Scene Through the Lens with photographer Tom Gralish.
It’s ginkgo time in our region again when the distinctive fan-shaped leaves turn yellow and then, usually on a single day, all drop at the same time laying a carpet on city streets and sidewalks. (The leaping squirrel resides in the 18th Century Garden in Independence National Historical Park.)Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Most days newspaper photographers are assigned to illustrate reporters’ stories, or cover news, events, or sports. We are given a time to be somewhere, the name of a contact and are either told, or have an idea of what we will be photographing.
The cheering squad for four runners prepares their signs along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway before the marathon's start. They are all from the Bethel Church in Blackwood, N.J. The runners are Josh Bermudez, 52; his daughter Belle Bermudez, 19; Ed Klyne, 26; and Jake Loomis, 21.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The push rim wheelchairs head out on the Benjamin Franklin ahead of the runners.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The first of.some 17,000 runners start out.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Sharon Tejada (right), a co-leader of Queer Run, encourages runners on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at the start.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The family of Joseph Maroon, of Miami, Fla. running in his first marathon, cheer him and the other runners along. From left are his wife, Erin Smith; sister-in-law Kiara Smith; and father and mother in- law Bob and Susan Smith, all from River Vale in Bergen County, N.J.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Runners turn from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (upper right) onto Arch Street heading to 15th Street (bottom) in the first mile.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A discarded sign along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Medals given to runners after their completion of the annual Philadelphia Marathon Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Shadows of photographers waiting at the finish line.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Anna Oeser, 26, of Brookfield, Conn., wins the women’s division in 2:34:55.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Men’s winner Melikhaya Frans of South Africa and Oeser, are crowned with authentic golden olive wreaths cut and shaped in Greece, a collaboration with the Greek Consulate of New York and the Federation of Hellenic American Societies of Philadelphia and the Greater Delaware Valley.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
From left, Frans, Oeser, and the men’s wheelchair winner Miguel Vergara, of Chula Vista, Calif; and women’s wheelchair winner Hannah Babalola, of Chicago. The wreaths connect Philadelphia to the race’s ancient origins - the legendary marathon run of 490 BC, when Phidippides sacrificed himself to announce victory to the Athenian people.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A line of race volunteers with medals greets finishing runners.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
After finishing, Iris Annais, from Mexico City, talks to her mother, Rosa Gonzalez, back at home. It was her fifth marathon.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Family and friends peer under banners in the fence to see runners inside Eakins Oval at the finish lof the Philadelphia Marathon Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Eric McGarry of Manayunk talks to his wife Gwen Jones on the phone after finishing. It was his first marathon and he was most excited about running through his own neighborhood where his wife and friends were there to cheer him on.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Lilian Yao, 20, poses for her mother, Leslie Liu after finishing. Yau is a student at Columbia University and this was her first marathon. Mom just flew in earlier in the morning from Hong Kong, arriving hours before the start of the race.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Runners leave the secure finish area in Eakins Oval to reunite with family and friends on the outside. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Among the crowd of hundreds waiting in Eakins Oval, Sienna Colburn holds an attention-getting sign for runner Anna Butoryak, They are childhood friends from Seattle, Wash. and Butoryak came to Philadelphia to run in her second marathon as Colburn is a third year law student at the University of Pennsylvania.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Other times we have to come up with something on our own.
So how do I generate an idea from a completely blank slate? How we each do this is the magic of creativity.
My process is to look around, not just at what’s in front of me, but to think of what I’ve seen and read and thought about lately. I recall pictures I’ve made previously, or images I’ve admired by others. I let my thoughts drift, and try to notice patterns, juxtapositions, or things that seem out of place. And make connections.
I am patient, even when it seems inspiration is not going to hit me.
I seldom find that spark while driving. I need to get out of the car and walk. Or sit on a bench. And free associate.
This week I thought of autumn, the end of daylight savings, the sunlight low in the sky, and cooler days. In a park I watched squirrels scampering on leaves collecting and burying food for the even colder days coming.
More walking, and sitting, and I spotted an unusual black squirrel. I once read they are more common around the Great Lakes, but around here, plain old grey squirrels are what we have. (I googled it later. Less than 1% of the grey squirrel population on the East Coast “present heightened levels of the dark pigment melanin.”)
Back on my feet I came across a courtyard full of fan-shaped leaves, spread in front of me like a quiet, golden revelation.
Ginkgo biloba, I knew from previous assignments. The oldest tree species on Earth, it’s often called a “living fossil.” It has survived for over 200 million years, outlasting the dinosaurs, and has remained relatively unchanged.
That became my inspiration this week. Call me a biophiliac (having the hypothetical human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature). But it’s how I made the connection and this week’s photo.
See more gingkoes (and another photo of the black squirrel) in the gallery:
Leaves in the Rose Garden in Independence National Historical Park Nov. 25, 2025. Though it’s prehistoric, the ginkgo feels almost modern in its geometry and minimalism.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Predawn on North 16th Street in Center City. Genetically, the ginkgo has remained unchanged over the past 200 million years. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
An unusual black squirrel on the University of Pennsylvania’s College Green.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Holiday decorations in downtown Haddonfield.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
A car leaves the Arch Street Meeting House.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Construction workers are level with the leaves while building an apartment additon above a restaurant in downtown Collingswood.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Visitors in Christ Church Burial Ground in Old City.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The Rose Garden in Independence National Historical Park. Unlike most deciduous trees, a ginkgo often sheds every leaf in a single dramatic moment—sometimes within a few hours.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Female ginkgo trees produce a "fruit-like" product (upper right), while male trees do not. The "stinky ginkgo" smell comes from butyric acid in the fleshy seed coating as it rots on the ground. It's the same chemical that dominates the smell of rancid butter and vomit. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Philadelphia's Historic District. William Hamilton, owner the Woodlands in Southwest Philadelphia (no relation to the Founding Father) brought the first ginkgo trees to American in 1785.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
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 print editions of The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color:
