Schenley Park and Oakland landscapes

Hey yinzes,

I am a bit of a procrastinator.  Right now, I’m sitting with this month’s book club selection, “Room” by Emma Donoghue, at my side, and I have more than half to finish. With this book, so to put it in a cliche, the book or cup or whatever is half empty.

Anyway, as I said in my last blog post about Scarlett Knob Campground, my homework for my photography class is to take pictures of landscapes. The unpredictable weather we’ve been having has made it difficult to shoot. Last week, I put off my homework until Wednesday night, and it was raining lightly or misting annoyingly all night.  I ran out into the courtyard of my apartment building with my tripod and an umbrella. The pictures turned out surprisingly well. Here’s one:

The camping trip helped me to get most of the landscape shots I needed. However, Scarlett Knob did was surprisingly flat, and I didn’t capture the textures I wanted. So once again, I had to go out to shoot photos the night before it’s due. The forecast showed scattered showers all day, and thick clouds hovered over the city all day. The sky looked bright, colorful, and cloudy. It seemed pre-apocalyptic, as I suppose is expected. But lucky me, it didn’t one drop, and I got some nice photos to edit tomorrow in class at Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

Several of these pictures have a lot of noise… It happens more when I shoot in RAW. I wish that I knew these would come out like this, so I could have tweaked the settings (even though Hipstamatic and Instagram have made the film grain cool again). I’ll reduce the noise on the school computers using Adobe Lightroom.

Does anyone know why these three trees have been planted here?

I took the picture of the sign just in case you didn't believe me.

Phipps Conservatory

There was a nice woman taking a time lapse video of Phipps Conservatory at sunset when I took this shot. We talked for so long that I missed out on the farmer’s market that was just 50 feet away!  On that note, next week’s farmer’s market will be the last, at least a Phipps. It’s 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Also, the sizes of these photos are a little off from usual because I tried using Picasa’s photo exporter. The vertical pictures are too big for a blog it seems.

Well, thanks for stopping by! I’ll talk to my professor about the noise in my photos and get back to you.

-Estelle

P.S. I know these weren’t all landscapes. In addition to procrastinating, getting off task is another one of my flaws.

An autumn escape to the Scarlett Knob Campground

Hey yinz,

Driving out to Scarlett Knob Campground on Saturday, my good friend Elaine kept saying, “I love rural Pennsylvania!”  We romanticized the small towns that extend past the suburbs, where the Subway restaurants are in former homes, sharing real estate with candle shops. I wanted to jump out of the car and explore every antique shop and see what treasures hid in Small Town, Pennsylvania. But it’s not just the areas of commerce that I love. It’s more than just the country stores adjacent to the diners, like in “Family Restaurant” (will explain soon).

I love the oranges and reds that carpet Penn’s woods in the fall. I love the fresh air of the country and dozens of black cows that love it too. It was about time for this city girl to visit the country – to bow at the alter of glorious Mother Nature.  The weather was perfect for enjoying a crackling campfire and for hiking in the woods.

So, we drove to Scarlett Knob, a private campground near Ohiopyle State Park. I’ll admit that the planners chose this site because it permits responsible alcohol consumption on the premises. (We transported all of the cans and bottles back to the city for recycling – extra responsible.)  We were only the third other group at the site, so we felt secluded enough. I don’t know what Scarlett Knob would be like during the peak camping season – and peak paintball season, for that matter…

Scarlett Knob, a place for contained adventure!

On a semi-related note, my homework for my digital photography class at Pittsburgh Filmmakers was to take landscape photos. What luck! I had plenty of opportunities to take photos. All of these photos were shot in raw. Some of them have been edited slightly for contrast and to bring out the color in the sky, which was bright and mostly cloudless.

"Let's go fly a kite, up to the highest height!" (I know the sky looks fake, but my camera actually captured this robin's egg blue sky.

Sunset at Scarlett Knob

 

This summer, my family went to Hershey Park. There, I got the inspiration to make s’mores with Reese’s! Mmmm! That’s another bonus of fall camping: cheap Halloween candy!

Spooky moon! Ooga Booga!

Morning at Scarlett Knob

For the last picture, I leave you with an image of our beloved “Family Restaurant.” We thought it was funny that the “Family Restaurant” sign was larger than the Mill Run Grille sign. I also love the cartoon, Clip-art-style duck on the side.

This is the lovely Mill Run Grille, but it will always be "Family Restaurant" in our hearts.

Thanks for the memories, Scarlett Knob! We had a great time, and I hope to go camping again soon.

-Estelle

Andy Warhol, the pride of Dawson Street

Hey yinz guys,

It’s been a while since I last blogged. That’s mostly because I went camping this weekend (post to follow). On Friday, my sister, brother-in-law, nephew, boyfriend and I went to the Andy Warhol Museum. We got in for free because of the Regional Asset District’s RADical Days, which just ended.

There we saw that Andrew Warhola lived on Dawson Street in Oakland, where I lived for two years as an undergrad. The house is not a museum, so it’s easy to miss. For some reason, I thought that Andy Warhol lived on Parkview Avenue, but now I remember that’s the street where Pitt alumnus Dan Marino grew up. Here’s a picture of the exhibit detailing Andy’s childhood.

My nephew liked exploring the Andy Warhol Museum. He got a free coloring book too.

My nephew looking through an Andy Warhol coloring book

We had a great time seeing old favorites, like the silver clouds, hallway with of Mao Zedong portraits, Brillo boxes, Jackie O photos and so on. The new exhibits were great too. The museum brought out an old Apple painting in honor of Steve Jobs. The Heroes and Villains exhibit by Alex Ross on the seventh floor was also impressive. I appreciated its comprehensiveness, even including childhood drawings of Charlie Brown as different superheroes. The last favorite worth mentioning is the video of The Milk Truck, the Carnegie Mellon University project, that rescues nursing mothers while shaming those who do not welcome public breastfeeding. I hope to see the truck with a giant boob on top driving around town. Unfortunately, if I see it, that means that The Milk Truck is needed, and that’s a shame.

Anyway, you won’t see any photos of any of these neat things here because the museum does not permit photos on any floors except for the first. I still found some interesting things to chronicle.

This neat mirror was in the gift shop of the museum.

This reproduction of the Andy Warhol's Elizabeth Taylor silk screen hangs in the parking garage near the museum.

Thanks for checking out this post! I’ll post something about my weekend camping trip tomorrow.

-Estelle

Indonesian Cultural Exhibition in Pittsburgh? Ya!

Halo yinz!

After my pumpkin picking adventure at Soergel Orchards, my friend asked me to go an Indonesian Cultural Exhibition at the William Pitt Union on Pitt’s campus. Judging by the location, I assumed that it was just a small fair hosted by a student group.  I’m sorry to admit that I had low expectations. Student-run cultural events usually don’t last longer than the donated trays of food.

I walked in to the ballroom to see several professional cameras tripods on a stage in the back of the room. The room was nearly full of men and women dressed in traditional Indonesian garb. (There were a few children running around. Two even wandered on stage.) For the men, the dress consisted of mostly bold-printed button-down shirts. The women wore sari-like dresses with embroidered flowers in sheer, shiny fabric. Many of the women wore headscarves, as Indonesia is a dominantly Islamic country.

The Indonesian Student Organization and the Indonesian-Pittsburgh Community hosted the event, which drew from Washington D.C.

I posted some pictures from the event. From a photographer’s standpoint, I was frustrated with the lighting. The seating area was bright while the stage was dimly lit – the opposite of the lighting at the belly dance show at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater.

These men are practicing pencak silat. This is an Indonesian martial arts style that sometimes uses daggers and sickles.

A Balinese dancer

House of Angklung

This was perhaps my favorite part. These women and several more make up House of Angklung. The angklung is an instrument made with bamboo rods that’s shaken, as opposed it’s older brother, the calung. A calung is a sort of bamboo xylophone that the player hits instead of shakes.

After playing their set, which included traditional songs and the Beatles and Nat King Cole’s L-O-V-E, the band invited members of the crowd on to the stage to play! There were plenty to go around because most of these women juggle three. My friend, Abiola, and I ran up on to the stage to try the angklung. Each instrument had a number from one to seven, and the various combinations created notes. The learning curve is quite shallow, allowing the conductor to instruct us how to play a song in minutes.

Here’s a better view of the instrument:

Reog Ponorogo Singolodoyo

This was the closing act – Reog Ponorogo Singolodoyo. There were several other performances, including vocalists and Javanese gamelan players. It was such a fun and educational experience.

I’ll leave you on this, a merging of East and West: Rihanna’s “Umbrella” played with angklungs.

-Estelle

Soergel Orchards’ Pumpkin Palooza and Apple Fest

Happy fall, y’all! (I love rhymes just about as much as I love yinz guys.)

Today was a very successful fall day.  My boyfriend, his mother and I went to Soergel Orchards to pick pumpkins and take in the lovely autumn atmosphere.  I would like to set a scene with the cliche smell of crisp fall air, but that didn’t happen today. It was friggen hot – about 80 degrees.

But no matter. It was the apple festival at Soergels! Like many other city slickers, I donned my denim shirt and rustic booties for this special trip to the country. I’m reluctant to say that we went to a pumpkin patch today. Soergels Orchards, though not on the scale of Knott’s Berry Farm, is the quaint Wexford version of that farm-themed park. There’s a corn maze (or maize tee hehe), hay tunnel, bouncy castle, hayrides and an area where kids can prospect for arrowheads and semi-precious stones.

My main goal was to find the great pumpkin we’ll carve this year. This hunk of love is 25 pounds.  I also picked up a little guy as a bonus. He’s 75 cents well spent, I say.

Here are the rest of my pix from my pumpkin palooza. Most need no further description.

At 75 cents each, this should be...

Sheep: Oh hey!

"Let me tell you about my best friend..."

I hear Harry Nilsson’s “Best Friend” in my head when I see this photo.

OK. Here’s where the photos need prefacing. We went into the apple pressing demonstration. Soergels employees described and showed eager onlookers how they process 250-300 gallons of apple cider each hour!  Apparently the difference between apple cider and apple juice is apple cider is not heated as much as apple juice. It’s pasteurized to kill the bacteria, but it’s not filtered and heated as much as apple juice. Apple juice is shelf stable, but apple cider, should be treated like milk.

These apples are on their way to get chopped and mashed.

The mashed apples come out of the hose and on to blanket-covered metal plates. The workers make several layers.

Getting the squeeze

After this, the juice travels to the pasteurizer. Then, it sits in a giant tank to let some of the apple bits settle before bottling.

Soergel Orchards’ fall fest is still going on. You can visit on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. You might have missed your “one shot” to see Tom Cruise and his family there though (check out the pictures halfway down the page).

On a side note, I’m taking suggestions for pumpkin carving ideas! Patterns and links are preferred. This is what we did last year:

Flame effect was an accident but a welcome one! Photo: Haris

Stay safe in your pumpkin endeavors!

-Estelle

Zafira bows out at Club Bellydance

Hey yinz,

Yesterday, you saw the “N’at” post about Zafira Dance Company’s last show. Now, you get to see the “Pix” part.

The Club Bellydance performance at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty last night was amazing. I’m so glad that I went. It was a neat opportunity to see two different styles of belly dancing from Zafira and Bellydance Supestars. Zafira had a beautiful earthy style with a lot of subtle athletic moves. Bellydance Superstars had flashier routines that incorporated ballet moves and stage characters. Picking a favorite would be like choosing a favorite child. Meaning, I have one, but I’m smart not to tell. Just kidding!

Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of Bellydance Superstars because no photography was allowed during their performances.  However, I’m thankful that I got to take pictures of the Zafira dancers for their last dance.

The Kelly-Strayhorn theater bears the name of two Pittsburgh music icons, Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn.

I loved this dance because it shows the traditional side of belly dancing. The pots also helped to showcase the ladies' isolations.

I did not compose this picture as well as I would have liked, but I like the concept. I love the rich blue and the pose - so beautiful and strong.

A lot of my pictures are framed in the same way. Part of that is the limitation of my 18-55mm lens, but I also note that I had to shoot in the same spot of the stage to avoid getting people’s heads in the shot. I cropped the last picture for that reason, but I like how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope to see these ladies perform again.

*Shimmies*

-Estelle

Zafira bellydance company performs last show

Hey yinz,

Last week’s edition of the Pittsburgh City Paper was especially intriguing. If I didn’t pick up the City Paper every week – though I do – the cover of this issue would have pulled me in. The image is of a belly dancer with chocolate-colored curls framing her downcast, knowing eyes. Her hands meet to frame her face and show off the beaded chains that hang  like holiday lights over her tattooed torso. And to the left, next to her ornamented torso are the words, “Last Dance.”

Today, my friend, Kate, and I will witness this last dance. It is the last performance of Zafira Dance Company.

Show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Kelly-Strayhorn theater in East Liberty

Admission at the door is $25. I’m not sure if you can still get tickets for $20 in advance.

Club Bellydance website

The company isn’t going belly up though. *nudge nudge*  The dance company will disband, but the founders will maintain its dance studio in the South Side and pursue other projects, according to the City Paper. From the sound of the article, it seems like this ending is a new beginning for the dancers, and this performance is a celebration.

I’ve never seen the Zafira Dance Company perform, but I do have an interest in bellydancing. In another life, I was a member of the Panther Belly Dancers, Pitt’s belly dancing student organization. (Here are some pictures from the February recital that I took.) The instructor, Sara DeRoy, also practices and teaches the tribal fusion style  pioneered locally by Zafira.

In the City Paper article, Olivia Kissel, one of the founders, describes the style as earthy and characterized by dancing to different parts of the music simultaneously. In 2000, the Zafira Dance Company formed, and since then, they’ve been traveling the world showing off their dancing style and representing Pittsburgh. Zafira has partnered with Bellydance Superstars to put together tonight’s program, called “Club Bellydance.”

I hope I can take some pictures!

-Estelle

RADical days at the Children’s Museum

Hey yinz,

The Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD) has been offering free admission to many historical and cultural attractions, including Phipps Conservatory, the Mattress Factory and Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum, since September 24. I wish I would have blogged about this sooner, but there’s still a lot of events coming up. Check out the rest of the RADical Days events. Anyway, on Sunday, my sister, brother-in-law, nephew and I went to an old Tran family favorite, the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Oh, I miss crawling through those mole tunnels and taking the organs (like the long intestine! ewww) out of Stuffy!

Here are some pictures from our time at the Children’s Museum:

My brother-in-law and nephew outside of the Children's Museum Photo: Patty Tran

This is the ceiling of the old part of the Children's Museum, which used to be a post office.

My brother-in-law restrains Marc from interfering with the silk screening.

This room contains the gravity room, a tilted room that kind of makes me feel sea sick, slides and funhouse-style mirrors.

This was probably my favorite part. In the Garage/Workshp area, they had paper rockets to cut and tape together. Marc had a great time launching the rockets at the target rings.

This is an old favorite. I loved playing in the water when I was little, and now I have the opportunity to take my nephew! Not shown is the area where kids can direct the flow of water with various pipes and connections.

This was an amazing day. I’m thankful that RAD made this possible for free. Also, we took advantage of the free parking on Sunday!

There’s still a lot of cool events coming up. Here’s a few events that seem particularly interesting:

• Friday, October 7 – Free admission from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. to the Pittsburgh Glass Center with “heat-defying acts of art in the flameworking and glassblowing studios” and an art installation
• Saturday, October 8 – For Pittsburgh-loving sketch artists, join the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust for a sketch crawl through downtown from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Sunday, October 9 – Free admission to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Need I say more?
• Friday, October 14 – Free admission to the Andy Warhol Museum from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and to the National Aviary. To sweeten the deal, October 14 is World Egg Day! According to the International Egg Commission, World Egg Day is an international holiday established in 1996 that’s dedicated to promoting the health benefits of eggs.
• Saturday, October 15 – Free admission to see the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra from 11 a.m. to noon. This would be great since the last time I saw the PSO was probably during a high school field trip. The performance list includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 in F major.

There are a lot of events that I didn’t list. RAD ensured there would be something cool to do everyday through October 15. For more information, click on the RADical Days page.

Yay! Don’t you love when fun is free?

-Estelle

Bras across the Hot Metal Bridge

Hey yinz,

October is breast cancer awareness month, and American Eagle decided to do its part by zip-tying 4,000 bras across the Hot Metal Bridge in the South Side. For the next week (til October 6), Aerie, will donate $1 for every bra sold to Bright Pink, a non-profit organization that encourages women to be proactive in breast and ovarian cancer detection. Aerie will contribute up to $50,000 to this organization, which educates women about issues from prevention and early detection to legal advising for possible employment and health insurance discrimination.

This display definitely got a lot of drivers, cyclists and walkers looking up and thinking.  I had a great time shooting these pictures and blogging for this great cause. I might go back to shoot some more photos in RAW and with the Pittsburgh skyline as a backdrop. The bright colors look so pretty across the blue sky and against the darkness of this historical truss bridge. Check them out:

High contrast. You caught me, but you won't get any apologies. I love the blue!

On a side note, Aerie bras range from $29.50 to $44.50. So, lets just say that Aerie didn’t use so many of the more expensive bras. At $30 each, there’s 120,000 buckaroos of brightly colored polka-dotted, striped and lacey brassieres! Ooh la la!

-Estelle

Autumn Moon Fest in Pittsburgh

Ni hao, yinz,

The Chinese typically celebrate the Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival on the 15th day of the eighth month, which was September 12, this year.  As a Chinese-American girl living in Pittsburgh, I don’t usually celebrate with lanterns or a party. Every year that I’ve lived away from home, my mom just drops off a single mooncake.

This is my usual celebration:

I’m sorry that I can’t even read the characters on this cute little cake.  This mooncake is about three inches in diameter and contains a solid mass of lotus seed paste. Mooncakes are often made with egg yolks but not this one.

Anyway, this year, my Mid-Autumn celebration will be special. I’ll be attending the Autumn Moon Fest Loft Party hosted by the Pittsburgh Asian Network on Friday. I’m excited to celebrate Asian culture, but I have to admit that this event is especially exciting because my sister, Patty Tran, and my three-year-old nephew will have some art on display!  Here’s some more information about the featured Asian-American artists.

-Estelle