Dmitriy B.

When I moved to Pittsburgh in April of 2000, I immediately fell in love with the city. One of the things that I tend to do whenever I end up in a new city, I like to wander around, get lost in an unfamiliar neighborhood, photograph my way out, and talk to anyone I meet along the way. Over the years I have amassed quite an archive of photographs of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Last week I walked through Pittsburgh’s Hill District neighborhood. Some parts of it have been gentrified and rebuilt into a series of cookie-cutter townhouses and apartment complexes, some retained their original look, and some have fallen into disrepair. Every time I walk through this neighborhood, I find these once-loved buildings crumbling and falling apart, and that makes me incredibly sad.

Experiments with Macro Photography

February 22, 2023

Downtown Pittsburgh from Mt. Washington

November 10, 2022

Views of downtown Pittsburgh from Mt. Washinton are one of the favorite things that Pittsburgh photographers and visitors like to photograph. Mt. Washington really provides absolutely incredible views of Pittsburgh, but for some reason, I haven’t visited Mt. Washington in years. Last week, on a whim, we decided to jump in the car and just drive to the Grandview St. overlook to watch the sunset. Here are a few photos from that evening, a combination of Samsung Galaxy S22 and Fujifilm XT-3 with 23 f/2 lens.

In the early 1850s, the massive front of the Allegheny Mountains, standing 2,161 feet above sea level, blocked westward advance. This obstacle culminated in the creation of the Gallitzin Tunnels and the Horseshoe Curve, both of which were dug out of near-impenetrable geographic formations. Using switchbacks, excavations, and pure innovation, engineers reduced grades and effectively conquered the mountains. To conduct these laborious endeavors, the Pennsylvania Railroad hired job-hungry Irish immigrants. The hazardous work lasted three grueling years.

The end result was nothing less than monumental. The Curve became known as one of the eight engineering marvels of the world. The completion of the Curve was widely celebrated and heralded throughout the state as a grand opportunity. The now-iconic railroad link opened for business on February 15, 1854. Over the next century-and-a-half, the landmark also became a tourism destination, a target of Nazi spies, and one of the primary east-west arteries of railroad travel in the nation.
https://www.railroadcity.org/curve.html