Inquirer staff photographer Tom Gralish’s weekly visual exploration of our region -and a look back at some of his favorite pictures of 2021.
A uniquely Philadelphia six-foot social distancing sign reminds us the pandemic is still here, but 2021 wasn't all bad. Inquirer staff photographer Tom Gralish shares some of his favorite images of the year.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
Looking ahead at this time last year, I was hoping by now we would be seeing more of each other’s faces again.
Looking back now, what I can see is that there were some challenges, but there were many more moments I was pleased to share with readers. It wasn’t all terrible. Here are some of my favorite pictures of 2021:
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February 2: Snow mountains in the Willow Grove Park mall parking lot after a 72-hour storm delivered the region's biggest snowfall in five years.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
February 14: Celeste and Ernest Merriweather, Jr., of Voorhees, renewed their wedding vows on Valentine’s Day during a “Celebration of Love” event sponsored by the Haddonfield Outdoor Sculpture Trust. The Merriweathers were one of 24 couples who renewed their vows next to Haddonfield’s landmark red metal sculpture. “Poly Open Heart.”Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
February 17: Police outside the SEPTA Olney Transportation Center after a gunman shot eight people.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
March 3: The scene along North 5th Street in North Philadelphia.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
April 5: A uniquely Philadelphian six-foot social distancing reminder in a uniquely Philadelphian food court. The Bourse on Independence Mall is open for indoor dining at 25% capacity.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
April 15: "Turntable,” a sculpture made from disposable face masks and two-liter soda bottles, catches the sunset in Camden’s Cooper’s Poynt Park, a former illegal dumping site where an exhibition titled “A New View – Camden” was unveiled on Earth Day. The exhibition featured one-of-a-kind, large-scale, family friendly installations all around Camden calling attention to illegal dumping and its impact on the community.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
April 28: Mike Africa, Jr. marched up Spruce Street following a protest at the University of Pennsylvania Museum over its handling of human remains from the 1985 MOVE bombing in which killed 11 people.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
June 9: Luciene Salomone (front) participated in a rooftop yoga class atop the historic BOK building in South Philly, as classes resumed following the pandemic lockdowns.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
June 27: Dancers from DANCE4LIFE School of the Arts & Training Institute in Claymont, De. rehearsed on the Bourse Building steps before performing at Gospel on Independence Mall as part of the Wawa Welcome America festivities.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
June 30: Bill Cosby and his attorneys at his Elkins Park home after his sexual assault conviction was overturned, resulting in his release from prison.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
July 5: Protesters pummeled Edward Cagney Mathews with water bottles outsides his Mount Laurel, N.J. home after his arrest stemming from a viral video that showed him berating his neighbor with racial slurs.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
July 18: A recent addition to the Center City skyline, a large ten pin joins City Hall (right, completed in 1901) and One Liberty Place (center, completed in 1987).Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
July 27: Ivori’yonna Lyte (left), 16, showed her COVID-19 immunization record to her mother and siblings at a Camden City School District vaccination clinic in advance of the start of in-person classes in September.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
September 6: Nicole Nunez, 4, squinted into a late summer sun in downtown Coatesville, outside the hair salon her mother operates on Lincoln Avenue, the main street through town.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
September 13: A car crossed the bridge to the second floor of a parking garage at 12th & Filbert, where eight aluminum human-like figures float 20 feet above the ground. “Contrafuerte" is by sculptor Miguel Antonio Horn.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
September 22: Escargot, with sauce bordelaise, royal trumpet mushrooms, fava beans, and tarragon as served at June BYOB in Collingswood, N.J.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
October 5: Julia Vu of Northern Liberties took a selfie in the lobby of the Kimmel Center on opening night for the Philadelphia Orchestra.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
October 5: Cellist Yo-Yo Ma performed at Verizon Hall.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
October 10: Joseph Palladino kissed daughter Giovina, 3, after dancing with her before the South Philly Vikings Mummer Brigade marched in the Columbus Day Parade.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
October 10: Dan Lanzilloti walked to his South Philly home after participating in the Broad Street Run. He ran with a unicorn head and two inflatable "companions" (all in his bag).Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
November 3: N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy celebrated at his election night party in Asbury Park after midnight.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
November 1: Skulls on a Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) altar were blurred by the zooming of the camera lens as the Mexican holiday was celebrated in LOVE Park. The altar was created by Mexican artist Cesar Viveros, for the day that helps people remember the deceased and honor their memory.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
November 17: The glass is clouded from the cold during an Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation practice at the Laura Sims Skate House in Cobbs Creek.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
December 8: Liam Pizer, 4, gazed at the train and Christmas tree in the Collingswood Hardware window. According to store owners Bob and Joe DiBartolomeo, 2021 marked the 22nd year of their traditional Christmas storefront display.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
December 21: Nayeh Spahr, a physician with Project Home, and her six-month-old daughter, Zyani, attended a vigil remembering those who experienced homelessness during their lifetime and passed away in 2021. Homeless Memorial Day is celebrated in more than 150 municipalities nationwide, on the winter solstice, the "longest night of the year.”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 Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color:
December 27, 2021: Spectators stand under the light projectors of the Deck the Hall Light Show that illuminates the west facade of Philadelphia City Hall. The projections will play on a loop every evening through Jan. 1, highlighting the building's historic architecture and sculptures.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
December 20, 2021: Lighted displays along the sidewalk of downtown Collingswood during holiday shopping.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
December 13, 2021: The President's House memorial in Independence National Historical Park tells the story of the paradox of liberty and enslavement that existed in the same house. George Washington and John Adams both conducted their presidencies and lived there, and Washington's household included at least nine enslaved African descendants. Their names are inscribed on a wall: Austin, Paris, Hercules, Christopher Sheels, Richmond, Giles, Ona Judge, Moll, and Joe. (Adams never held enslaved people).Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
December 6, 2021: In the middle of a busy South Broad Street, photographer Eddy Marenco captures newlyweds Olivia and Jimmy Jakubik - with a view of City Hall in the background - shortly after they were married there earlier in the afternoon.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
November 29, 2021: Rabbis (and brothers) with the Chabad Lubavitch Synagogue in Cherry Hill, Yakov Mangel (left) and Laizer Mangel set up the large Hanukkah menorah in Haddonfield's Library Point just before Thanksgiving. Chabad of Camden and Burlington Counties will host the borough's public lightning ceremonies Monday night at 6 with music, latkes, doughnuts, dreidels, and chocolate gelt.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
November 22, 2021: The glass in one section of the rink is clouded from the cold during an Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation practice at the Laura Sims Skate House in Cobbs Creek.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
November 15, 2021: The remnants of 180 jack-o'-lanterns await recycling outside Saddler's Woods in Haddon Township. They were lighted and lined the paths in the old-growth forest for Halloween.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
November 8, 2021: The skulls on a Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) altar are blurred as the lens is zoomed during the taking of the photo as the Mexican holiday was celebrated in LOVE Park on Nov. 1 and 2. The altar was created by Mexican artist Cesar Viveros, for the day that helps people remember the deceased and honor their memory by building altars. They leave ofrendas (offerings) to their loved ones' souls, including food and drink, orange and yellow flowers, and photos and mementos.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
November 1. 2021: A public service announcement disguised as a weekly Scene photo. Don't forget to vote tomorrow! For the first time ever, New Jersey offered in-person voting last week ahead of Tuesday's general election. This was the scene at the Camden County Elections and Archive Center in Blackwood.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
October 25, 2021: Juxtaposed signs score a bull's-eye in the shared parking lot of a national retailer and local craft brewery in Northern Liberties.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
October 18, 2021: Dan Lanzilloti walks north on South Broad Street to his home in South Philly after participating in the Broad Street Run last Sunday. He ran with a unicorn head and two portable "companions" (all in his bag) and a sweatshirt reading, “Men of quality do not fear equality.” He finished 11175th overall, with a time of 2:57:27, but entertained runners along the way saying, “Too much love is never too much.”Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
October 11, 2021: Paulo Carminati carries a keyboard into St. Paul's Church in Stone Harbor to join his choir, Coro Mundi, as it holds its first in-person rehearsal since the coronavirus pandemic.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
October 4, 2021: A 1950s Dodge Meadowbrook is parked near Front and Main Streets in Camden. The Meadowbrook was introduced in 1949 to be the mid-range car in the Dodge line. By 1952 the entry-level Wayfarer was discontinued, making the Meadowbrook the cheapest car in the Dodge line.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
September 27, 2021: Pigeons take flight along Buttonwood Street. A bird lover had just dropped some seed along the sidewalk near Broad Street.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
September 20, 2021: There is action in miniature at the Soccer 2026 Pitch at the visitors center at Independence National Historical Park. It is part of Philadelphia's bid to be chosen as one of 10 cities to host matches when the FIFA World Cup comes to the United States in 2026. Philadelphia Soccer 2026 welcomes the public to play and contribute their own memories to the exhibit (rear) and "show FIFA and U.S. Soccer the passion of the local soccer community."Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer
