Photographer rises with the sun to capture Philly at first light [photos]
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Penn's Landing: October 2, 2002 7:10 a.m. - Sunrise 6:57 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson / Philadelphia Inquirer)
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I-95 at Bridge Street: March 3, 2013 6:04 a.m. - Sunrise 6:30 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for NewsWorks)
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Philadelphia Museum of Art: July 12, 2004 6:12 a.m. - Sunrise 5:42 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for NewsWorks)
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30th Street Station: March 7. 2009 6:50 a.m. - Sunrise 6:24 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for NewsWorks)
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Bus Shelter, Lindberg Boulevard: October 12, 2004 7:25 a.m. - Sunrise 7:08 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for NewsWorks)
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Girard Avenue Trolley: March 4, 2017 6:59 a.m. - Sunrise 6:29 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for Newsworks)
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Philadelphia Navy Yard: June 13, 2017 6:16 a.m. - Sunrise 5:31 a.m. Jonathan Wilson for Newsworks)
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Benjamin Franklin Bridge: April 14, 2017 5:43 a.m. - Sunrise 6:24 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for Newsworks)
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Philadelphia Museum of Art: September 11, 2012 7:10 a.m. - Sunrise 6:38 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for Newsworks)
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Northern Liberties, St. John Neuman Way: May 9, 2017 5:43 a.m. - Sunrise 5:51 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for Newsworks)
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Trolley Tracks, Girard Avenue: March 5, 2017 6:49 a.m. - Sunrise 5:55 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for Newsworks)
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Market Frankford El: June 28, 2017 6:09 a.m. - Sunrise 5:34 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for Newsworks)
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Cira Center: July 17, 2017 6:22 a.m. - Sunrise 5:46 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for Newsworks)
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Market Frankford El: June 28, 2017 5:36 a.m. - Sunrise 5:34 a.m. (Jonathan Wilson for Newsworks)
Early morning, an hour before and after sunrise, provides wonderful lighting opportunities. Sometimes it’s ethereal, sometimes mysterious, and often it’s inspirational.
Throughout my career as a photojournalist, I eagerly accepted early-morning assignments. No assignment was too early.
Early morning, an hour before and after sunrise, provides wonderful lighting opportunities. Sometimes it’s ethereal, sometimes mysterious, and often it’s inspirational — a promise of things to come. More often than not, this light would be one of the defining elements of my photographs.
For 15 years, I have been shooting photographs during that two-hour slice of time at the crack of dawn for a project I call “First Light.”
The inspiration for my “First Light” project came while I was on working on a Philadelphia Inquirer assignment about the future of Penn’s Landing.
I have always found it challenging to make dramatic images of Penn’s Landing. I tried vantage points from both sides of the river, from the Ben Franklin Bridge, from a helicopter hovering above the river. Still, I lacked a defining image.
Since the story was about the future of Penn’s Landing, I thought perhaps a sunrise would provide this missing element.
At the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing, a compass is embedded in the floor of the amphitheater. As I prepared to take my shot — crouched on the ground by the compass at sunrise — serendipitously, a jogger began crossing the frame of the viewfinder. I instantly knew I had the image I needed.
As an optimist, I have viewed my life through the lens of future possibilities, and dawn is the metaphor that matches my outlook.
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