Simply Shady Alleys

“Different Perspective” – © chriscondello 2013 – Tennis Way – Wilkinsburg, PA – So I was photographing the aged driveway… The plastic objects were already in the photo… Just… In the background… So I picked them up… Cleaned them off… And placed them in the photo…

“Monarda” – © chriscondello 2013 – Hamnett Place Community Garden – Wagner Way – Wilkinsburg, PA – Not exactly a shady alley anymore… But at one time… Now this alley is home to a community garden… Bee balm is one of my favorite flowers… Made for hummingbirds and bees… Planted by you and me…

“Bad Contractor” – © chriscondello 2013 – Wagner Way – Wilkinsburg, PA – This house is directly up against the alley… This door may have been used for deliveries… Or the house was built before the alley… Either way… This door could make for a great practical joke…

“Chicory” – © chriscondello 2013 – Tennis Way – Wilkinsburg, PA – Used as a coffee substitute around the world in poorer areas… Gained much of its popularity during times of economic crisis such as the Great Depression and World War II… The roots are baked,… Ground… And used like normal coffee…

“Singled Out” – © chriscondello 2013 – Tennis Way – Wilkinsburg, PA – Where do you think this brick went?.. Trust me… They don’t just pop out of the street… A driveway nearby was at one time paved in red dog… A by-product of steel production… The slag has bled out of the driveway… And now occupies the spaces between the yellow bricks…

“Relic – Gates of…” – © chriscondello 2013 – Tennis Way – Wilkinsburg, PA – Tennis Way is lined with the ruins of now abandoned garages… Only a select few are used… I wonder if this door looked as nice as it does now when it was newly built… I want to take this garage door… And hang it on my wall… Urban Sheik…

“Accidental Art” – © chriscondello 2013 – Wagner Way – Wilkinsburg, PA – I’m guessing these bricks were either misplaced… Or destroyed upon removal… So of course… They replaced them with bricks of a different color… I wonder if they knew I would come along some day… And freak out over the accidental beauty created in the back of this almost forgotten alley… Seriously… In retrospect… I probably look like a complete freak when I’m photographing an alley…

“Past and Present” – © chriscondello 2013 – Tennis Way – Wilkinsburg, PA – One of these garages happened to be open… And I happened to peak inside… I wonder if the masons that do this type of work see it as art as well… Probably not… I guess that’s my job… To come along later… And try to look at life in a different light… What one person might see as a hack job… I come along… And see it as art… Though… I might have added a few red bricks for contrast…

“Perfectly Broken” – © chriscondello 2013 – Tennis Way – Wilkinsburg, PA – As I was working my way down the alley… I came upon a woman talking to her contractor… They were both talking about the process involved in replacing her patio… I walked up to the two of them… And asked if I could take a photo of her patio… She looked puzzled… So I told her I thought it was perfect… They laughed… I snapped a few photos… And went on my merry way… Again… They must think I’m crazy…

plant petunias and question everything – chriscondello

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