Saturday, January 28, 2006

8 people in Rittenhouse Square

It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon in Rittenhouse Square. I was physically ready with my camera and a pad of paper. Mentally, there were a lot of thoughts going on in my head. I looked at this assignment simply as a chance to meet new people. The warm sunny day made people more open to the idea of submitting their soul to me for five minutes. Everyone seemed to forget it was January.

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meet: Leonard
Leonard has been living in Philadelphia for 10 years. Residing particularly in South Philadelphia, Leonard comes to Rittenhouse Square on nice days to sit and play chess with anyone who wants to play with him. "North Philly," he said, "is my favorite part and my least favorite part. It's both good and bad."

meet:Darnelle
Darnelle Radford, 25, has lived in Philadelphia for 6 years. Darnelle is an Artistic Director for a Theater Company called Representative Theater Company. His favorite part about Rittenhouse Square is the fact that it's a big piece of nature and a big piece of history. When asked about his least favorite part about the Square, he replied, "
Although I'm a part of it, it would have to be the trendiness of it." To learn more about Darnelle and his Theater Company visit http://www.represented.org.





meet:Kim and Sydney
Kim Tremblay, 35, has lived in Philadelphia for 5 years. She and her daughter, Sydney, 9 months, came to Rittenhouse Square to sit in the sun and play in the grass. Kim, a professor at University of Pennsylvania, said, "My favorite part are the zalias that come in the spring time."

meet:
Wesley
Wesley Emmoms, 78, has been a resident of Philadelphia for 54 years. He particularly enjoys sitting at one bench and watches people come by. "At night," he started, "I sit and watch the pretty lights in the trees. At day I watch the girls." He also enjoys the one bench because it's directly across the street from Curtis Music Hall. According to him, He has been to Curtis 2500 times for the free shows. When asked about what his least favorite part about Rittenhouse Square he responded, "Some jerk sits down across from me and mouths off at the police."


meet:Lauren
Lauren Rex, 23, has lived in Philadelphia for 5 years. She currently is an employee at Daffy's and works on designing window displays. Today, she came to Rittenhouse Square to read and people watch.


meet:Ben
Ben Zuckerman, 64, has lived in Philadelphia for 6 years. He is a lawyer and enjoys photography as a hobby. Today, he comes to Rittenhouse to smoke a cigar and enjoy the nice weather. He lives on a nearby corner and considers the Square to be his own front yard. When asked about his favorite and least favorite part about the park he responded, "My favorite part is the mix of people who enjoy it (the park) and use it. My least favorite are the people who leave trash."


meet:
FrankFrank porter, 56, has been living in Philadelphia for most of his life. He works as a painter for business buildings and workplaces. Today, he comes to Rittenhouse after a long day of work. "Rittenhouse is nice, relaxing. You can meet people, if that's what you want to do." When asked what his least favorite part about the park he responded, "I Like it. I really like it. There is no bad part about it. People come down, mind their own business and enjoy themselves. It's very nice."

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Chinatown: Past & Present

A view looking east near Hutchinson street in the Chinatown section of Philadelphia. The Ben Franklin Bridge is visible in the distance. Taken April 20th, 1978.The same view of Chinatown, looking towards the Ben Franklin Bridge. Taken January 22nd, 2006.

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The corner of 10th and Race streets in the Chinatown section of Philadelphia. Taken August 11th, 1970.
The corner of 10th and Race Streets in Chinatown is busy with activity on a Sunday afternoon. Taken January 22nd, 2006.

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Image of the Chinese Christian Church in the Chinatown area of Philadelphia. Taken November 12, 1969.

The same view of the Chinese Christian Church in Chinatown. Taken January 22nd, 2006.

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A Pagoda shaped roof on a telephone booth on Race Street in Philadelphia's Chinatown. Taken July 3rd, 1969.
The telephone booth with the Pagoda shaped roof. Taken January 22nd, 2006.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Philadelphia, Past and Present: The Experience

Shooting this afternoon was really interesting. Being able to see the changes of the places I've picked from the 1960s to now is amazing. You ever watch a movie and they warp time? The experience felt a little something like that; something movie-like.

I've never shot through the eyes of another photographer before. By doing this assignment I was able to figure out where the photographer was exactly in order to produce the photo. I was able to figure out what lenses were used with what angle and at what time of day. All of it was really interesting.

Photos to be posted soon. Stay tuned.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Children of the Philippines


QUEZON CITY, Philippines -- A little boy named Kenneth stands in front of a protest line in fight of low wages and long working hours. The workers of Peni-J make bookbags.



TARLAC, Philippines -- A little boy stands in front of a memorial site at Hacienda Luisita, a 6,300 hectare farm land where workers have been protesting for over 13 months against unjust working conditions. On November 4th, 2004, 7 people were killed, 72 wounded, and 110 were arrested in a protest that consisted of 6,000 farm workers.
BANAUE, Philippines -- Ifugao children sing words of thanks for a donation of school books, writing utensils, and toys.

TARLAC, Philippines -- The children of Hacienda Luisita eat the flowers grown on the farmland. Sugarcane is the crop that is mostly grown in this area.QUEZON CITY, Philippines -- Filipino youth give the middle finger to the Americans.

PAKIL/LAGUNA, Philippines -- Three children of Pakil Laguna, Mike, Jack, and Colin, cool off in a sewer drain connected to a nearby community pool. The three used the sewer as a slide.
PAKIL/LAGUNA, Philippines -- These girls gave me three thumbs up.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Documentary Photography

This is my first post.