New Woodmere exhibit displays the Wissahickon’s ‘natural charm’

For many, the glory of Philadelphia is its ability to be urban within a landscape of nature and wildlife.

In spring, summer and fall the grounds of Fairmount Park and the Wissahickon Creek are full of runners, bikers, picnickers and explorers.

Come the colder months, these spaces seem reserved for winter warriors, but for anyone who is missing the trickle of the creek or the ducks and geese in the ponds, can head to the latest exhibition at Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill.

“Wissahickon: A Photographic Journal,” which opened at Woodmere last month features 24 breathtaking photographs of the Wissahickon captured by 10 local photography students and enthusiasts.

The photographs focus on encapsulating the changing light of fall and were shot over the course of a two-day workshop. Professional photographers Ron Tarver and Rob Graham led the fall workshop at Woodmere and are curating the exhibition.

Tarver, who currently teaches at Swarthmore College, worked as a staff photographer at the Philadelphia Inquirer for over 30 years. In 2012 he was the joint recipient of the Pulitzer Prize at the Inquirer for his work on a series documenting school violence in the Philadelphia public school system.

Graham has been an instructor at the Princeton Photography Club since 2013. 

“Wissahickon: A Photographic Journal” is running in conjunction with an exhibition on landscape artist Walter Elmer Schofield, whose many paintings include scenes of the Wissahickon.

Hildy Tow, curator of education at Woodmere, said the exhibition is a wonderful collaboration of artists that showcases the natural beauty of the Philadelphia area.

“The Wissahickon Valley was chosen as subject matter as it is one of Philadelphia’s most beautiful and dramatic landscapes, where people spend many hours walking, hiking and enjoying its natural charms,” Tow said.

“It reveals Philadelphia’s evolution from its early industrial mills to the urban paradise we know today.”

“Wissahickon: A Photographic Journal” is open through March 15 at the Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Ave.