A second post of shadowed upon further digging in archives.
Drove back from Columbus to Pittsburgh with the youngest three grandchildren for a vacation at Grandma’s House.
We went downtown toPNC Park to see the Pirates game. It was Pittsburgh Public Schools Night.
Wasn’t sure how I’d manage with all three ( 5, 7 and almost 9) but it was fine. There was a mixture of fun and boredom for them.
A hot summer night. No rain. Saw a lot of students from school and the grandchildren seemed fascinated as the kids called my name.
Our seats had a great vantage point for the activity on the Allegheny River, too.
Gateway Clipper Ships Pass Under Roberto Clemente Bridge on the Allegheny River
Anticipating the release of the pitch Pirates lost to Cincinnati Reds 6-5
Entertaining the crowd
Always like to get a shot of the Cotton Candy Man
A lot of energy left at 10 PM. Home to Grandma’s House.
I like it when a color photo looks black and white. Well, gray and white.
After school I drove up to Mount Washington to see the ice on the rivers. The Monongahela, the Allegheny and the Ohio.
The Rivers Casino’s sign adds some color
The barge turned to dock
Man on the front of the barge
Saturday afternoon, after the poetry reading at the Pump House, I walked outside.
I saw the tug pushing the loaded barges up the Mon towards the Rankin Bridge.
Because the leaves are still on the trees, I had to find an open space to catch the scene before it got away. Carrie Furnace is in the background. Shot with the iPhone5.
When you take a photograph, you realize the limitations of the medium. One tries to capture the scene for the viewer to share later.
The photographer chooses what to focus on and catch- and it’s exasperating at times.
The frozen frame can’t recreate the moment, the atmosphere and surroundings entirely.
The sound of boat horns, traffic rushing by below, a blimp circling overhead, the thousands of fans roar or collective sigh….
Take one
The tug and barge in the river are set for fireworks night by the Zambelli
Family
Option two- iPhone panorama
Another panorama
Read the New York Times article and see a video – Pittsburgh’s Stirring Leap from the Abyss
Standing on the Roberto Clemente Bridge from Sixth Street. Saturday night.
After school I drove down the slopes to the flats and headed to Homestead to buy a special cable for an external hard drive so I could retrieve a summer photo for Erika.
I turned onto Waterfront Road towards Best Buy and saw the late afternoon light reflected and warm the rusting metal across the Mon. Pulled over and stood on top of a guard rail to capture the sinking light on the Carrie Furnace, remnants of Homestead Steel Works and then I heard the tug and saw it pushing the barges up the river. It was a mighty scene on the river and the limitations of photography or my ability to capture it thoroughly, the seeing and feeling it, became clear once again.
The Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation sponsors tours but the last one was October 15th so will have to wait until 2012.
If you want to get a real feel for the Blast Furnaces and the incredible history, interviews with employees and historical photographs I recommend watching at least video # 1 at this website. I especially liked the man reading the last names of the workers he found in some type of log at the site. He spoke of reading obituaries of workers who gave 30-40 years of hard work for the Homestead Steel Works What a compilation of footage of Carrie Furnace. Closed in 1986.
Shot from the passenger seat while sitting in traffic on the Rankin Bridge, Sunday just before dusk. I was surprised how fast the tug and barges moved. To catch it all including the top of the railroad bridge seemed a slim chance. The beauty of being stopped, bumper to bumper, Steve said jokingly, well you could just get out! Right.
