Pittsburgh Skies IV [Sky Watch Friday]

This posting will conclude my ‘Pittsburgh Skies’ mini-series. During our visit there, we were fortunate to stay in a hotel near the river, which afforded a good view [of course, I did my homework and made sure that that would be the case] and ready access to the promenade along the Allegheny River [which was an unexpected bonus]. While the day view from our room was so-so, the one at sunset really caught me by surprise; and I was certainly glad to have taken my tripod along. In the distance, the lights from the PNC ball park are evident; I don’t know why since there was no game scheduled. For those who might be curious, the shot was taken as follows [1/6 sec., f/11, ISO 200]. I did not do any post-editing to reduce the number of white lights in the foreground.

In the mini-series, I have posted several photos taken along this walk down to the Point State Park. Still, I thought I’d add one more as I really loved the bridges and sky line. Behind the Roberto Clemente Bridge is the PNC ball park, already noted above. Alas, the Pirates are out of the playoffs and no more games will be played here until 2014.

Busy Bee [Orange You Glad It's Friday]

Talk about ‘busy bees’’. This critter was not disturbed by my presence, probably because I shot this with a zoom lens, not a macro.

Pittsburgh Skies III [Sky Watch Friday]

Last week I posted an image of the downtown skyline that was taken from the top of Mt. Washington, reached by going up the ‘Mon’ Incline. I promised to post some views directed up and down the Monongahela River. Taken together, these will give you an idea of the breathtaking vistas seen from this location, which makes taking this ride a must if you happen to visit Pittsburgh. 

Bird of Paradise [Orange You Glad It's Friday]

  Next week I will end my Sky Watch Friday posts connected to our stay in Pittsburgh. During that time we visited the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens [actually, it’s in Oakville, several miles north of the city]. Let me say at the very outset that it was simply superb, probably the best one I have ever seen. We passed hours on end wandering through marvelous and unusual displays of horticultural beauty and variety. Despite that, I came home with only one image I could share on OYGIF. Here is one of their Birds of Paradise. 

Waterfalls 3

This past year, I have been bitten by a waterfalls bug. That is quite nice because it has afforded opportunities for day trips/picnics/walks around western and central NY. My wife enjoys such outings, so she is much more patient with my setting up for photographing. In the course of these excursions, we've learned how varied the falls are; i.e. they come in all sizes, from low cascades to majestic falls. The images below are representative of the smaller varieties. The top image comes from Corbetts Glen Park, which is located less than 10 min. from us. To get the 'cotton effect' of the water, it was shot with a 10-stop neutral density filter mounted [15 sec., f/8, ISO 100]. I cropped the image to generate the 5:1 aspect ratio panoramic view. Yes, one can make panoramas without stitching multiple images. By the way, this lovely little falls is aptly named Postcard Falls.

The images below are those of Hector Falls [about 2 hour to the south of Rochester]. The bottom one was made with the ND10 filter [20 sec., f/13, ISO 100]. Some think the cotton effect is 'kitschig', but I like it. I'd be interested in hearing your opinion. For comparison, the image just above it was made without the filter [1/350 sec., f/11, ISO 100].

Pittsburgh Skies II [Sky Watch Friday]

   As I mentioned in an earlier panorama posting, Pittsburgh can be a photographer’s heaven. The photo below was shot from atop an open double-decker tour bus as we were crossing a bridge. In the center is the park around which two rivers [Allegheny from the left] and Monongahela from the right] join to form the Ohio River. You can see the fountain in the park for which there is a closeup in my 9/12/13 posting. Considering that the bus was rocking and moving laterally, I am quite pleased with the shot, especially since it was the only one I could get off.

The bottom image of the downtown skyline was taken from the top of Mt. Washington, which we reached by going up the ‘Mon’ Incline, a funicular on which senior citizens rode free of charge. While the cityscape was directly across the river, views up and down the Monongahela were just as spectacular. I’ll post a few of those next week. 

Big Sky Country [Sky Watch Friday]

  In several past postings, I've shown water falls from the area surrounding Rochester in western N.Y. On one of our excursions [down to Yates County], we got caught and soaked in a heavy downpour before we made it back to the car. As we were driving back home, the sky began to clear and the view was stunning. I jumped out of the car to get a better look, and the thunder storm had moved away, but was still visible in the distance. Here are two of the shots I took.

Pittsburgh Sky & Water [Sunday Stills] [Sky Watch Friday]

 Last week, my wife and I enjoyed several wonderful days in Pittsburgh, PA, where there was an abundance of photo-ops.  So, today I am going to depart from my planned posting of more Rochester-area images. Like NYC, Pittsburgh is divided by two rivers [the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River]. Consequently, there are quite a number of bridges connecting the separted sections of the city. It is quite nice to walk across the bridges and enjoy the cityscape views, as well as the river traffic [kayakers, barges, motor boats, tour boats] . 

The panorama below was generated from 7 separate (hand-held) shots of PNC Park, home of the Pirates, and the Roberto Clemente Bridge (a very small portion of Heinz Field, home of the Steelers, is visible to the far left). In the foreground, the Allegheny River flows to meet the Monongahela River, where it will then combine to form the Ohio River. On the point of merger, there is a lovely park and fountain [bottom image]. I thought I'd get a 2-fer with these pics by posting simultaneously in Sky Watch Friday and Sunday Stills [Water].