NEW: Germantown Noir
While in law school in the mid-1970's I was a free lance photographer for the Germantown Courier. Around 1976, I took a walk on Germantown Avenue from Market Square with it's classic Civil War Memorial, to Town Hall, the legendary Germantown High School and the Farmers Market, where Lancaster County farmers sold their meat and produce. The Route 23 trolley ran along Germantown Avenue, which was paved with belgian blocks.
The trolleys stopped running in 1992. The Germantown Courier is defunct. Germantown High School has closed. The Germantown Republican Club founded in 1888 on Chelten Avenue has evaporated. Town Hall, once a City office building, is empty. The Farmers Market has disappeared. Only the belgian blocks and the unused trolley tracks remain.
A block or so north of Chelten Avenue and about half a mile north of the Deshler-Morris House where President Washington lived during 1793-1794, this block could be a scene from the David Goodis noir novel "Black Friday" which was set in Germantown in the early 1950's.
On May 28, 2025, I rode the bus past Lipman's Army and Navy store. Forty-nine years after I took this photograph, the store is still there. It is the width of three row houses, with a red, white and blue sign. The pawn shop balls are gone.
I printed this image for the first time in May 2025.
Young Men of Germantown circa 1976
The Germantown community in Philadephia was founded by 13 Quaker families from Crefeld, Germany in 1683. In 1688, their Quaker Meeting issued the first petition in the future United States calling for the abolition of slavery. Germantown's life as an independent municipality ended in 1854 when the 28 municipalities in Philadelphia County were consolidated into the City of Philadelphia. Nevertheless Germantown has maintained a distinct identity, tradition and state of mind. Some areas of Germantown are an upscale suburb, other parts are countercultural, and a few spots are noir.
In May 2025, I printed this image for the first time.
These resolute young men---how did their lives play out? What were their successes and triumphs? I never learned their names. Where are they today?
The Class of 76
These stylish young men were standing on the steps of Germantown High School. Their pose could be a page out of their senior year book. Calling upon my 2025 perspective, I concluded that they could have been the political machine that dominated the student government.
In May 2025, I printed this image for the first time.
Printing in silouette adds mystery and shields their identity. Where are they today?
NEW: An image from the crypt
In 1976, I attended the Temple Law School summer program in Jerusalem. The world was different then. No Facebook, no texting, no smartphones, no faxes. Telephone calls to America were costly. Air mail from America took about 10 days to arrive in Jerusalem.
I took this photograph on a commerical street on the Jewish side of Jerusalem.
On the left side of the court yard is a sign for a synagogue. Upstairs is a jewelry store and carpet and furniture store.
The Halide Project
Nearly 49 years later, in February 2025, I printed this photograph at the community darkroom of The Halide Project. A different world emerged from the chemical trays.
Old tech is back.
New: My restart in photography
Suddenly it is 1959
On Thanksgiving Day 2023, my collaborator and I got off the Route 53 bus at Wayne Avenue and Berkley Street. I looked to the left and spotted two blocks to our east this restored 1959 Chevrolet Impala, painted fire engine red. Meet the owner "Will" who runs a detail shop. Clearly this car is his baby. Note how he places his fingers on the car. This car never looked this good when it came out of the factory. Compare its radical design with the contemporary cars in the background. The picture was taken with my Minolta SRT-101 (purchased in 1970) with a 28 millimeter lens and Kodak Tri-X film. After the shoot, we walked to the Wayne Junction train station and proceeded to our destinaton. This car is a classic---fresh and crisp after 60 years
The Halide Project
I thought my photographic life was running down. My films lacked contrast and my prints lacked zip. I joined The Halide Project in Philadelphia which conducts lectures, exhibits and maintains a community darkroom. Emphasis is on traditional processes, including black and white film photography. I learned the critical value of exact temperatures and timing. My darkroom skills are back!
Standing tall at Wayne and Berkeley
Thanksgiving Day 2023
Adventures in black, white and silver.
