Urban Madonna

This urban madonna is in the Lawrenceville neighborhood. I was dropping off a People at Work Show invitation to one of the men whose portrait will be exhibited. I had to park on a side street as there was a huge Road Closed sign on Butler Street. I parked, crossed  the street and saw the white angels and Mary statue right in front of me. This city yard so tidy and green with lots of blessings from all the holy statues, indoors and out.

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Full of Grace

Graceful.   The Weekly Photo Challenge

mother-mary-in-the-spring

 

If you’ve followed me you might recognize this image from a 2011 blog post of almost six years ago. Mother Mary- Springtime NYC

Mother Mary- Springtime NYC

 

Someone placed a bouquet in the crook of her arm.   Today’s post remembers friend and poet Christina Murdock who passed one year ago today, a week short of her thirtieth birthday.

from Let it Be by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

 

Urban Madonna, North Side- Middle and Suismon Streets

Looks like a tear has rolled down her left cheek.

You might remember a winter post of another Urban Madonna from January 2011 (complete with Beatles lyrics0

Our Lady Queen of Peace– not sure if the church building is occupied as they have combined parishes due to population decline.

(I’m sure a Pittsburgher who reads this can straighten this out and I will edit the post.     Bill? )

Taken Tuesday late afternoon after a Gallery Walk at the Mattress Factory- Art Teacher Professional Development.

Directly across from Max’s Allegheny Tavern where we discussed the Gallery Walk.

Urban Madonna

Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost in the Details

Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments and emails of sympathy in response to yesterday’s tribute for Theresa.

 Sharing your kind, caring words  and blessings meant a lot to the whole family at this difficult time.  Thank you.

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The Weekly Photo Challenge

The theme this week seemed the most cryptic to me to decipher.  I looked at the excellent example by Christopher Martin and read about how to go deeper into the scene.  What to do when you are actually photographing.  How to go “beyond the obvious”.

I didn’t go out and shoot specifically for the challenge but looked at what I had in my archives and tried to look into the photograph to see a whole new photograph within the image.  Showing both photographs seemed the way to go so as to compare but I have decided to try to go with the challenge as intended, instead of justifying my edits.

One thing I learned-  I photograph the obvious and need to consider the photograph hidden within the one that presents itself.  We’ll see how it goes in the weeks to come. Intentional lost in the details photographs instead of edited ones I have already taken.  I will look for the picture within the picture as I shoot.

My theme might have ended up being “Crop in the Details” as I try to not crop my images.  Once I read about not cropping in an article Henri Cartier-Bresson.

So by looking for the “lost” part of the challenge  I definitely “found” some new photographs.

Viewers can judge if the choices I made for the challenge are successful or not.

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Magnolia Bakery Window on Bleecker St
Magnolia Bakery Window on Bleecker St

Guitar Pick on Piano Bench- Peter King on Guitar
Guitar Pick on Piano Bench-
Peter King on Guitar

Murphy's Nose
Murphy’s Nose

St. Joseph Bread and Wine
St. Joseph Bread and Wine

Horseshoe on the Firehouse Wall
Horseshoe on the Firehouse Wall

Car Wash Window
Car Wash Window

Downtown Birthday Hat
Downtown Birthday Hat

Icicles on Christmas Garland
Icicles on Christmas Garland

Manicure and T-shirt Match
Manicure and T-shirt Match

Lawn Ball in Snow
Self Portrait in the Lawn Ball 

Ball and Basket in Nancy's Pool
Ball and Basket in Nancy’s Pool

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Watching TV in an Empty Box

Ivy on Brick
Ivy on Brick

Weekly Photo Challenge: Urban

I could sift through thousands of urban photographs for this week’s challenge: urban.

There are the suburban shots of the family in my file folders, too.

Choosing a cohesive urban series was my personal challenge. The most searched term on my blog and a true urban image is NYC Rooftops at Night  which I posted in 2009.

I live and work in the city of Pittsburgh, driving across bridges and past demolitions, playgrounds and chain link fences. There are skyscrapers and empty lots. When I visit my sister in lower Manhattan there are  hundreds more images to shoot and file. And why not throw in a couple from Zagreb where Matthew lives?

So much for a cohesive series.  Here are my urban selections for this week’s challenge. A couple will be familiar if you’ve followed me for more than a year.