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A look back | Scene Through the Lens

Reflecting on the year past before looking ahead.

The large menorah erected by the American Friends of Lubavitch in Independence Mall casts a wide shadow. The eight days of Hanukkah began at sunset Sunday evening. A menorah was first lighted in front of Independence Hall in 1974.
The large menorah erected by the American Friends of Lubavitch in Independence Mall casts a wide shadow. The eight days of Hanukkah began at sunset Sunday evening. A menorah was first lighted in front of Independence Hall in 1974.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

It is a cliché to say that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it - but it is very true when it comes to documenting the cyclical nature of the news, and life. I would have given up being a newspaper photographer decades ago if all I did was re-purpose the same images year after year.

The year’s end is a time most of us look back, but I practice that hindsight throughout the entire year, checking old photos to see how I covered similar situations and events.

I have photographed dozens of really big outdoor menorahs (and even parades), but I have never photographed one this way before.

Here are a few other images I’ve selected after reflecting and examining the moments and memories of 2022, as I look ahead to 2023:

Finally, I am finishing this look back with a scene from where every new year in Philadelphia starts - the Mummers Parade (and I’ll see you on South Broad Street on Jan. 1st for the 2023 version):

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:

» SEE MORE: Archived columns and Twenty years of a photo column