April 15, 2024: There was plenty of room under the Franklin Institutes’s specially designed viewing tents after the crowds left when the partial solar eclipse reached maximum coverage - and the clouds thickened.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
During last week’s solar eclipse I did not look directly at the sun. I was not among those contributing to a significant spike in searches: “Why do my eyes hurt?” (I know what solar retinopathy is). In fact, I only even looked up once (see above) and it was well after the two hours and 27 minutes the partial eclipse lasted in Philadelphia.
I was just enjoying being with the wonderful eclipse people.
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Nobody was confrontational or refused to offer their name. Didn’t get a single complaint or demand that I “show some ID.” Everybody I met (and photographed) was ever so pleasant. AND clearly highly educated — they all knew what a newspaper was.
The Inquirer had five other photographers covering the event — some with really long lenses and special eclipse filters. So I had the luxury of not having to make the definitive partial solar eclipse image.
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:
April 8, 2024: The tulips, hyacinth — and picture takers — are in full bloom and out in Dilworth Park at City Hall. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 1, 2024: April showers bring May flowers. And abandoned umbrellas — this one seemingly floating in the street in Old City.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
March 25, 2024: Tugboats settle the Battleship New Jersey into its relatively quiet temporary stop at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal - after leaving crowds on the Camden Waterfront and both sides of the Delaware River on Thursday. The World War II-era battleship turned-museum moved from its dock in Camden and remained in Paulsboro for preparation before heading to the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia where it will undergo routine maintenance, repairs, and repainting for the first time in 32 years. The whole project is set to cost about $10 million with restoration work set to take at least two months. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
March 18, 2024: Friends from Iowa pause before boarding a tourist bus on Independence Mall. They’ve been going to St. Patrick’s Day parades in different states for 14 years. From left are Dan and Diane Sperfslage, of Aurora; Dianne and Mike Loughren, of Hazleton; and Becky and Doug Lindsay, of Masonville. This year they celebrated in Alexandria, Va.; Morristown, N.J.; Ireland, W. Va.; Crown Point, Ind.; and Philadelphia.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
March 11, 2024: Rittenhouse Square on a sunny day, in between the rainy ones. The park between spring and summer, bare branches and buds.Between brown and green grass, long nights and long days. The Super Bowl and Opening Day. Between flakes (we actually had a few this year!) and flowers. Between staying in and going out, scarves and shirtsleeves. Between Pasternak's “Doctor Zhivago” by the fireplace and Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” on the beach.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
March 4, 2024: Board members, educators, media workers, brewers and guests tour the long-empty swimming pool at the Moorestown Community House, which will be renovated into a microbrewery. It will be a first for the historically “dry” borough.
Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
February 26, 2024: Demolition continues of existing concrete covering I-95 between Chestnut and Walnut Streets, part of the Penn’s Landing park project. All four lanes of I-95 South were closed over the weekend, part of a $329 million project to create a nearly 12-acre park at Penn’s Landing over the interstate. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
February 19. 2024: James Freeman of Philadelphia, a MAGA Trump supporter and social media content provider who posts as REELZ6324, vlogs as he seeks a spot outside the Convention Center on Saturday to get a glimpse — along with a handful of other spectators — of former President Donald Trump’s motorcade. The Republican presidential candidate swung by for a 15-minute appearance at Sneaker Con to unveil his line of gold sneakers. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
February 12, 2024: Television monitors are set up around the Capitol building in Harrisburg on Tuesday for overflow viewing of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s second budget address. Because the House chamber is closed for repairs from a water leak, his speech before a joint session of the General Assembly took place in the rotunda, a space with less room for the some 300 legislators and guests.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
February 5, 2024: Carrie He takes a selfie under the Lunar New Year decorations in the Fashion District. She came into Center City and Chinatown to shop, take pictures and get into the mood for the Year of the Dragon (this year on Feb. 10th). Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
January 29, 2024: The 1753 Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, where the Founders framed the Declaration of Independence (Seen from a selfie spot in front of the National Constitution Center.) The U.S. Constitution was also debated and adopted inside the Georgian style building on Chestnut Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets, which also served as the first capitol of the United States and is both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and on the National Register of Historic Places. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
January 22, 2024: The scene in South Jersey as a snow drought ends with the first significant snowfall in 715 days. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
January 15, 2024: Welcome Park at Second & Walnut Streets was built by the Friends of Independence National Historical Park in 1982 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Pennsylvania by William Penn in 1682. It was designed by the architectural firm Venturi, Scott Brown & Rauch and named for William Penn’s ship, the Welcome. Penn’s original grid street plan for Philadelphia is laid out as a giant marble and brick map with a small version of City Hall’s William Penn statue in the center.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
January 8, 2024: Mayor Cherelle L. Parker stands for the presentation of colors and the national anthem with the Police and Fire color guard, on stage at the Met Philadelphia on North Broad Street, opening the inaugural ceremonies where she would be sworn in as the 100th mayor of Philadelphia. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
January 1, 2024: A large TV screen that will be their backdrop shows scenes from last year’s Mummers Parade, as the Golden Crown Fancy Brigade tests their staging at the Convention Center, preparing for the division’s two finale performances on New Year’s Day 2024.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
