I miss these days...

I preferred jumping in them, but it still looks like fun.

Veterans

Lesson learned on this assignment, when you have a picture you like but a cluttered highway for a background, wait for a big red box truck to drive by to clean it up.

They'll be back

From eating Cosmi's hoagies outside Citizens Bank Park this summer to being there to photograph the team clinch the NL Pennant, and finally watching the final outs of 2009 surrounded by anguished friends at the South Philly Bar & Grill, it's been an incredible season. Thanks Phillies. The best is yet to come.

If God Be With Us, Who Could Be Against Us?

Down but Not Out

Fall Classic

Citizens Bank Park, World Series Game Four, Nov. 1, 2009

Rally Time

Man Down

Unfortunately, A-Rod was only stretching.

To the Victors...

Phillies clinch the National League Pennant, October 21, 2009

Werth Rising

Phillies v Dodgers, NLCS Game Five, October 21, 2009

Not in Mannywood Anymore

Phillies v Dodgers, NLCS Game Five, October 21, 2009

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Swarthmore, PA, October 25, 2009

Four More Please

Philadelphia Phillies v Los Angeles Dodgers, NLCS Game Five

Sportraits

Another installment in my ongoing quest to take better portraits.

Dirty Jobs

If you were stuck in traffic on Route 1 in Langhorne Monday, here's why. Amazingly, nobody was seriously hurt.

Cityview

Looking south on the Delaware River at the Philadelphia skyline from Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem.

On Top of the World

Some days it just all comes together: a beautiful day, a good assignment, the time to do it right, and a PR person whose only instructions are, "Do whatever you want." Those things don't all come together very often, but when they do, I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. So here are a few of my fav's from the XBox360 Tour's stop at Bucks County Technical High School.

Before it Gets Sunny in Philadelphia

A 5:30 a.m. Back on My Feet team meeting was a great excuse to take a walk around my South Philly neighborhood with my camera early this morning.












Italian Market


















Tenth and Washington














Peters Street

Assateague

Spent a great weekend camping with some friends in Assateague. A very cool place, especially for someone who is a sucker for a nice blue sky backdrop and has a new G10 to play with.

Rainy Grange Fair

Kids and umbrellas usually equal a good photo.

School's out Forever

While schools all over are springing back to life this week, the halls and classrooms of Saint Ann school in Bristol remain empty. The school where Sister Mary Donald spent much of her career as a teacher and principal was forced to close due to declining enrollment.

Exorcising the Demons

Since getting in to photography, the one word I've dreaded more than any other is "portrait." As soon as I read that on an assignment sheet, my hands would get clammy and the cold sweats would start. I dreaded the control of choosing the location, directing the subject, and don't even get me started on flash, which might as well have been a chunk of kryptonite in my camera bag(sound about right John Secoges?). I've worked hard to improve over the last few years, and I'm finally starting to be happy with the results. Suddenly, all the things I dreaded about portraits are now the things I love. I still have a ways to go with getting more creative, but it's exciting to feel like I'm making progress. With that, here are a couple of recent portraits that I liked.



























High school soccer goalie who got a full scholarship to play at Stanford.













This couple started their own business repairing and restoring vintage pinball machines. How cool is that?










This one was tough, shooting the owner of an auto repair shop with the waste oil furnace he runs using recycled oil.

Eye on the Sky

Piloting a remote-controlled plane at flight camp. Funny how a little thing like a hat can make a photo much more interesting.

Rule of Thirds

Thanks for the title Steve Gengler.

Into the Lion's Den

Public Service Announcement:

This is what you'll find waiting for you when you rip a bunch of people off, fake your own abduction and run off with your kid to Disney World. It's enough to scare anybody straight. I've now spent a total of eight hours sitting outside district court to spend about 4o seconds photographing Bonnie Sweeten, and all I can say is thank god for good company.

"Each Flag has a Name and a Face"

58,000 American servicemen were killed in the Vietnam War and more than 1,800 remain missing in action. More than 4,500 have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Vietnam vets Don Caruso(above) and Preston Creely(below) were two of the volunteers planting 65,000 flags in Falls Township in tribute to every one of these men and women.

I always enjoy assignments where I get to meet veterans because they've experienced things that give them a perspective most of us will never understand. When i got to this assignment I was pretty excited because hey, 65,000 flags in the ground means lots of cool visuals. I felt like an ass when Creely reminded me what they really mean. "Each flag has a name, and a face. It's good to see they're not being forgotten."