Judge Photog Blog

D.I.Y. Music

2009-05-07T06:17:00.000-07:00

Follow the link to see a slideshow!!

----------->Bing<------------

In Search of: Lauren Blaess

2009-04-07T04:34:00.000-07:00

Follow the link to see a slideshow on my colleague, Lauren Blaess.

click here

The Place Where I Take Up Space

2009-03-03T09:43:00.000-08:00

Follow the link to see an audio slideshow!

click here

Alpha Beta

2009-02-17T00:18:00.000-08:00

Philadelphia is a city made up of many things. The sights and sounds work cooperatively to qualify the city's status as a national metropolis. Here are some things that I feel make this city what it is. (bonus: Obsessive Compulsives rejoice! This list is in ALPHABETICAL order!)

A is for Alley Ways

B is for Ben Franklin Bridge

C is for City Hall

D is for Dilapidated Factories

E is for Electrical Boxes

F is for Franklin Institute

G is for Giant Clothes Pins

H is for Hydrant

I is for Insignia

J is for Junk

L is for Love Park

M is for Masonic Temple

N is for Newspapers

P is for Philadelphia Museum of Art

Q is for Questionably Healthy Pigeons

R is for Rodin Museum

S is for Seafood

T is for Tugboats

U is for Urban Art

W is for Warehouses

Among the Debris: A Walk Between Two Rivers

2009-02-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

Living in Philadelphia for the past three years, I have found myself walking long distances (and usually not on purpose). On these occasions, I couldn't help but feel a sort of emptiness and exclusion. Although I was surrounded by people and noise, I felt at the same time alone and isolated.

Charting the course from the Deleware River to Schuykill via Arch Street, I found many small things that seemed to go under the radar that were beautiful in their simplicity. At the same time, these images also had a sort of stark separation or isolated quality.

Beginning of Arch 3:32 p.m.

Arch and Mascher 3:34 p.m.

Arch and 2nd 3:41 p.m.

Arch and Bread 3:47 p.m.

Arch and 3rd 3:51 p.m.

Arch and 4th 3:56 p.m.

Arch and Independence Hall East 3:59 p.m.

Arch and Independence Hall West 4:22 p.m.

(I dropped my lens cap all the way back on 2nd street...)

Arch and 7th 4:27 p.m.

Arch and 9th 4:40 p.m.

Arch and Hutchinson 4:47 p.m.

Arch and 10th 4:52 p.m.

Arch and 11th 4:52 p.m.

Arch and 12th 4:54 p.m.

Arch and 13th 4:59 p.m.

Arch and Broad Street 5:07 p.m.

Arch and Broad 5:11 p.m.

Arch and 16th 5:30 p.m.

Arch and 17th 5:32 p.m.

Arch and 21st 5:48 p.m.

Arch and Beechwood 5:49 p.m.

Arch and 22nd 5:51 p.m.

Arch at Schuylkill 5:53 p.m.

View Larger Map

Saying "Hey"

2009-02-03T00:52:00.000-08:00

It has been said that meeting people is easy. It’s doing anything else with them that’s hard. While the cold didn’t keep the public from visiting the Philadelphia Art Museum, it sure as hell kept them running from the lens. Bundled up and anxiously moving to their next destination, tourists and Philly natives alike were feeling the winter stretch, that wonderful time that starts right after New Years and goes on through the holiday-less void between Martin Luther King Day and the First Day of Spring.

Jaisalexis and Ali, students from the University of Pennsylvania and Sorority pledges were the first people I encountered on the famous Art Museum Steps. Intentionally stranded by their future sisters without means of communication, the pledges agreed to talk to me in exchange for use of my cellular phone.

Jaisalexis, hailing from Laguna Niguel in sunny Orange County, California has resided in Philadelphia since the school year began on August 26^th. Unlike many Philadelphia natives, she appreciates the public transit system and the fact that most destinations are within walking distance. However, this did not make up for the fact that it was a cold, a fact that she was not too thrilled about.

Ali, fellow sorority sister from Chicago was in a rush by the time the lens was pointed at her. The remainder of her potential housemates arrived and twisted my arm to take a group photo (Ok not really. What can I say? I’m easily intimidated by large groups of women). After obliging their request and following a string of profanities from whom I assumed was the sister in charge, Ali was called away. We managed to get a quick portrait and as she went off with the flock she called out that she liked the art of Philadelphia, but overall the city was “dirty.”

Jason Tobkin of Detroit was one of the first in a string of tourists that I would encounter at this famous landmark. He had arrived the previous night but had already assessed that the weather was not to his liking. When asked what he liked about Philadelphia, he was interrupted by his brother who answered that he was more than happy to have his butt handed to him running up the steps.

Marcel B from Brooklyn, New York also arrived in Philadelphia the previous night and had developed a distaste for the cold and the quiet as well. When asked what he liked about the city, he pointed to the lady on his left. I tilted my head and sighed effeminately. Adorable. It really is.

Marshall Hubbard from Huntington Valley has lived in the Philadelphia area for 4 years. He is a fan of the cheese steaks and the big city vibe, but wouldn’t take the traffic and the roads if they came to him on the wayside.

Jenn Hubbard, resident of Huntington Valley with her husband, has lived in the Philadelphia area for 27 years (her whole life). In that time, she has learned to appreciate the city’s history while her hatred of the subway also appreciates.

Brian Williams of Warminster has lived in the Philadelphia area for 24 years. He loves the opportunity that the big city offers but also has a hatred for it’s mass transit system.

Lenn Michelson hailed all the way from Germany to see the sights of Philadelphia. When I encountered her, she had only been in the city a matter of hours but was more than happy to oblige my questions and shrill girlish voice. Ms. Michelson was happy that Philly was smaller and quieter than New York but was not taken with the cold or the fact that the bridge she took was closed on her way over.

Jim Sempa from Perkasic Pennsylvania had only arrived in the city at noon made it clear that he was not a city guy. While he appreciated the number of things to do like the art museum and the zoo, he was not fond of the number of people in the city.

Rob Fio was decked out and grinning in a boxing robe when I approached him. A resident of Long Island, New York, he was as cuckoo for the architecture of the city as he was for running up the famous “Rocky Steps” in the attire he felt was more than appropriate. However, the last call at 2 o’clock in the a.m. in the bars of Philadelphia did not ring his bell (I know. I gagged a little typing that too).

Tim Hill came all the way from New Zealand earlier that morning to see the sights that Philly had to offer. The self-proclaimed kiwi was a fan of the architecture but was not thrilled by, you guessed it, the cold!

Donn Ellright from Ashland Virginia was in the city for two days when we spoke. The history of Philadelphia interested him but he was not enthused by that most horrible of beasts: Philly fans.

Philly. A Tale of Two Cities That Is Really Just One City, But At Two Separate Points In Time & Not, In Actuality, Two Cities As Previously Stated

2009-01-28T18:14:00.000-08:00

View Larger Map

Photo 1- Columbia Ave (Cecil B. Moore) at Broad St. Looking East

Photo 2 Broad St. NE Corner Looking South

Photo 3- Victrola Record Store 1700-02 N. Broad St.

Photo 4-Broad Street and Columbia (renamed Cecil B. Moore)

Photo 5-Conwell Hall

Photo 6- 1725-1735 N. Broad Street

Photo 7- 1725-1735 N. Broad St. Temple Keneseth Israel

Photo 8- Baptist Temple

Photo 9- Columbia Ave Station, NW corner of Broad and Cecil B. Moore