Homesick Feelings | Pittsburgh, PA
“There’s nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.”
-Margaret Elizabeth Sangster
I was feeling a bit homesick, so I went back in the archives and decided to process one of the many, many photos I have yet to touch from my December trip home. I don’t know what brings on these homesick feelings every now and again, but it happens. It could be the excitement over Pittsburgh Pirates baseball, or the talk of Mike Wallace leaving the Steelers (heaven forbid!). It seems as if my Facebook and Twitter feeds are clogged every day with news of my beloved sports teams and that does nothing but remind me of home. Heap on top of that my little brother’s recent birthday and nice conversations I’ve had this week with my parents and grandparents on the phone and you have the perfect recipe for “homesick soup.” But then again, as you think about it, nothing makes you appreciate ‘home’ more than when you don’t live at ‘home’ anymore.
Anyway, this is a shot of ‘the burgh’ from the North Shore, on the dock below the sidewalk. To the right is the Roberto Clemente Bridge and reflecting off the Allegheny River is the beautiful skyline of downtown Pittsburgh. I captured this on a pre-dawn photo walk with Dave DiCello of HDR Exposed Photography.
The shot: Nikon D90, 18-105 Nikkor VR lens. Tripod mounted, remote fired. Single exposure- f/22, 25 seconds, ISO-100. The original photo had a blue cast over it due to the sunrise, as well as a mix of bright orange and yellow light from the city. I simply desaturated it slightly by adding a Nik Silver Efex layer, setting it at 50% opacity and then masking out a few elements to bring back even more color. I like the washed out look that this scene brings with that processing method.
Paranormal Activity?
This was probably the freakiest photo shoot location I’ve been to and am pretty sure I had my first paranormal encounter here. Here’s the story:
This winter, I set out with my friend Ben in Pennsylvania for an abandoned coal facility that I had shot at before. Problem was, I hadn’t been there for over two years. It was a lot freakier this time than the last. To make matters worse, it was cold and pouring down rain. We decided to venture in anyway and immediately I felt some sort of odd feeling that is hard to explain. The whole time I was shooting I felt like I was being watched. People make that statement all the time and it’s easy to roll your eyes at it, but I truly felt that. It seemed as if someone was lurking around the corner at all times.
This feeling of uneasiness lasted the entire time we shot. In the middle of shooting a set of brackets, I started to hear strange metal clanking sounds. (Now is a good time to point out that there was absolutely no wind blowing) Thinking that it was just something swaying or moving from the rain, I kept shooting. The clanking was almost rhythmic, something that a dangling pipe wouldn’t do. It would speed up and slow down, all at regular intervals. Ben and I decided that was a sign that it was time to go. I packed up my gear (at this point the noise stopped) and gathered up my tripod and umbrella. As we stepped outside, the real freak out occurred.
Outside the huge front door, there is an old truck (looked like a 1960’s model) half sunken in the dirt and junk that litters the area. The exposed radiator fan on the truck was spinning full speed, silently. A little taken aback, I walked toward it. As I took a few steps, the fan drastically slowed down and suddenly stopped. Now, being that this truck has been sitting in that spot for all this time, there is no way that rusty fan could turn so easily, right? And what’s the explanation for it’s strange deceleration?
I just wish that I hadn’t put my gear away, who knows what I could have captured if I shot that old truck. It was quite simply the strangest, most unexplainable thing I’ve experienced. Just as the uneasy feeling had swept over me as we entered the property, it disappeared as we left. As we walked back to the car excitement and wonder set in. But the entire time we walked, I couldn’t help but look behind my back…
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photos ©2012 Zach Frailey
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The Wait | Pittsburgh, PA
During my last visit to Pittsburgh, I got to take in the city from a new vantage point- The West End Overlook. Dave DiCello, of HDR Exposed Photography, and I traveled up to get a good view of the city. Unfortunately it was windy, rainy and COLD. The wind was blowing the clouds across the sky very quickly and we knew that eventually an opening in the clouds may shine a beam of light onto downtown. At least that’s what we thought. In the distance, we saw a gap in the clouds and knew it was only a matter of time. We waited and waited, then waited some more. Finally the gap, now a tiny sliver, reached the city shining a singe ray of light on the the right side of this frame. It just missed the city. The wait was over, but at least we got some material to take away from our trip up to the overlook.
©2012 Zach Frailey
The Keystone | Heinz Field; Pittsburgh, PA
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Before I get started, I just realized this is my fourth straight Pittsburgh related photo post. This wasn’t planned at all, in fact I really would have preferred to break it up a little. It just turns out that I had such a successful time shooting this trip that I have a ton of new material to share. Hopefully you can use these images to get an idea of how great the city is, if you’ve never been there. It’s an amazing place, really!
Today’s photo, like the previous few, was shot during a morning photowalk with Dave DiCello of HDR Exposed Photography and Ben Beard of Ben Beard Photography. We ventured around the North Shore between the stadiums and downtown getting some predawn shots of the city before heading back toward Heinz Field and our cars. As we reached the stadium, we had a brief moment of clear sky and I was able to shoot a few brackets with my wide angle lens before the grey skies returned.
With the Steelers (hopeful) run to the Super Bowl this year set to begin with a Wild Card Playoff game in Denver against the Broncos and Tim Tebow on Sunday, I thought this was a perfect photo to share. If you’ve followed me for any time, you’re well aware of my allegiance to the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you’re with me, join me in saying “Go Steelers!”
The Shot: 3 exposure HDR. Nikon D90, 8mm Rokinon lens (f/16, 1/250sec, ISO 100). Tripod held, remote fired. Improted into Lightroom 3 for tweaking and JPEG conversion, tonemapped in Photomatix Pro, masked with three original exposures in Photoshop. Finished with some area-specific tweaks with Nik Color Efex.
©2012 Zach Frailey, Do not use without permission.
What Do YOU Prefer?
Recently I have found myself doing more and more black and white photography and I must admit, I feel like I’m falling in love with it all over again. A lot of the people who have grown to enjoy my work, though, are used to my vibrant color style of photography. So, I’m interested to see- which version do you prefer?
