Document-Assignment Two

For Document-Assignment Two, I started with one idea and ended up using something that I shoot all the time: scenes along bike trails.  We are avid cyclists and when we ride as a family, the safest and most interesting places to ride are the Rails To Trails creations in Western PA.  To celebrate the Fourth Of July, we rode on the Allegheny Passage Trail, specifically to check out the recently opened and much-contested section running through the Sandcastle parking lot and the scrap yard property.  As a patriotic bonus, we saw a bald eagle flying near the Glenwood Bridge.  There must be a nest nearby, because there were many birdwatchers, news crews and signs stating as much.  All in all, a fantastic twenty miles that ended (for us) at the back side of Kennywood Park.

I may still post my original idea, if I am able to accomplish a trip to the former site of Rock Point Park in Ellwood City, PA.

*I did not edit these photos for color or tone.  I played with it a bit, but in the end, I liked the originals much better.  Once the shine of this very nice day wears off, maybe I will be more likely to change the originals.

                                          1/640 @ f/5.6

                                          Focal Length: 55mm

                                          ISO: 200

Scrap yard that was partially responsible for holding up the completion of the trail from Pittsburgh, PA to Washington, D. C.

                                          1/1000 @ f/5.6

                                          Focal Length: 55mm

                                          ISO: 200

Steel mill, visible from opposite side of the river (on the trail).  Not sure which one this is, but I will do more research.

                                          1/1600 @ f/4.5

                                          Focal Length: 29mm

                                          ISO:200

Furnace bells that helped to control temperatures in the steel mills.  This is the site of the infamous Homestead Strike.  This also depicts what happens most often when I attempt to pose my children for photos.

                                          1/1600 @ f/5.3

                                          Focal Length: 46mm

                                          ISO: 200

                               

The pump house for the Homestead Mill.  A nice little history lesson for the kids on why mills were built on rivers.

                                                       1/800 @f/4.5

                                                       Focal Length: 18mm

                                                       ISO: 200

Totally freaky land/rock slide on the trail.  It seemed to have happened recently as the leaves were still green on the fallen trees and water was still flowing pretty freely from the hillside.

                                          1/2500 @ f/5.6

                                          Focal Length: 55mm

                                          ISO: 200

My husband told the kids, who love to ride WAY ahead of us, "Stop when you get to Kennywood."  They looked at him like he was crazy.  When I saw them standing slack-jawed on the trail, I knew they had found the park.  The back side, but cool nonetheless.  I did capture a photo of the Phantom's Revenge as it traveled, but my heart belongs to classics like The Thunderbolt.