February 2011 – Page 2 – Ruth E. Hendricks

Windy With a Chance of Sunlight

A beautiful day. And though inside from 7:30-4:00 I was able to catch the unfurled flag from the second floor window AND the flag shadow on the asphalt during lunch. Right through the glass.

The Cathedral of Learning in the distance, the light fluctuating as clouds rolled across the sky. Had to tilt the camera to get both the flag and the shadow- the angle a technique I don’t use often.

Windy

In the daytime look out the windows.
Branches bend, papers blow across the yard.
Ripples or waves on water.
A pile of leaves caught up in a whirl.
You can tell it’s windy.
At night, listen.
A train along the river whistles.
Calm, a burst, a roar.
Earlier in my car on the bridge.
Wait for the light.
Feel it. Vibrate.
Bounce bounce bounce
right up through the tires.

Flag and Flag Shadow — Eye level to the top of a flag pole- a cool perspective.

February 19, 2011May 24, 2011 by Ruth Categories: Light in the City, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: architecture, arlington, Canon 50D, Cathedral of Learning, city, city scene, neighborhood, Oakland, photo of the day, photoblog, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Photographer, postaday2011, shadow, sidewalk, University of Pittsburgh, urban scene 5 Comments

Men at Work in Panther Hollow

Thursday night I found out that WordPress was inserting some google ads on my blog. Like a Giant Hamburger that said HOT DANG! Yikes. So just a note to my readers or bleaders –rutheh.wordpress.com is now been upgraded to “ads free” blog. I didn’t realize that wordpress was sneaking them onto the blog as they never showed on my view. Ever! If you saw these ads by google you will have to let me know.

Here is a photo of men at work, shot from the Carnegie Museum parking lot. Sparks were flying and it looked like hard work.

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February 18, 2011February 17, 2011 by Ruth Categories: Photography, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: digging, panther hollow, workmen 4 Comments

What You Should Never Eat- But Tastes Great!

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Hungry

Sometimes you are hungry
for something that is just not good for you.
And you eat it.

And regret doing so.

Or not!

Wednesday nights I take a class at Manchester Craftsmen’s and eat an early dinner on the South Side, driving down the slopes from Arlington. The last two weeks it was Carson Street Deli sandwiches but then I started thinking French fries. Undoing all the work at the gym yesterday.

So I crossed at 16th St and went into Mario’s, the only patron at that off hour but not for long. Cory was hosting and tending bar and took my order for an Alpine burger (don’t ask) and their house cut fries. A tall ginger ale. I asked if I could photograph the stained glass windows. Designed by Williams Stained Glass of Bethel Park. It was a good time to photograph the architectural details. Woshner’s was once “haberdashery” and is now Mario’s. I was too early for Karaoke night. Had to get to class.

February 17, 2011May 24, 2011 by Ruth Categories: Cooking and Eating, Light in the City, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: architcture, Carson Street, city scene, Duquesne University, Mario's, neighborhood, Penn State, photoblog, photography, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Steelers, postaday2011, retro, sidewalk, south side, University of Pittsburgh, urban scene, Williams Stained Glass, Woshner's 8 Comments

Zenith Radio Model 12-S-370, 1939

Tonight at the book club meeting I sat at the table with this radio in front of me for the evening. I knew it had a story and the hostess just wrote to tell me I left my notebook where I had jotted down what I needed to know about the radio’s history. I remembered the location of Beaconsfield Street in Detroit. Here is what Lisa B. wrote to me just now about this radio from her husband’s family. Zenith Radio Model 12-s-370. found online Antique Radio Museum.

Here is what Lisa wrote in an email tonight- “So here you go: The radio belonged originally to neighbors of Virginia and Joseph Belloli who lived on Beaconsfield Street or Holcumb Street in Detroit. During WWII the neighbors were German nationals and as German nationals they could not own the radio because it had short wave capabilities. The neighbors sold the radio to “Granny” and “Grampa”. Joseph was born 1895 in Cuggiono Italy and Virginia in 1896 in the US, though her family was from Cuggiono as well. And just to make things complicated, three Oldani sisters married three Belloli brothers. You just have to accept if you were born Belloli and you meet another Belloli in Detroit or St. Louis, yes, somehow in some convoluted way, you are related.”

You can see more about this model in a video a guy made on youtube with one he found at the curb in Peoria IL

February 16, 2011February 15, 2011 by Ruth Categories: photo of the day, vintageTags: antique radio, Beaconsfield, Detroit, family, memories, photo of the day, photoblog, photography, Pittsburgh, vintage, World War II, Zenith, Zenith antique radio 8 Comments

Michael Jumps Off the Board into 12′

Saturday afternoon with the family . We checked out the indoor pools, one a leisure pool with a lazy river. Everyone had a good time. How to ward off cabin fever? Enter the balmy Westerville Community Center pool. We skipped the climbing wall. Note the little drips of water off the back of his suit as he jumped. Mark took the two oldest back on Sunday afternoon.

Michael Jumping Off the Diving Board — Practicing my sports photography, stop action!

February 15, 2011February 14, 2011 by Ruth Categories: Childhood, FamilyTags: available light, childhood, Columbus OH, diving, family, memories, neighborhood, photo of the day, photoblog, photography, pool, postaday2011, swimming, winter scene 9 Comments

Valentine’s Eve Sky at Sunset

Just returned to Pittsburgh from Columbus and the light was leaving. Saw the sunset begin so found a spot in the Strip on Smallman Street to pull over and get out and shoot the colors as they changed. Thought to myself- a nice pair for today’s post and yesterday’s-the beginning of the day and the end of the day, both in the Strip.

Sunset Valentine's Eve — UPMC reflected in the puddle with trucks parked not far away.

February 14, 2011February 13, 2011 by Ruth Categories: Night Light in the City, photo of the day, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: available light, city scene, neighborhood, photography, Pittsburgh, postaday2011, Smallman Street, Strip District 16 Comments

Six AM in the Strip District and La Prima Espresso is OPEN

A two hundred mile ahead of me so getting a bold cup of coffee (and an almond mele) seemed a great start to the trip. The whole block was dark except for the welcoming neon and glass doors and window of La Prima Espresso and the neighboring bakery (Colangelo’s). A standing coffee bar with the best coffee in Pittsburgh. A thought of the day on a chalkboard, written in Italian. Italian TV playing above the barista making espresso, cappuccino, lattes. Fresh squeezed orange juice until 2 PM. You can see the newspaper outside on the sidewalk by the front doors.

One of the most recognizable scents

I remember when I didn’t even drink coffee.
A hot cup in my hand before dawn–
all is right with the world.
Especially if it from La Prima Espresso!

February 13, 2011May 24, 2011 by Ruth Categories: Night Light in the City, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: available light, cappuccino, city scene, coffee, espresso, La Prima Espresso, neighborhood, photography, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Photography, postaday2011, Strip District, urban scene 6 Comments

Empty Church in a Foggy Mist

Too many churches, not enough parishioners. One afternoon I photographed 8 closed churches on the South Side in one hour’s time. Now a law office, one a Dueling Pianos Bar, two were condominiums, some just locked and empty. I had a plan for a series on the closed churches of Pittsburgh converted for other uses, like the Church Brew Works and Mr. Smalls Theater, the Altar Bar, The Priory etc. but then I abandoned the effort as it just felt sad to me. No shortage of subjects. There are some beautiful and interesting preservation photos of St. Peter and Paul (click here)

Could Have Been Taken Anywhere

East Liberty PA
Once a bustling business
and thriving cultural center.
Gone through decades of changes.
Now some new businesses.
I looked out and saw the closed church.
So hauntingly beautiful in the winter fog and mist.

February 12, 2011May 24, 2011 by Ruth Categories: Light in the City, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: architecture, church, East Liberty, memories, neighborhood, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Photographer, Pittsburgh Photography, postaday2011, St. Peter and Paul, urban scene, winter scene 5 Comments

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.

School Chairs and Chain Link Shadow in the Snow — A classic assignment for beginning photographers- Capture the shadow!

February 11, 2011May 24, 2011 by Ruth Categories: Childhood, In the snowTags: arlington, childhood, city scene, memories, photo of the day, photoblog, photography, Pittsburgh, postaday2011, school, shadow, snow, winter scene 4 Comments

Button, Button, Whose Got the Button? ( & Bridal Veils, too!)

1700 Carson Street is the home of a great button store. It fascinates me- Parker Button. Boxes and boxes stacked from floor to ceiling. All colors, shapes and sizes. Like an artist’s palette. Shank or flat. Frogs and belt buckles. Ribbon and trim. Spools of thread to sew them all on for utility or ornamentation. My mother had a glass jar full of buttons. My sister made me the coolest necklace from vintage mother-of-pearl shirt buttons, strung onto embroidery floss. Do you have any clothing missing a button?

The other half of the shop is Clarissa’s Boutique . One word to describe the bridal veils, jewelry and accessories for custom headpieces and wedding necessities- exquisite? lovely? classic? ethereal? They will create a custom headpiece for you but allow three months. Feathers, flowers, jewels, or pearls. Voted the Best of the Knot for weddings 2011.

These Days Buttons are Often a Part of Web Design

Or people push our buttons.
Press the button to call the elevator
or select your floor.
Today’s post is the old fashioned kind.
Two-hole, four-hole or shank.
Metal, plastic, shell or bone.
Beatrix Potter shapes of rabbits.
When was the last time you sewed on a button?

Today marks 500 blog posts and counting!

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Growing up we had a record with the song ( these lyrics are from 1929)

Button up your overcoat, When the wind is free, Oh, take good care of yourself, You belong to me! Eat an apple every day, Get to bed by three, Oh, take good care of yourself, You belong to me! Be careful crossing streets, ooh-ooh, Cut out sweets, ooh-ooh, Lay off meat, ooh-ooh, You'll get a pain and ruin your tum-tum!

February 10, 2011June 1, 2011 by Ruth Categories: Light in the City, Pittsburgh Photos, vintageTags: belt buckles, bridal veils, bride, button, button collecting, buttons, Carson Street, city scene, Clarissa's Boutique, frogs, jewlery, memories, notions, Parker Button, photo of the day, photoblog, photography, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Photographer, Pittsburgh Weddings, postaday2011, retro, sewing, south side, The Knot, thread, urban scene, vintage, vintage buttons, wedding accessories 14 Comments

Month: February 2011

Windy With a Chance of Sunlight

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Men at Work in Panther Hollow

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What You Should Never Eat- But Tastes Great!

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Zenith Radio Model 12-S-370, 1939

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Michael Jumps Off the Board into 12′

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Valentine’s Eve Sky at Sunset

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Six AM in the Strip District and La Prima Espresso is OPEN

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Empty Church in a Foggy Mist

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School Chairs & Chain Link Shadows in the Snow

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Button, Button, Whose Got the Button? ( & Bridal Veils, too!)

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