Some Days and Some Places are Just More Inspiring than Others

I've felt a certain photographer's block for the past month - images just didn't manifest for me and what I saw didn't translate to what was captured.  I've come to find that the largest discrepancy between what I see and what my camera sees generally occurs when the lighting is poor.  My favored light is just natural sunlight - it's not too yellow and not too blue, both of which just mercilessly  flatten interesting contrasts and focal points.  Part of it was also due to the fact that I've been busy in suburban paradise (hell?) lately and the cookie cutter nature with tract housing isn't exactly conducive to interesting photos.

In any case, when I found out I needed to travel for work, I immediately took the opportunity to tack on a side trip to Philadelphia to practice looking for interesting subjects.  I've never been to Philadelphia before, so I took the opportunity to learn some Jeopardy-esque factoids:

• The city is actually quite literally called "Brotherly Love," from the Greek philos (loving) and adelphos (brother). 
• It's the 5th most populous city in the United States, behind New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.  Also fun factoid, I've now been to all Top 5 cities.
• Founded by William Penn, a Quaker, as a colony of religious tolerance.  Despite having a charter from the British, he actually bought land from the local native tribes to maintain their good will, which actually helped the colony flourish more quickly than others during the time.
• Best known regional foods include the cheesesteak and soft pretzels - largely from German influence and roots.

Of course, as luck would have it, I ended up in Philly amidst the federal government shutdown, which meant that every national park operated landmark (i.e. Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the homes of Edgar Allan Poe and Betsy Ross) were all closed and in some cases, barricaded.  To add insult to injury, it was raining, so I traipsed about negotiating an umbrella, a smart phone based map, and my actual camera.

Still, Philadelphia is a fascinating city with Old World and New World feel - I do love my Federal & Greek Revival architecture and in a city with the history of Philadelphia - these are intertwined with the newest and shiniest of high rises.  In some ways, that was a challenge - to capture the character of buildings without the noise of people, cars, and other buildings intruding on an otherwise interesting shot.  I wonder if long-time Philadelphians (or other big city dwellers) rush past these buildings and monuments because they're so everyday for them.

Photographically speaking, I think I made some real progress with this trip.  I actually shot many of the photos with a circular polarizing filter, which was moot since it was shrouded in a cloudy and drizzly haze the entire time I was there, but at least it protected my lens from the wet.  Also in the review time, I actually experimented with some digital editing to punch up the qualities of the photo like color and contrast to better evoke what I felt in the moment.  I'm sure there are purists out there who would argue that that digital manipulation and filters is cheating, but I would rebut that photography is about capturing the mood and visually interesting aspects of a scene.  After all, it's a form of art.  And even Ansel Adams, one of the photographic greats, was known for using filters and developing processes such as dodging and burning to enhance the mood of his images.

Contemplated jumping this barrier to the Liberty Bell (which is outside) until we saw a guard posted, probably to prevent us from doing just that.

So close, yet so far.  Focal B&W filter applied.

The Signer - to commemorate the courage of those who signed the Declaration of Independence
and put their names to their words.

Chinatown gate, with lomo effects applied.

The menu at Tommy DiNic's in the Reading Terminal Market

City Hall through the urban jungle

This T. Rex was animatronic, with a motion sensor - a fact I discovered when I went to take a shot and nearly dropped my camera when it roared at me and started moving.  I wonder if there was a hidden camera feed into the Academy of Natural Sciences... that would be amusing to watch because I was definitely startled.

Active Shooting Hours: 6
Review Hours: 4
Total Hours to Date: 70