What do you expect, the Ritz Carlton? (sorry) Click to enlarge:
Underground Entrance to the Ritz Carlton
Underground
Filed under Photo, Underground
Suburban Station and the underground network of rooms, tunnels and corridors below center city Philly is a great place for photos. Yes, the light is about as bad as it can be and I run the risk of being mistaken for some kind of terrorist (photos are technically legal, but so is being questioned for having a camera) but opportunities for interesting photos are everywhere.
In the past week, I’ve taken a dozen promising shots and will continue taking photos down there until I’ve got something I’ve never done before… created a body of work with a clear and consistent theme. Here’s a flute player who practices in a lonely stairwell. Many more to come. Click to enlarge:
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Early Christians
One thing that fascinates me is early Christians. Long before the religion went triple platinum in the 5th Century, Christians were a strange little Mediterranean cult. On the Greek Island Milos, just a few steps from where the Venus de Milo was found is a 1st century Christian Catacomb. If you’re ever on Milos, it’s worth a visit. Click to enlarge:
Milos Catacombs
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Milos Catacombs
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Milos Catacombs
50% Nutter
Remember when people line up around City Hall for a chance to shake the new Mayor’s hand? Those days are long, long over.
I’m not going to get much into how I feel about the man. From what I can tell, he’s an intelligent man with a good sense of humor and a horrible job. I like the guy and think he was largely dealt a bad hand. With that said, he’s not without his (sometimes serious) flaws. I’ll leave it at that. In honor of the 50% mark of Nutter’s first term, here are a few slightly more interesting photos from the various photo-ops I’ve covered since he took office. Click to enlarge:
Philadelphians wait in line outside City Hall to shake the new Mayor's hand. The line extended around the square block building.
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The mayor responds to throngs of reporters in his first public statement after the shooting of Police Sargent Stephen Liczbinski
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The Mayor examines a proud student's artwork.
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Nutter Speaks in the City Hall Courtyard in late 2009
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Nutter Bends
Northern California Around Now
If I didn’t have the photos, I wouldn’t believe my memory of this place. This is what the countryside of Northern California looks like this time of year. Click to enlarge:
Sunol Regional Wilderness, December 30th, 2006
Merry Christmas From Leather Santa
Happy Holidays from the nicest, combat boot and leather motorcycle vest wearing Santa you’ll ever meet at City Hall. Rock on Philly:
Horrible Place: Snow
Once, long ago I lived in a poorly maintained apartment. To help produce a more vivid understanding of it, here’s the story of the toilet:
Just before I moved in, the guy who lived above my future home died on his toilet. Because he had no friends or loved ones, no one found him until he started to smell. The maintenance guys had to scrub his melted skin off the porcelain.
A few weeks later my new neighbor moved in. When employed he worked at a wawa, radioshack or on the overnight shift at a center city parking lot. He got fired a lot. Eventually he was unemployed for too long and was forcibly evicted.
In preparation, he stashed all his female body building porno videos and magazines in my hall closet. The closet was right below the death toilet. Soon after, the toilet broke and poured gallons of raw sewage into the closet and into my apartment. Repair took a couple of weeks.
And that’s the story of the toilet. Why do I bring this up? Because this evening I found a picture of the hallway of that apartment. I took this whimsical photo during the 24″ blizzard of 2003. As beautiful as this was, I had no heat at the time so my memory is kind of bittersweet. Here’s to a better blizzard in ‘09:
Click to enlarge
Midnight Basketball
Actually this was shot at a quarter after 5, but still. Click to enlarge:
Philadelphia
Santorini Volcano
People walk along the caldera of the volcano that shaped the Western World. Click to enlarge:
Santorini Volcano
