Umbrellas- Yes or No?

At home I have a big black umbrella in the car. And at least one in the house. Last Christmas I received the gift of one with a yarn/knitting theme. I’ve sat under a golf one at a lacrosse game, but when I think about it, I use them rarely. I’m not sure why but I’m thinking about it. This trip I’ve relied on a hooded rain jacket when I’m out and about in the rain.

I learned in the History of umbrellas umbrellas have been around for 4000 years! Who knew?

Do you use an umbrella?

Marija Juric Zagorka sculpture –
B.1873 D.1957 most widely read Croatian Journalist/Novelist and Women’s Activist
School field trip learning about Ban Josip Jelacic equestrian statue

April Showers

Liberty Avenue. Downtown Pittsburgh. Friday afternoon.

People Waiting for Bus in Rain

 

Bradford Pear Tree and  Blossoms Reflection in a Puddle Downtown.

Puddle

 

 

 

wet pavementThe rain stopped but the pavement was still wet and the lights reflected in it as it grew dark.

Pedestrians closed their umbrellas.

 

 

puddle in alleyPuddle in a downtown alley.

 

 

the bus station

The Greyhound Bus Station, photographed through the windshield. I liked the blue and the sky.

 

Silhouettes in a downtown alley.

Silhouettes in an alley

Lone Protestor on a Rainy Saturday Afternoon

Definition from Free Dictionary

pro·test v.

pro·test·edpro·test·ingpro·tests

v.tr.

1. To object to, especially in a formal statement.
2. To promise or affirm with earnest solemnity\
3. Law To declare (a bill) dishonored or refused.
4. Archaic To proclaim or make known

v.intr.

1. To express strong objection.
2. To make an earnest avowal or affirmation.

n.

1. A formal declaration of disapproval or objection issued by a concerned person, group, or organization.

2. An individual or collective gesture or display of disapproval.

As I sat at the light at the corner of Penn Avenue and Highland,  I heard a couple of horns blowing and I thought, huh?   I’d run to the bank and the store.

And then the light turned from red to green, I had to keep moving so there was no chance for a closer shot.

Then I noticed the lone protestor in the rain.  His placard said-  Honk Stop U.S. War ( and something else at the bottom but couldn’t decipher in the rush)

He was putting up an umbrella.  No time to get out my good camera.  The phone was charging in the console and I lifted it and took one frame.  Had to drive.

There was something stark and incredibly poignant about this solitary figure standing in the rain with his sign.  I wondered if he had a family member in the service, somewhere in harms way. Wants them home. I was still thinking about him today.

Just this week I’d talked to the classes about the purposes of photography.  Today my purpose is to document. Document what I witnessed.  A man whose convictions and beliefs are so strong that discomfort and getting rained upon did not deter his effort.

People think one person can’t be effective in doing anything to create change.

Maybe so, but it doesn’t stop this man from trying, standing up for what he believes “with earnest solemnity”

Umbrella Woman in Oakland

Thursday night. Just finished shooting a poet for her chapbook photo at Frick Fine Arts.  Started to rain. Stabilize camera on a sycamore tree. Experiment with wet pavement/light reflections. Cable remote so no camera shake. Cathedral of Learning behind. Enter stage left- Woman in a raspberry sherbet coat, a huge black umbrella strolls into line of vision.

The Umbrella of Oakland, Pittsburgh
As if casting sent her, she entered the scene on cue.