Goodbye Pittsburgh, Hello Texas

Well it has been a wild year and I sure have been terribly poor at updating the blog.  I sometimes wonder if it is worth it.  I noticed several images are broken in flickr and I do not have any meaningful comments only spam. but hey some news is better than no news.  We moved to Texas in June and our last week there I spent an evening with a great friend at work who loves photography too.  So here is my favorite shot of the night.  I took two exposures with the 24mm Tilt-Shft lens to make a 40 megapixel photo of downtown Pittsburgh.  So long Pittsburgh, it was great to spend 2 years growing a family in the area. 

Another friend with a business

I'm so busy being a dad and working as a crazy completions engineer. So I have little time for photography.  So I figured breaking the 3 month lull on the blog with a promoting a great local business in PA.  A good friend of mine, Cory Webb has started to publicly promote his art business.  Cory has done several large feature paintings that put my photo canvases in a competition for wall space.  He is a really great artist with amazing creativity.  He will look at your empty wall, look at your surrounding furniture and come up with a painting that complements the color palette of the room.  Go check him out!

Here is a piece that Cory did that we just love in our living room.  Ends - 16"x30", Middle 30"x40" Oil on canvas

Sticking it to the game

Another night at the Pittsburgh Pirates game on Saturday and I thought I was going to see the Pirates lose their 100th game of the season.  Instead I saw them win their 55th game of the season. Nevertheless, they are the worst team in the league, but the have one of the nicest ballparks in the country.  I noticed this Pittsburgh Policeman twirling his police baton around during the game.  I really had to wonder if he ever had to use it!

Roberto Clemente Wall

I would have not known it had I not gone to the Pittsburgh Pirates game with some fans of the team.  The "21" on the right field wall are tribute toRoberto Clemente, who is quite simply the most celebrated Pirates player in history.

 

Tragically, Roberto Clemente's life ended on December 31, 1972 in a plane crash while en route to Nicaragua with relief supplies for earthquake victims. Always the humanitarian, Clemente was on the plane to make sure the clothing, food and medical supplies weren't stolen, as had happened with previous flights. The rickety plane went down off the coast of San Juan shortly after takeoff, and Roberto's body was never found.

 

In honor of him, the PNC Park right field wall is 21 feet tall, which was his jersey number.

Sunset at PNC Park

First time at the Pittsburgh Pirates Game.  The Pirates had no luck with the Atlanta Braves, but the sunset hitting the clouds was quite nice.  Much better than the actual baseball game for sure!  This ball park is gorgeous and has amazing viewpoints where ever you sit!

Giraffe in Solitude

We visited the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium on the weekend to check it out. I liked going to the Calgary Zoo, but with all the bad PR they are getting and $5 dollar parking, I was really looking forward to the one in Pittsburgh.  Well the parking is free and plentiful here, lots of different animals and there is an aquarium!  Here is my favorite one of the day that did not show much evidence of the countless children and crowds on a great day at the zoo!

Goodbye Calgary......

Well today marks a new chapter for the lives of my wife and I as we embark on our new adventure in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.  For the last week we have been living out of a hotel in downtown Calgary and have seen some crappy May snowfalls that I will not miss at all.  Here is a panorama HDR shot from my hotel room.

©Matt Graham 2010 - Goodbye Calgary

Pittsburgh - Exchange Way Alley

In February my fiance and I took a trip to Pittsburgh, PA to preview the city.  I accepted a job in Pittsburgh with Talisman Energy USA Inc. and it was a great opportunity to see our new surroundings.  I took my full camera kit and on the last day prior to waiting for our flight, I walked around downtown Pittsburgh to take some shots. This one really stuck out at me.  When people think of Pittsburgh, they think of some dirty old grungy steel city, but I was shocked at how clean it actually was!

©Matt Graham 2010 - Exchange Way Alley