh.
I drove to VW Westmoreland (which used to assemble VW Rabbits but closed in 1988) to a Euro Car show sponsored by Sendell Motors and organized by Jason Santo Columbo and Josh Volk. (if you click their names it will send you to the events FB page)
It was George with the 1973 VW Thing from the Garfield Art Car Show last week who told me about the Oktoberfest today. Parked next to George was Lenny’s 1964 356 Outlaw Porsche. Lenny told me he spent 13 years restoring it. I should write out THIRTEEN so it sinks in. A labor of love. He’s a certified race flag waver who works at the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, keeping the drivers safe by signaling with a flag, letting them know what is going on. Lenny has an article in the ARPCA (Allegheny Region Porsche Club of America) but I couldn’t find the specific link to it, sorry.
Some of you may remember the post of Volkswagen Family photograph shot in North Carolina.
Thanks for the tip on the show today, George! So, what do you think, Uncle Frank?
Art Car Show in Garfield on Penn
Friday night I read about the Art Car Show in an article in the Post-Gazette. At this show, there weren’t any cars like the Art Car in Columbus OH I posted a couple of years ago.
Steve and I ventured out Saturday afternoon and what started out as a gray, dark day became perfect
First, we met George and his 1973 VW Thing. He came when the weather was good as his vehicle has no roof! Made in West Germany and customized in Redondo CA, he bought it in Indiana and told me his goal is to have every car he thought was cool when he was a kid. He has five cars and I should have asked him what the other four were but that question will have to wait for the Oktoberfest Car Show at the old VW Factory in Westmoreland next Sunday, October 14th.
Jason Sauer of Most Wanted Fine Art Gallery was the host of the event and showed me his demolition car named DOA and “that’s what it is” he said,”Dead!” That is why it was covered with a white sheet!
Parts of it have been torched out of the body and grace his Art Gallery walls and there is even a car pieces wind chime hanging from the tin ceiling of the gallery. He was the host for the day. He was at an event in Texas and had Xerox Most Wanted signs and people posed for the piece you see on the gallery wall. All the photos are on the trunk of a car, hanging on the gallery wall and the participants tagged themselves on FB.
Sam Thorp posed by the van she painted.
Steve bought a psychology book at Awesome Books a few doors down and he pointed out the giant sleeping cat in the front of the bookstore. We had fun in Garfield Saturday afternoon.
Black Widow Adds a Lot of Screams to the Park
Back and forth, as a pendulum.
Spin round and round simultaneously. Not to mention the height. Oh my.
I shot this angle at dusk.
No, I did not ride it but was fascinated by the long lines of people waiting to get onto it and be scared out of their minds. The screams rated high in decibels.
You can read a great article about it and there is a video link to view as well. Plan a vacation in Pittsburgh and take the Black Widow at Kennywood.
Phantom’s Revenge Riders Fly Towards the Full Moon
August first, just after sunset. West Mifflin, PA. Kennywood Amusement Park. Just driving by. Got out of the van and waited for the cars filled with riders to come into the frame.
Note to Self: Leave Home Ten Minutes Earlier
Two school buses and a garbage truck stopped on the narrow street as I made my way to school. A standstill, brake lights on. Do you worry? No, you photograph the scene. Write a note to self.
Tugboat Pushes Barges on the Mon
Shot through a chain-link fence.
I was in the passenger seat and I had my camera out. The 70-200 lens.
We were headed to the wedding reception from McKeesport to Greentree. (Lots of double ee)
Crossing the McKeesport-Duquesne Bridge. A truss bridge.
And there was a tugboat pushing filled barges on the Monongahela. (Monongahela means “Falling Banks”)
Pushed the shutter and shot shot shot as fast as I could, no chance to change settings. Lucked out with the cables on the edge and the gull in flight. The chain link fence gives the photo a soft haze and fuzz to the sharpness.
I’d asked my friend to drive a little more slowly but everything whizzes by when you are moving and it was unrealistic to go slow on the bridge. Couldn’t have done it if I were driving as there was no place to pull over. It was a squeeze.
and might as well show you the failed shots, the ones with the bridge cables, the blocking the view, the actual fence.
Photography can be exasperating. You would like to get it right.
There was no time for a turnaround, rerun, do-over.
It was the one shot that worked. Lucky day. Oh yes, at least three below that didn’t.
Built in 1870 – Oldest Continuously Operating Incline
Could be a shot for contrast as well. A spot of color on a dull day. The Monongahela Incline. View from West Carson Street.
Touch-a-Truck Day, Westerville, OH
Michael, Anna and Jack learn how to ride a city bus.
Touch-a-Truck Day in Westerville Ohio -Tow truck,news van, fire & rescue, police car, farm machinery, helicopter, animal control van, big diggers, school bus and a giant truck cab. Kids and babies in strollers, parents carrying and corralling them, wait in line for a turn- vehicle to vehicle. Each sat in the driver’s seat, held the wheel, while honking the horn. A bus driver distributing transfers and the children were given How to Ride a COTA (Central Ohio Transit Authority) Bus coloring/activity bookS, a package of crayons, in the plastic bags. I sat across from them as they listened, Jack holding his transfer. Thought this scene called for conversion to black and white.
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