Standing tall | Scene Through the Lens

This photo-driven column started with my visiting one of Philadelphia’s hundreds of distinct neighborhoods every week. After a few years (and running out of neighborhoods) it become more of an expression of my “voice” as a visual journalist.

I am still always looking to make photos specifically for this space, and that search often leads me to arrive early and remain after assignments. Last week at graduation ceremonies for the Philadelphia Police Academy Class No. 402 Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel remained on stage posing with any graduate who wanted a photo.

I stayed as well, long after the mayor and other dignitaries and officials had left, so I was there when (slightly taller) new officer Julio Rodriguez-Perez stepped up, and Bethel jokingly climbed on a chair.

Earlier in the week, after covering a few local runners’ heats at the New Balance Nationals outdoor track meet for high school and middle school athletes, I left through a back tunnel at Penn’s Franklin Field.and found this scene.

On Thursday the Battleship New Jersey returned home to the Camden Waterfront and the celebration featured a live performance by a Springsteen tribute band, games, bar service, and sports team mascots. I checked out the view through the vents of a port-a-potty, also lined up with the food trucks along the promenade.

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: