Seeing Chestnut Hill Differently

 In the four and a half years I've lived in Chestnut Hill I have embarked on several photographic projects beginning on the very first day. Actually I've taken more photos of my new neighborhood than I have of my former Old City neighborhood in over 25 years ! None of the Chestnut Hill bodies of work resemble each other and it shows that as an artist you have to be open to seeing the same things differently. Color, black and white, day, night, flash will each force it's own personality onto the subject. 

 My first completed subject was of old rooftop analog tv antennas. Much like my "Tune In Philadelphia" typologies from 2008 this single very large typology shows the last 25 remaining antennas in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood. In the three years since I completed this 18 of those 25 antennas have already been removed mostly due to the large amount of New Yorkers that have moved here and doing complete renovations of these great old homes.

                                                                Tune In Chestnut Hill - FINISHED

   My next endeavor was to document the neighborhood at night after people have come home from work, the business closed, and the children doing homework. After a couple of weeks the David lynch fan in me began to wonder what was really happening behind those closed doors and curtains. That alone was enough to fuel this small body of work for almost four years. When I first began I was photographing in color until I noticed that there wasn't much real color at all and decided to switch to black and white. This project came to a grinding halt once the city replace the low warm glow of the street lights to high intensity LED bulbs. With more home owners switching to these nighttime killing bulbs the feeling of the neighborhood at night completely changes.

                                                                  Sleepwalking - FINISHED

   After a couple of false starts I began taking photos of the neighborhood durning the day and in color. Being a city boy it took me a little awhile to acclimate to my new suburban like surroundings. Yes, Chestnut Hill is in Philadelphia but it's very different than the post industrial/wholesale neighborhood where I spent the prior 25 years. There is actually a very old book on Chestnut Hill titled "Suburbs In The City" and my photos are based on it. While my work on this project has greatly slowed I consider myself to be on hiatus from it rather than stating that it's finished.

                                                            Suburbs In The City - HIATUS

  Not all projects are meant to succeed and sometimes it can be your fault.....kind of. I began taking square photos in the strip mall parking lot across the street from my house. After cutting thru it's parking lot I began to notice some of the interesting garbage that people left behind. After I took a couple dozen photos I began an Instagram page devoted to this parking lot ephemera but little did I know how big of a mistake that was. The corporation that owns the strip mall seen the photos which made them quickly step up their efforts to keep it clean and with in two weeks there was nothing left to photograph. I fucking hate social media.

                                                    Parking Lot Ephemera - CANCELLED

   Last Summer I was in need of something new to photograph in the neighborhood which can be tough because most of the wealthy residents pack up and go to their vacation homes. After taking a few long walks in the Wissahickon Park it finally dawned on me that I should be documenting a diving hole called Devil's Pool which is located in a very remote corner of my neighborhood. I'm not going to get into the very long history of Devil's Pool and it's more recent controversy but it's worth looking into. My first day taking photos I was photographing in color but after trying to edit those photos I decided that black and white was the right way to go. I plan to resume this project most likely in June when the weather and the water are warm enough for the people to return.

                                                Devil's Pool - ON GOING (June - September) 

At this time I think it's time for something new and I think I have an idea. I want to do something a little more loose, something more of a snapshot aesthetic....and with flash. While I haven't worked out all the details such as if this is a daytime, nighttime or both project. What exactly will I be photographing even though I'm leaning towards documenting fragments of things and scenes that most in the area wouldn't give a second look to or choose to ignore. What I am pretty sure of is that I'll be using the same low megapixel compact camera that I take to Bob's Diner except with a big external flash.

                                                               Flash - COMING SOON