Manic Sunday - The Art Life

 For almost 4 years I've been documenting my Chestnut Hill neighborhood both day and night. There's been a few months here and there where I didn't see anything worth photographing but that's to be expected in a suburban type environment of about 5 square miles. There was a time I would get upset if not taking photos for days at a time but not anymore, it's just part of the process. It took me a couple of years but I have a firm grasp of what I want to accomplish with this project as well as my nighttime black and white photos of "Sleepwalking". What's ironic is that this urban photographer has now spent more time documenting his suburban neighborhood than he did of anything in the city. From the first couple of days of moving here in 2018 I was out taking photos and became so interested in this type of suburban surroundings that I wanted to use a different color pallet in my photography. I ended up developing an Adobe Lightroom filter that somewhat mimics the discontinued Kodak Kodachrome film that I grew up with.

I applaud those that move into a neighborhood an assimilate into it instead of trying to completely destroy the character the brought people here in the first place. The restoration of this old home is what I would like to see more of.

Sometimes living in Chestnut Hill I forget that I'm still in Philadelphia. But then reality comes crashing down when you see the destruction of a great stone building for more trendy apartments or townhomes. Keep Chestnut Hill a village and leave the homogenization to center city.

Another day, another watercolor painting. I'm really enjoying making these as they also clear my mind of the clutter of photography that can build up.

Yes, more snapshots from Bob's Diner. I now find myself going here more over other diners and it has everything to do with the great staff, great food and great untouched atmosphere. The only thing missing is night hours but good luck in finding a real 24 hour diner anymore. While I do want snapshots from at least dozen or more different diners my interest keeps bringing me back to Bob's/