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.
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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
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?
Blue Hour Burgh | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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“Pittsburgh is a smoky, dismal city, at her best. At her worst, nothing darker, dingier and more dispiriting can be imagined.” -Willard Glazier, 1883
My, how the city has changed. Now a days, I can hardly think of a better place to dine, be entertained and just walk around than Pittsburgh, PA. I shot this image during a predawn photowalk with Dave DiCello and Ben Beard. Dave and I have met up on my last couple visits home now to shoot and it’s been great. It’s always fun to shoot with someone who shares the same passion for the city and shoots a similar style of photography as myself. I feel that even though we don’t get into the technical details of why we’re doing what we’re doing too much, I still learn a thing or two. Plus it’s fun to just get out and walk around town.
This image was shot from the North Shore. The bridge to the right is the Roberto Clemente Bridge, just beside PNC Park. I had never shot from this location and boy was I pleased! What a fantastic view of the city lights! I think that this eye level view rivals any other view in town, including the overlooks. I have a lot of images to process from this walk, but as of now this is my personal favorite of any image that I’ve ever shot of Pittsburgh. I have a feeling it may stay that way.
The shot: Nikon D90, 18-105VR Nikkor lens. Tripod mounted, remote fired. Single exposure (13 sec.), f/18, ISO 200. Processed in Lightroom, exported to Photoshop CS4 for completion. Nik Color Efex and Viveza filters applied before final save.
©2012 Zach Frailey, all rights reserved. Please do not use without permission
Gotham City | Pittsburgh, PA
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Pictured is Fifth Avenue Place in Pittsburgh, rising above the Roberto Clemente Bridge. You may or may have not seen some awesome images this past summer of this building sporting a bat signal as The Dark Knight Rises was being filmed in the city. This was shot during a predawn photowalk with Dave DiCello and Ben Beard over the Christmas holiday.
I shot this with my Nikkor 50mm lens with a 20 second exposure at f/22. I love the detail and the shape of the flares that this lens is capable of creating. I admittedly don’t use it much, but these cityscapes make for a great time to break it out of the bag.
The Shot: Nikon D90, Nikkor 50mm f1.8 lens. Single exposure, 20 seconds, f/22, ISO 200.
