Category: Pittsburgh Rivers

Weekly Photo Challenge: Fall

Tenth Street Bridge in Fall light on Monday morning on the way to school. You can see the Liberty Bridge behind the Tenth Street Bridge. Bridges and their construction fascinate me. This morning shot from the Birmingham Bridge (I pulled over and stopped with the flashers in the bike lane and there was almost no traffic) But the reflection in the Monongahela River is what made me stop. The river mirror-like this morning, so still. October is my favorite month to shoot and I am going to make a point of leaving for work earlier so I can catch the Autumn Dawn. How great it would have been if the trees had changed colors already but they are just beginning. And V I think I see Prospect Middle School up there on the left top of Mt. Washington (33 years of fortunate students) !!! Oh my.

by Categories: Light in the City, Photography, Pittsburgh Photos, Pittsburgh RiversTags: , , , , , , , , , 16 Comments

What’s Under the Rankin Bridge

Back in “real time”.  Not that I didn’t enjoy the chance to dig in the archives- but Monday night I was driving by the Rankin Bridge from Swissvale and saw the setting sun on the side of the bridge. Shone like a yellow bridge (it’s actually blue) with the late golden light on it but just an ordinary shot, straight on. It did not “speak” to me.  Drove another 50 feet.  Stopped at the red light ahead. Saw this view. It seemed to go on forever, the repeat of the braces.   Rolled down the window and was able to capture the underbelly of the “Steel cantilever spandrel-braced deck arch “.  You can’t tell from this angle that the Monongahela River is seventy five feet below.  Or that the bridge is  2,427 feet long!  I got that good info from here.  

There are a lot of bridges in Pittsburgh.  Don’t see underneath them too often, though. You might remember this view from the Rankin Bridge of a barge being pushed by a tug.

If you suffer from gephyrophobia it would be difficult to live in Pittsburgh.

And a new Keep or Pitch post  is up today after unannounced  hiatus = Back to School adjustment recovery period-

by Categories: Photography, Pittsburgh Photos, Pittsburgh RiversTags: , , , , , , , 10 Comments

Duchess on the Monongahela River Sequence

by Categories: Photography, Pittsburgh RiversTags: , , , , , , , 4 Comments

Gateway Clipper Cookie Cruise

The 19th Annual Bob O’Connor Cookie Cruise– this year’s charity chosen to benefit is the Cribs for Kids (SIDS). Matthew and I were invited to sail Wednesday night and were the fortunate guests of some dear friends and neighbors. A perfect summer evening. We shook hands with a slew of politicians including the mayor as we boarded the The Majestic. The city was in a beautiful light and as dusk came the scene was heightened in drama, especially as we sailed past the Pirates game in full swing at PNC park. Hot dogs and watermelon and pasta and fried chicken with coleslaw was the menu.There were fireworks over Heinz Field and what caught my eye were the guests lined up to get the cookies once it was announced- the sheets were about to be removed and the platefuls they took to eat- piled high.

by Categories: Night Light in the City, Pittsburgh Photos, Pittsburgh RiversTags: , , , , , , , , , 15 Comments

Ohio River Barges in the Rain

Someone asked me a couple of weeks ago if I could photograph and barge and a tug.  And I’ve been trying.  When I can….Problem is, that the times I have captured it, the light is wrong, it’s raining, I couldn’t get access to the riverfront.  Today I was at a friend’s house on Neville Island and I’d asked her about the tugs and barges going by her house.  ALL THE TIME she said.  And they did go by, Empty, filled, just a tugboat not pulling or pushing any barges.  Problem is it started to rain. And it would not stop.  Trying to capture a specific scene has taught me a lot about how I photograph things.

Most of the time I see something and just photograph it.  Or I think about something, have an idea and go and find it.   The light might be great, the garbage has a treasure in it, the kids are ignoring me, I drive by something I just can’t believe it is right there in front of me.  Now- try to capture something specific.  I am not as good at that assignment I’ve just learned.  It would be as a true assignment like a National Geographic photographer.  Stake it out. Camp out.  Know the ins and outs. Shoot thousands of frames.  Monkey around with your results.  Do it again.  Different time of day.  Return to the scene. Try a different angle, different lens and or camera. Shoot. Shoot some more.

It isn’t that I am not that serious about shooting a specific photograph, I just couldn’t  make it come together for this one.  Exasperating and frustrating.

by Categories: Pittsburgh Photos, Pittsburgh RiversTags: , , , , , , , 11 Comments

City Bridge in a Bike Trail Mirror Along the Monongahela

 Along the Monongahela River  Pittsburgh PA

There was a photo in the paper of the laser lights projecting on a downtown building last night.  They’re filming BATMAN downtown and there was the Bat Signal.  Unfortunately, I did not get down there to capture the scene.  So I looked through the recent photos as I wanted to change it up from the themes of late and I  always return to the city views.  They are so varied.

It’s almost midnight and I am still thinking about the Bat Signal on the Highmark Building and wondering if it is still there. Should I get in the car and drive downtown to see?  Christian Bale coming to town, Big News Big Movie.  Good for Pittsburgh all around.

here is my simple offering of the city bridge reflected in a mirror along the Bike Trail.

by Categories: Pittsburgh Photos, Pittsburgh RiversTags: , , , , , , 9 Comments

Red Sky in Morning from the Birmingham Bridge

Left the house a bit earlier to get to the other side of the city this morning. As I hit the Birmingham Bridge I saw the sunrise.  I pulled to the edge, hit the flashers again and sat quietly, and shot the sky over a few minutes time.  The other direction I could see cars on the Parkway with their headlights on.  A nice way to start the day. But the Red Sky,Sailors Take Warning turned out true as it is snowing (about 3 inches so far) and already they have called for a two hour delay at school.  The dark band along the bottom of the photo is the Jersey Barrier. Unretouched photograph!

Red Sky in Morning, Sailors Take Warning
Finding more beauty in winter.
by Categories: Light in the City, photo of the day, Pittsburgh Photos, Pittsburgh RiversTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 13 Comments

Winter River from 40th Street Bridge

And the birds flew up into the shot. I was wishing I had taken my new fingerless gloves from Christmas. Just left the Millvale Post Office (no line!) to mail Joanne’s Christmas box I’d been driving around for three weeks. And the cards that each needed an additional 5 cent stamp.   As I came back over the Allegheny I saw the light stream down onto the city. Pulled into the Bus Stop indentation at the end of the bridge, put the flashers on and walked to the center.  Fortunately the light was still there. Could have used a filter, too, but it was a stunning late afternoon in winter.  Could feel the bridge vibrate as I stood out on the walkway.

All I needed was a barge to come up or down the river. Not today.
by Categories: Light in the City, Pittsburgh Photos, Pittsburgh RiversTags: , , , , , , , , , , 13 Comments

“You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out”

We watched A Christmas Story (1983) over Thanksgiving.

Friday night I walked by this window on Carson St after listening to Don Hollowood and the King Cobras at Excuses. Saw the display and thought anyone who has seen this holiday movie would enjoy the picture.  Found out it was shot in Cleveland.  When I was in high school I used to listen to Jean Shepherd on the radio.  I never knew anyone whose tongue stuck on a frozen flagpole.

Red Ryder Box on the Right
Ralphie in the pink bunny suit sits under the fishnet leg lamp, Red Ryder on the right.
by Categories: Night Light in the City, Pittsburgh RiversTags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 9 Comments

Silvery Skyline

Can someone explain the building the jail (the four red brick structures) on the Monongahela River Front?

Riverfront Jail Makes No Sense to Me
Arlington Avenue view of the city on the way home from school.
by Categories: Light in the City, Pittsburgh Photos, Pittsburgh RiversTags: , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments