During the 1970s and 1980s I enjoyed walking around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I lived at the time, and around many other places, snapping photos with my Kodak Pocket Instamatic of whatever caught my eye. I took a lot of family photos too. I haven’t looked at most of those pictures in . . . forever. Save for a relative few, they reside, way too many unlabeled, inside a large box or two or three somewhere in my house. The attic, most likely. I’d do well to locate and gaze at the pix. Who knows what good memories they’d bring back? Yeah, one of these days I’m going to get off my lazy ass and do just that. One of these days.
Anyway, fast forward to the tail end of 2015, which is when I purchased my first smart phone. Man, after 25 or more years of not being involved with photography — my wife Sandy had assumed the photographic duties — I took to the phone’s camera like Donald Trump takes to undermining democracy. In no time I was having fun shooting digital pictures and marveling at how easy the camera was to use.
And I couldn’t have been happier that the phone dated each shot and listed information about where the picture was taken. Even better, the photographs had no desire to leave the confines of their cozy quarters within the phone. They wouldn’t even consider wandering off to the f*cking attic or anywhere else. I love them for that, because I drop by now and then to take a look.
Like many of us, I’ve shot a large number of digital photos. Documenting our lives on a semi-regular basis isn’t the worst idea in the world, right? A recent stroll through my iPhone’s photo library revealed that my button-pressing fingers were pretty busy during the first six months of 2023, for instance, as roughly 250 photographs from that period are stored there. Being in a jolly mood at the moment, I’ve decided to bestow immortality upon six of those pix that I especially like, one from each month (I did the same thing last year). They are included in this story, and haven’t appeared in Yeah, Another Blogger before. Scads of worthy photos are not pleased about being snubbed, however. I have this to say to them: “Tough shit! Nobody ever said that life is fair.”
I didn’t venture very far from home during the months in question. The photos herein, therefore, are restricted to the Philadelphia suburbs, which has been my home base since 2005, and to Philadelphia itself. And now a few words about two of the pictures.
I’ve witnessed numerous sunsets in my time, most of them in areas blessed with natural beauty, such as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. My town doesn’t come close to matching that description. However, my hilly neighborhood is good for sunset-watching from certain high points, like the one that is half a block from my front door. The view of the sky is nicely open there, not obscured by many houses or trees. One early evening in February I ventured out, and 15 seconds later was admiring a sunset whose yellows, oranges, pinks and greys, all delicate as feathers, made my day. A beautiful sight it was.
And on a May morning I headed to Willow Grove Park Mall, an enclosed space not much more than a hop, skip and jump from my abode. I occasionally go there to engage in a cardio workout, walking the mall’s avenues and byways at a good clip. Such was the reason for my visit that day.
Hoofing around the mall’s second level, I approached a GAP clothing store. The posters in its windows always have impressed me, touching as they do on the positive aspects of the human condition. During the May walk, one of the GAP posters brought me up short. After staring at it for a few seconds I whipped out my phone. There was no way I was not going to photograph the poster, because its depiction of parental love was more vivid and pure than any I’d ever seen. His arms wrapped around his baby, a young father could not be more certain of his role in life than he is at that moment. Love radiates from him in gentle waves. He’s the luckiest guy in the world. And he knows it.
Yeah, Another Blogger 
“I took to the phone’s camera like Donald Trump takes to undermining democracy.” LOL. I nearly spit out my coffee on that one, Neil. Then you had my heart filling up with that tender photo of the young dad. Oh, that’s a beauty. Thanks for sharing your photos. Click away, my friend.
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Hi. Trump’s almost the worst (Putin is worse), and he refuses to go away.
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Neither of them will go away. It’s terrifying that those two men have power over the lives of millions.
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Sorry it’s taken me so long to get here. All I can say is life is EXTREMELY hectic right now. OK, that said, I enjoyed your photo tour both visually and written. Also nice, the bit about you trekking through Philly as a “young thang” in the ’70s and ’80s when cameras had f-stops and life was not virtual.
One last note re: The Gap store’s window: “The posters in its windows always have impressed me, touching as they do on the positive aspects of the human condition.” “The human condition”–a phrase largely known only to literature and philosophy majors. Which one were you?
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Neither. I majored in psychology. Not sure why!
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I should have included psychology (my dual major)–it fits “the human condition” way of expressing our experience.
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Love these photos! I’m enjoying taking pictures more often these days. It’s fun to see what you can capture in the moment. Cheers!
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“It’s fun to see what you can capture in the moment.” — perfectly said.
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A lovely gallery. I especially like your commentary on the father in the last picture. I too find joy in taking photos, even though only a handful merit sharing or keeping around.
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Hi. I wonder how many people in the world count photography as one of their hobbies. Close to a billion, I suppose. Maybe more.
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Everyone takes photos these days. I came to it as an art form, another experiment in my art explorations.
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I love all of images of this Flower Show. Thanks for sharing this idea. Anita
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Thanks, Anita. Take care.
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“I took to the phone’s camera like Donald Trump takes to undermining democracy.” That has got to be the funniest line you’ve ever written. I’m still chuckling.
And, hey, I love love love love this phone/camera invention thing. I won’t tell you how many pics are stored on mine. Yikes. But I feel ya.
Thanks for posting your pics. I enjoyed them all.
Summer blessings!
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Hello Linda. No mess, no fuss — two reasons why smart phone cameras are great.
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A lovely set of photographs, and you are right about the one of man with baby. It offers up love and joy. Thank you.
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Hi, and thanks for stopping by. The father-with-baby poster is a beauty. It really gets to me.
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That’s a beautiful photo, the one of the young father with his baby. Your description of it is perfect and moving.
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Many thanks. You know, I walked past that GAP store a few days ago. Sadly, that poster wasn’t there anymore.
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Excellent photos and terrific prose. I love the Trump reference. Philadelphia is a beautiful city to photograph. Our son lived on Chesnut Street, right next to Buffalo Billiards. I have a bunch of photos from when we would visit him.
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Hey there. Your son lived in a great part of the city. I love to walk around that area. So many very old houses. It’s a beautiful section of Philadelphia.
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Thank you for the virtual tour of Philadelphia. I’ve never been there, but maybe someday. All the photos were great, but my favorite is the sunset.
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Hi Mark. Good sunsets are among the best things in life, for sure. They are amazing, surreal, and inspiring.
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Beautiful photos and sharing! That reminds me my one year stay in Philly! A very historical and vibrant city indeed.
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Philadelphia has a lot going for it. It’s a fascinating place.
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Couldn’t agree more!🥳
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Isn’t it wonderful that we can enjoy the benefits of phone photography and how much it has transformed out way of remembering our precious moments, or recording something beautiful, or documents or other objects. l, Like you, and many others, have those boxes stashed away, rarely to be accessed, until we finally take a look and unfortunately discover how the images have deteriorated. I have had to scan my old photos, enhance/restore them with Photoshop and either print or store them in yet another type of box – one of my many external hard drives. Even those photos lovingly placed in photo albums were but a shadow of their former selves. I had to remove them from those acidic cellophane sleeves and throw away the albums. Even the box storage fared better. Scanning old photos is particularly useful for the very ancient photos, of previous generations. Somebody might be interested in the future, but they are probably more likely to delve into the old boxes than the hard drives, so printing them out is a good way to go!
BTW, I love the Trump analogy too!
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Hi Helene. Trump’s the worst. Well, not quite the worst. Putin is worse than Trump. And so is the guy from North Korea.
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Totally agree!
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What better way to remember your year and life than catching rare moments of joy or interest. Some people journal, but a photo can bring you right back so much faster.
As always, you know how to turn a phrase “I took to the phone’s camera like Donald Trump takes to undermining democracy.”
I love that you aren’t jaded by advertising. I’m sure most people wouldn’t have looked twice at that poster. I imagine you see yourself in that photo?
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Hi Alisen. I don’t have any kids. But that poster really got to me. It’s an amazing photo.
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