Category: Pittsburgh Photos

Downtown Alley

 

 

The illumination challenge could have kept me going for the rest of the year.  I shoot a lot of photos in the dark with lights!  When you look at your body of work ( or parts of it) you notice different things and details on different days.

When I was sifting through files, I found this city alley downtown and just liked the perspective, the people, the shapes and lines. Although it was captured in another season, the thermometer went up to 69 degrees ( I saw it lit up on a sign!) and for the second week of January it feels odd.

I think I need to return downtown and shoot some more alley views.

 
downtown alley

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There are at Least 14 Ways to Spell It!

And here is an article explaining the most popular and the second most popular way to spell- Hanukkah or Chanukah? The Festival of Light. 

Tuesday- the fourth night.

I was invited for potato latkes and the lighting of the Hanukkah candles at my friend’s house.  We taught together these past 6 years until I moved to the high school this year.  The first photo is her beautiful Menorah on the mantle. Her kids are grown up and out of town, too.  She and her husband and I sat by there fire and then she lit the fourth candle. It gets dark so early now as we approach the shortest day of the year.  The warmth of the fire and the glow from the colorful candles was lovely.

After we ate the latkes(served with sour cream and or applesauce)  Ann lit the fourth candle.

We left for an adventure, traipsing around Squirrel Hill, Murray Avenue and Forbes.  Up and down trying to decide where we should eat!  At least it wasn’t raining.   We had a nice evening, catching up on our families and school and mutual friends.  When we walked by the Giant Eagle supermarket and a young man asked if we were Jewish and she said, yes and he asked if she had candles.  Then we saw the table set up in front of the market with another young man cooking latkes on a griddle.  They had applesauce available and their organization had a big sign on the Menorah.  They told me they were “spreading light in the world.”  I asked if it would be okay to blog them and they gathered to gather for a group shot.  Pulled out the cell phone camera.  Yep, my camera was back by Ann’s house in the back trunk of the car.

Thanks Ann for including me in the candle lighting and for taking me on a good healthy walk around the neighborhood to find the best dinner.

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by Categories: Night Light in the City, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Home of the 5 lb. Hamburger!

Yes, that’s 80 ounces of meat.  But not a photograph to prove it exists.  Just this sign on the overhang. A site describes this place as a Sports Bar, a local hangout, a joint!

Maybe the five pound hamburger weighs a bit less after grilling?  The way the punctuation goes I’m not sure if there is a five pound hot dog or a five pound pirogue, too

I was at a red light on Friday at the intersection in some traffic.  Good timing.  When you have a 50mm fixed lens on your camera and you’re in the driver’s seat, stopped, there’s no maneuver room, no way to get more of the establishment in the frame. This is the shot. There was no place to park or get out.  I was on my way to see the family. Friday afternoon traffic, bumper to bumper.

But it was the sign that caught my eye.  Nobles on Nobles Lane down the street from school.  It wasn’t open when I was stopped in front.  I know it would’ve been cool to actually go in and order one, document the gargantuan meat.

Home of the 5 lb Hamburger2

by Categories: Cooking and Eating, Pittsburgh PhotosTags: , , , , , , , , , , , 9 Comments

Bumper by the Side of the Road

You know there is a story behind this city scene, late afternoon.  I took a different route.

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Francine’s High School For Sale

Schenley High School

 

on the National Register of Historic Places.  It was Andy Warhol’s high school
(And fellow blogger Francine’s high school, too! Here is her bloglink)

It’s been closed a few years now.

Well, the yellow sign says RELOCATED but that was temporary.

It’s gone now.

When I drive by this building it feels sad.  When I drove by today it was raining and I saw the For Sale sign out front.  If you want to see a magnificent aerial view of the building and where to send your bid to buy it, click here

I went to high school in Morristown, NJ so it isn’t my Alma Mater, but the empty building evokes a sense of loss.

There’s whole list of notable alumni but here’s a link to a photo of Andy Warhol’s homeroom class 1944-1945

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Sculptor Paul Roger-Bloche Mother and Child Statue

 On the way back from getting coffee with a colleague last Thursday, before the evening session of Open House, S. showed me this statue.   Today I returned to photograph it in the sinking October sunlight.

As I drove home, I was thinking about a mother’s love for her child after spending a little time photographing the sculpture.

One block from school – Paul Roger-Bloche bronze sculpture,

L’Enfant,

created  1899.

Overbrook Boulevard and Ravilla Street intersection.

Here’s a link to the story about how Boy Scout Troop 224 rediscovered this statue beneath vegetation, when just the head was showing through.  

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Almost Same Scene Shot from Inside and Outside the Building

After school I drove to a training in another high school and as I left the building I saw the scene through the windows.  An autumn afternoon.  Shot with the iPhone.  When I got outside I could see a vista with the houses perched on a distant hill.  But when I looked at both views, I felt the one through taken through the glass windows was the more interesting image.  And what was that I said about ALWAYS carry your camera?

Hmmmm. I just don’t seem to be able to follow my own good advice. Maybe I can return when the leaves fall from the trees.

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About to Pop and Professional Wrestling on Grant Avenue

You might remember the post where I wrote how I knew I should ALWAYS carry my camera with me. ALWAYS

Friday night Steve asked if I wanted to grab a bite to eat.   It was a long day at school.  Sure.

We drove down to Park Brugges and the line was out the door.  Plan B.  We drove to BRGR and at least a 1/2 hour wait.  Spoon, no reservation? A table might open up at nine.  Okay.

Plan C.  Let’s drive to Millvale and eat at Grant Avenue Bar.

We got to the front of the place and it was Millvale Days!  Who knew? There was a wrestling ring and ropes and a referee and oh my goodness a Ferris Wheel and games and booths and bands and people. People all over the place. Snack stands and cotton candy trailers and NO camera. Well the phone.

We walked around and of course, I’d left my camera in my school bag. At home.  Oh no.

These were shot with an iPhone with about 13% battery left.

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Shammy and Sean at the Corn Festival

Last Saturday I went to the Carrick Corn Festival at Phillips Park, across the street from the high school where I’d just started my new position (digital photography teacher)  the day before. Our principal had invited us to attend and get to know the community plus it was a chance to see the Marching Band perform and shoot some photos of the event. There were Irish Step Dancers and Bhutanese Dancers and I’ve quite a few views of the corn being shucked and boiled, dripping in butter but this is the photo of the day.

At one of the booths, this man was writing people’s names and telling their meaning.  I asked if I could photograph his dog (Shammy) who was by his side with a bowl of water on the grass.  Sean told me that I should have seen her at the St. Patrick’s Day parade and he shared some snaps of her in her outfit.   Here he’s picked her up for another pose.  Even though I was short on cash, this generous gentleman wrote the meaning of my name Ruth (a friend to all)  on the back of a prayer card, using a calligraphy pen in neat writing.

Not just any prayer card but the patron saint of photographers.

He’d asked me if I knew who the patron saint of photographers was and I ‘d no idea.

He told me the story of St. Veronica and her capturing the image of Jesus’ face in the cloth she offered to him.

Receiving this unexpected gift felt like a special blessing at the start of of the new school year. Thank you Sean.

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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.

 

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