It is difficult to pick a favorite tree for bright fall colors, but the Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) is certainly one of the champions for brightness and variety. It is sometimes confused with the invasive Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), also known as Pittsburgh Palm or Tree from Hell; but fall quickly distinguishes them. The leaves of Tree of Heaven just turn sickly yellow, or drop before they turn any color at all. Staghorn Sumac is a native, and like most Northeastern trees it seems to take pride in its autumnal display.
Remarkable mostly for its unremarkableness, this little house in the back streets of the South Side is a good demonstration of how to keep an old house (it might be 150 years old or more) tastefully up to date.
With the limited research he was willing to put into it, old Pa Pitt was not able to confirm his impression that this building on Elmer Street was once a stable. But it certainly has the look of a stable. Well into the early twentieth century, the city was full of stables where the thousands of draft horses that pulled every kind of conveyance were kept.
A nicely restored Victorian house in the back streets of Shadyside. The front porch seems to have been foreshortened to accommodate a basement garage, but the work was tastefully done.
Recording angel on the Vallowe monument, South Side Cemetery.
Since most of the world is going for silly deviltry, old Pa Pitt decided to be a bit contrarian and put together a collection of angels. All these and many more angels can be found at Father Pitt’s Pittsburgh Cemeteries site.
Hax–McCullough monument, Allegheny Cemetery.Haudenshield-Robinson Monument, Chartiers Cemetery.Nilles angel, South Side Cemetery.
Father Pitt has always had mixed feelings about HDR (“high-dynamic-range”) images. They are made from multiple exposures—this one, for example, is put together from three photographs—in an attempt to capture the detail in both the highlights and the shadows. On the one hand, they always strike him as artificial-looking; on the other, HDR imaging was the only effective way to capture both the stonework and the lowering clouds in this picture. If you look closely, you will notice an artifact of the process: it was a windy day, so the stones are sharp but the trees are blurred.
This is the Penn Avenue gatehouse of Allegheny Cemetery, seen from inside the cemetery. Old Pa Pitt returned two days later to try another HDR image, and this time—with some tweaking of software settings—he managed a more natural-looking result:
If he were at all concerned with his reputation as an artist, he would have led with this picture. But he thought you might enjoy seeing a first attempt and the refinement that followed, in that order.
If you are looking for some atmospheric fun for Halloween, Father Pitt’s Pittsburgh Cemeteries is full of interesting pictures and information.
This tree has long since outgrown its little square of dirt along Jane Street on the South Side. Now it is meditating a hostile takeover of the sidewalk.
