Memorial Day weekend kicked off the start of summer traveling, which means many are out on the roads driving to their destinations.  To many, long car trips mean hours of boredom and the endless back-and-forth, “Are we there yet?!” and the repeated response, “NO!”  Not me.  Over the years traveling in the car to Pittsburgh from CT and back, I have grown accustomed to the trip and know the familiar landmarks we pass along the way.  From the tunnels that span the Turnpike to the menacing looking wind turbines near Somerset, the route never gets old.

I’m writing about my travels to Pittsburgh because since 2009, I have been working on a project about Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania.  It’s a travel documentary, and it features the landmarks and scenic views that the state has to offer.  It’s like the WQED documentary, “Pittsburgh From the Air,” except that the shots are from the road, not a helicopter.  So it’s more like “Pennsylvania from the Road,” but that doesn’t sound as exciting.  There is little dialogue in the documentary, and the shots are set to ambient music.

The limited time I’ve spent here past summers means I can’t get to every event/destination, which is why my documentary has been in production since 2009.  I’m also very picky about my shots, so I’ve been reshooting several landmarks in subsequent visits.  One of the places I’m dying to go to is Point State Park, but since fountain renovations won’t be completed until next year, I can’t get good shots from the point.

Attached to this blog is a shot at Sand Hill Berries farm in Mt. Pleasant last summer.  This one I like because of the range of depth of field, which is somewhat difficult to compose on my Canon video camera because it lacks a zoom/focus ring.

So far, the documentary’s running time is 41 minutes.  I’d like to visit more places so I can extend the running time to an hour!  With all the events that I’ll be covering this summer, I’m sure I’ll find new places to capture new perspectives of the city and the surrounding areas.