The Light Fantastic | Scene Through the Lens

I know that the light is always different, always changing the way we see things. But that doesn’t make it any less surprising. Any less magical.

The feeling as you emerge from the Amtrak train platform into the waiting room of 30th Street Station, with all that light streaming into the magnificent soaring space of the Art Deco style grand concourse can’t be described in any way other than magical.

The very first thing I saw was the sun setting behind the windows to the west. By the time I made a few frames, and was waiting for just the right figure - perhaps a traveler pulling a wheeled suitcase to pass through it - the streaks of warm light had faded.

So I turned to the east to witness that light bathing one of my favorite pieces of public art in the city: the Pennsylvania Railroad’s memorial to their workers who died in World War II.

It is probably mostly known from the opening scene of the 1985 Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis film “Witness.” The 39-foot monument is dedicated to the 1,307 rail employees who died in World War II. It is known as “Angel of the Resurrection,” depicting the Archangel Michael lifting a lifeless soldier in his arms, his wings pointing directly to heaven as he frees the soldier from the flames of battle.

That light also changed within minutes after I made the photo.

Then, passing through the concourse to SEPTA’s Regional Rail station, the light presented me with more magic.

But the “Light Fantastic” wasn’t done yet! Crossing the bridge connecting the station to the parking lot, it was reflecting off the skyscrapers of Center City.

Until my 15 minute “magic light” journey ended...

...with a view from the complete opposite side of my “Scene” photo from last week:

Since 1998, a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color:

» SEE MORE: Archived columns and Twenty years of a photo column