Streets of Philadelphia

Look Up, Look Down

I walk out my door. This is what I see. And this is what I photograph.

(All photos are mine. 95% were taken within walking distance of my front door. Each was taken inside the city limits)

Heraclitus said no man can step in the same river twice. I would say no person can step in the same city twice. Have I changed or has the city? Perhaps it’s just a change in the weather.

Some days I see details. Some days I see the sunset. Art. Activism. Beauty. Decay.

Some days I might channel Christopher Morley, sit on a park bench and notice the exact same things he did 120-years ago.

Other days I think of Lillian Boxfish when she said, “Any day you walk down a street and find nothing new but nothing missing counts as a good day in a city you love. People are forever tearing something down, replacing something irreplaceable.”

(“Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk: A Novel,” written by Kathleen Rooney)

Demolition. It’s everywhere. Sometimes empty lots remain. And sometimes horrible replacement “architecture” appears. What’s worse?

Below are several more galleries featuring photos I have taken, which, over time, seem to illustrate the ephemeral nature of city living.