July 22, 2024: Some people dance with wolves, but Jere Neal is walking with birds, on the quarter-mile track along the Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J. Neal did 10 laps (2-1/2 miles) in the mid-afternoon heat. He aims to exercise two or three times a week, year roundRead moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
I rediscovered three things this past week while “covering” the heat wave by shooting “standalone weather art.”
The first is that you can make good pictures of hot people - or of them trying to stay cool - without going to the city’s many fire hydrants or fountains.
The second thing is that I enjoy every opportunity to meet and interact with people in our community. Almost as much as I like making and sharing pictures.
The third thing? I am reminded to always look back and review my own work to avoid falling into repeating myself.
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The inclination to keep doing the things we know work prevents us from trying something different. So I will be avoiding composing “rule of thirds” photos with people sitting under trees. At least until it’s time to cover a snow storm.
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:
July 15, 2024: Firefighter Kyle Conard (left), of Riverside Fire Co. No. 1, and firefighter Andrew Lloyd, of Beverly Fire Co. No. 1, take down a large American flag from a ladder arch along Bridgeboro Street, near Route 130 in Delran, on Tuesday following the funeral procession for firefighter Horace McCurdy, 95, of Delran. McCurdy, who died on June 29, was a life member of the Delran Fire Company No.1 Bridgeboro, joining in 1945 when he was 16, and serving a number of positions, including chief in 1959. In the spring, he was honored for his 80 years of service.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
July 8, 2024: Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Dawn Staley (left) leave the stage behind Independence Hall after the presentation of the Mayor’s “One Philly Award” to the three-time NCAA a Fourth of July “Celebration of Freedom” event.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
July 1, 2024: The Historic District’s biggest flag (at the U.S. Courthouse at 6th and Market Streets, a block from Independence Hall) as we head into the week celebrating America’s 248th birthday. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 24, 2024: Following graduation ceremonies last week for the Philadelphia Police Academy Class No. 402, Commissioner Kevin Bethel remained on stage posing with any new officer who wanted a photo. As (slightly taller) graduate Julio Rodriguez-Perez stepped up, Bethel jokingly climbed on a chair.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 17, 2024: “God Bless America” (American Gothic) by sculptor J. Seward Johnson (1930-2020) on Klockner Road, near the Hamilton train station, along the way to nearby Grounds for Sculpture, the park he founded in 1992 on the site of the old New Jersey FairgroundRead moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 10, 2024: Shadows in North Wildwood signal the start of summer at the Shore.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
June 3, 2024: Abdelraham Shalan strikes the “Rocky” pose at the top of the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Better known in the Sumo World as Oosunaarashi, which roughly translates to “The Great Sandstorm” in Japanese, he will compete in the International Sumo League World Championship Atlantic City June 15.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 27, 2024: Jim Beyer, of Washington Township, N.J. conducts the Philadelphia Brigade Band during the traditional Decoration Day service at Laurel Hill Cemetery, site of the first observance in Philadelphia, in 1868 to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the Civil War. What is now known as Memorial Day became a national holiday in 1971. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 20, 2024: A plane taking off from Philadelphia International Airport flys over a turret of three 16-inch/50-caliber Mark 7 guns on the fore deck of the Battleship New Jersey, currently berthed in Dock #3 in dry dock at the Navy Yard (the same dock it was launched from on Dec. 7, 1942). Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 13, 2024: Sloan, 2, and Sylvie, 3 months, wait while their parents, Sara Tice and Shane Shoemaker of Kensington, who were close by, shop for spring flowers and garden supplies in Cherry Hill.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
May 6, 2024: Shoppers “donate” other objects besides coins in a fountain at the Cherry Hill Mall, leaving maintenance workers to clean up after them (the coins go to charity). Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 29. 2024: While not as common a sight on rooftops as turkey vultures, Canada geese do show up on top of homes during nesting season - as this pair in Haddonfield. Wildlife experts say laying eggs on roofs is unusual, but a way to avoid predators. Baby Canada geese have been seen jumping from high buildings and surviving, because their body mass is so light, they often just bounce.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
April 22, 2034: The city girls’ team is introduced in the first half of a double header at the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council’s 37th annual All-Star Labor Classic, a high school basketball showcase that featured some of the city’s and suburbs’ top boys’ and girls’ players at Holy Family University. Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer
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
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
