Scene Through the Lens with photographer Tom Gralish.
Mural artist Shaun Durbin adds a portrait of Iymaan (that’s with an “I” eye) Muhammad to his painting-in-progress at the Odunde Festival Sunday June 14, 2026. Billed as the largest African street market in North America, festival-goers are known for their stylish clothing. Durbin met Muhammad in South Philadelphia on Saturday and asked her, “would you be my muse?”Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The Odunde Festival began in 1975 as a community event in South Philadelphia inspired by Yoruba traditions from Nigeria. It has since grown into one of the largest Black cultural festivals in North America.
“Odunde”is often translated as “the celebration has arrived.” The festival is rooted in the Yoruba New Year celebration and honors African heritage, history, and spirituality.
As a photographer working a Sunday-to-Thursday shift for decades, I’ve covered this and many other Sunday ethnic, religious, historic, and cultural festivals — always with a street-photographer vibe.
When I was assigned to photograph stylish clothing last Sunday — festivalgoers are known for expressing their cultural identity, heritage, and pride through fashion — I saw it as fun challenge to work outside my comfort zone and channel a bit of Philly influencer Big Rube or Humans of New York creator Brandon Stanton.
Something I am always asked when speaking to camera clubs or groups of amateurs photographers is: “Do you have to ask people permission to take their picture?” Others ask, “Do you need to get their names?” The most consistent question, though, is: “How do you approach people you don’t even know?”
I am not an extrovert, but early on I realized that “hiding” behind my camera gave me the confidence to meet and build rapport with strangers.
After years of doing it, talking to people has never been a concern. But using a flash outdoors to fill in shadows while also worrying about visual variety — different ages, genders, couples, individuals, and backgrounds — was not the way I usually work.
I think it turned out OK, and I look forward to trying something similar with my visual coverage of the many events ahead this summer. Bring on the World Cup, America 250, the All-Star Game, and everything else.
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:
June 15, 2026: Bob Myers, president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, owner/operator of the 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, as well as a future Philadelphia WNBA team, talks to reporters after Mike Gansey made his first appearance as Sixers president of basketball operations at the Penn Medicine Philadelphia 76ers Training Complex in Camden. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 8, 2026: Obet Montalvo, a digital strategist with Radicle Digital, finds a quiet nook at the Convention Center on Thursday June 4, 2026, while attending Netroots Nation, the country’s largest annual gathering for progressive political activists, and organizers. The fan fest is an outgrowth of the blog Daily Kos, and brings together thousands of grassroots organizers to participate in training sessions, panel discussions, and keynote addresses.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 1, 2026: The signature half-rose stained glass window of the 1891 Grace Baptist Church is reflected in a glass wall inside the Temple Performing Arts Center, as a spring concert by Temple University Music Prep’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians gets underway below. A school started at the church so working men unable to afford traditional college could attend at night eventually became Temple University, and the congregation relocated to the suburbs. Over the years the building deteriorated and in 1986 university trustees voted to demolish it. Public outcry and help from the Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia convinced Temple’s leaders to preserve the building, and a few years and $30 million later the old church was reborn in 2010 as a 1200-seat, multipurpose state-of-the-art event center. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 25, 2026: A color guard marches in Laurel Hill Cemetery during the annual observance of traditional Decoration Day on Memorial Day weekend. The historic cemetery was the site of Philadelphia’s first observance in 1868, paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the Civil War. What is now known as Memorial Day became a national holiday in 1971. The re-creation is an annual tradition of the Gen. George B. Meade Post No. 1 Grand Army of the Republic and included a wreath-laying ceremony, pageantry, music and speeches. Flowers and flags were placed earlier on the graves of hundreds of known and unknown American veterans from the French and Indian War through the Iraq War.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 25, 2026 (online version): A NASCAR Roadtripping fourth T-shirt ($14.98) - at the closest outpost to Philly - 4-1/2 hours away - of the Texas-based gas station convenience store chain known for its Beaver Nuggets and pristine potties, in Rockingham County, Is Buc-ee’s a true travel destination - or a tourist trap?Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 19, 2026: Robert Arana and Kevin Baraniecki (right) work on replacing the outer protective film on top of the structural safety glass pavilions that serve as the head house entrance to SEPTA’s 15th St/City Hall Station in Dilworth Park.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 11, 2026: At the border of PA and NJ, halfway on the New Hope - Lambertville bridge. It’s a level and well-maintained walkway separated from the cars, making for a safe, short easy walk between the shops and restaurants in both downtowns. With great views of the Delaware River. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 4, 2026: The hooves were all that remained of a life-size elk statue — sawed off at the ankles — in historic Harleigh Cemetery in Camden on Tuesday. The bronze elk statues were put up in cemeteries all over the country at the turn of the 20th century in what was called an “Elks Rest,” an area reserved for deceased members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. In many lodges of the fraternal group founded in 1866, members who could not afford a burial were provided space in the “Rest” free of charge. The statue was since recovered and is back in the cemetery’s possession. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 27, 2026: What just a week ago was a spring-time canopy of rosy blush blossoms is now a soft carpet of pink petals, on a sidewalk along Wayne Avenue in Germantown.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 20, 2026: The water is turned back on in LOVE Park this week, marking another milestone as seasons change in the city. The splash fountain and basin-less main fountain in the park formally known as John F. Kennedy Plaza, was part of the site’s 2018 renovations, that came after the old park was flattened out, removing a traditional fountain and benches and levels that made it so enticing to skateboarders.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 13, 2026: Workers set up the stage — with a cooling tower backdrop — for a Gov. Mikie Sherrill event at the PSEG Salem and Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station in Lower Alloways Creek, N.J. Sherrill later signed legislation intended to make way for new nuclear energy projects in the Garden State by removing a key permitting hurdle that has created a de facto moratorium on new nuclear power for decades. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 6, 2026: Work continues into the night, two floors above street level in Old City.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
March 30, 2026: New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (third from right) meets with members of the South Jersey business community while her youngest daughter, Marit, waits in lobby (rear). Mom was attending a fireside chat event hosted by the Chamber of Commerce of Southern New Jersey in Mount Laurel earlier this month.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
March 23, 2026: The plowed snow mountain range at a corner of the PATCO Haddonfield station parking lot in mid-March. After the big Jan. 25 and Feb. 23 snow storms the transit agency started a contest to guess exactly when the humongous snow mountain will finally melt. They are offering a $20 Freedom Card to the winners.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
March 16, 2026: Traffic moving at 45 mph on the Ben Franklin Bridge is photographed using a slow shutter speed from a PATCO commuter train traveling at 40 mph.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
