Philly A to Z

I had to be a little creative with this assignment. I decided to leave it to the people, since Philadelphia is, after all, the birthplace of our democratic nation. The theme is “at the London Grill”.

A is for Architect. Stephen Foley, 31, and Murphy Barton, 31.

B is for Brotherly Love. Lauren Gross, 24.

C is for Cheesesteak, "DUH!" Paul James, 33.

D is for 'pin the tail on the donkey'. John Zimmers, 30.

E is for Gustav Eiffel. Dave Lawrence, 45.

F is for Fresh Prince of Belair. Lora Travis, 21.

G is for Good Beer. Lora Travis, 21, and Tim Ehling, 25.

H is for Homosexuals. Sarah Berkley, 25.

I is for Isaiah Zagar, "they guy that does all the mosaics". Kristin Voget, 22.

J is for Jalapeno. Jason Lemon, 24.

K is for Knowledge is power. Adrian Cane, 27.

L is for Logan Square, "my favorite of the five squares", and London Grill. Terry Berch, 52.

M is for "Mamma Mia!" Michael McNally, 53.

N is for M. Night Shamalan. Tim Ehling, 25.

O is for Overcoming Oppression. Bridgid Berrena, 21.

P is for Phillies. Kelley Wilhelm, 29.

Q is for Quesy, "the smell on the street makes me queasy". Kate Boucher, 29.

R is for "Real, recognize, real, my favorite Philly saying". Jake Paine, 25.

S is for Soul, "Philly's got soul". Thomas Last, 37.

T is for Temple University. Cristina Tessaro, 27.

U is for Unique history. Stephanie Pallo, 25.

V is for Vivacious. Brendan Purves, 27.

W is for World Series Winners. Kenza Karkari, 22.

X is for "X-citing". Yehuda, 24.

Y is for Young talent. Jeffrey Boyle, 24.

Z is for the Z bar. Sydney Farrele, 21.

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Visions of Girard

I walked from the Delaware River to the Schuylkill River on Monday, taking photos mostly of what struck me. Although I brainstormed several ideas of what themes could hold the photos together, once I went out, I was overwhelmed with visual stimulus. So basically, once I started shooting, I began thinking about how everyone has their own vision of what the world should be like, their own interpretations of what they experience and what they see, and their own reflection of how it really is. I tried to portray this by photographing signs and messages, juxtaposing them against the streets and people walking around, and photographing reflections instead of straight on shots.

Ta da…

Columbus Ave. and Frankford Ave. 10:29 A.M.

Frankford Ave. 10:33 A.M.

Frankford Ave. 10:38 A.M.

Franford Ave. 10:43 a.m.

100 block 10:45 a.m.

200 block 10:50 a.m.

300 block 10:55 a.m.

400 block 11:00 a.m.

500 block 11:06 a.m.

600 block 11:11 a.m.

700 block 11:12 a.m.

800 block 11:14 a.m.

900 block 11:17 a.m.

1000 Block 11:22 a.m.

1100 Block 11:24 a.m.

1300 Block 11:34 a.m.

1400 Block 11:35

1500 Block 11:42

1600 Block 11:44 a.m.

1700 Block 11:53 a.m.

1800 Block 11:58 a.m.

1900 Block 12:07 p.m.

2000 Block 12:08 p.m.

2100 Block 12:10 p.m.

2200 Block 12:17

2500 Block 12: 27

2600 Block 12:28 p.m.

2700 Block 12:35 p.m.

2800 Block 12:44 p.m.

3000 Block 12:47 p.m.

3100 Block 12:51 p.m.

3300 Block 12:54 p.m.

Bridge over the Schuylkill 1:04 p.m.

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12 at Boathouse Row

Scott Wisniewski, a rowing coach for Vespar, has been living in Philadelphia since 2001. "I love having several options for transportation around here," he stated, "but I can't seem to bike without getting hit."

Reginald Murray, a Philadelphia native, is a poet and author who "loves coming to the park to contemplate". Murray dislikes the standards for cleanliness in the city, commenting, "it used to be a clean city, it's too bad we can't rewind the clock to yesteryear."

Ernie, a Vietnam Veteran, is enraged at the amount of drug use in the city and the effects that it has. "The drugs are so engrained," he says, "what you got today is what you got".

Rebecca Boas, a Connecticut native, moved to Philadelphia four years ago to study biological basis of behavior. Boas enjoys living in the city and especially "walking everywhere", adding that the city "feels small".

Cristine Knab moved to Philadelphia three years ago from her home in Germany. She and her husband are researchers at Jefferson University Hospital, where she says, "parking is so hard to find". For a change of pace, Knab comes to the Fairmount park area "to walk and relax".

Falisha Liu, a student at Pennsylvania University, moved to Philadelphia four years ago to pursue a degree in healthcare management. "I love living in west Philly," she says, "but other parts of the city can be really smelly".

Dan Mulholland and Jenny Baehrs are engaged to be married. Mulholland has been living in Philadelphia for 14 years and is attending pursuing a graduate degree in Education Management. He frequents Fairmount Park and "loves the entertainment and variety of restaurants" that the city has to offer.

Jenny Baehrs, a California native, visits Philadelphia often to spend time with Dan. The toughest part about here, she says, is "commuting from Roxborough into Center City".

Mia Jones, a Baltimore native, says she likes to take advantage of the different spaces in Philadelphia. "The public transit is so much better here", she says, "but the people, they're so high strung". Jeremy, visitng from New York for the weekend, appreciates "the open space", adding, "there's more green here".

Natasha Poluektova, a Philadelphia suburb resident, comes to the city to enjoy the parks and public artwork. "I like to watch the ducks on the river", she says, "but the cars, I can't seem to get away from them."

Michelle Blatimi, a New Jersey resident, comes to Philadelphia "mostly for the music". Blatimi and Poluektova spent the day today together after meeting for the first time earlier in the afternoon. "It all started at Love Park", says Blatimi.

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