For Philly A-Z I started out trying to photograph food in the city, but then realized that there weren’t 26 staple foods in Philadelphia. So I decided to go to a staple “place” where food is sold. The Italian Market is a pretty common place to shoot, but I tried to stay away from the traditional food shots for the most part. I also went into a lot of the Mexican owned stores.

A is for asparagus, 9th and League Sts.

C is for cut pasta, 9th and Carpenter Sts.

D is for doll, 9th and Kimball Sts.

E is for espresso, 9th and Montrose Sts.

F is for fish heads, 9th and League Sts.

G is for graffiti, 9th and Kimball Sts.

H is for hats, 9th and Kimball Sts.

I is for Italian flag, 9th and Montrose Sts.

J is for Jewish apple cake, 9th and Montrose Sts.

K is for keikitos (madelines), 10th St. and Washington Ave.

L is for Lingua di Suocera pasta, 9th and Carpenter Sts.

M is for mosaic, 9th and Kimball Sts.

N is for neon sign, 9th and Kimball Sts.

O is for onions, 9th and League Sts.

P is for peppers, 9th and League Sts.

Q is for queso fresco, Clifton St. and Washington Ave.

R is for Rocky Balboa, 9th and Carpenter Sts.

S is for shopping carts, 9th and Kimball Sts.

T is for turkey, 9th and League Sts.

U is for unit calling card, 11th St. and Washington Ave.

V is for Villa di Roma, 9th and Carpenter Sts.

W is for wood fire, 9th and League Sts.

X is for Xtasis deodorant, Washington Ave and Alder Sts.

Y is for yellow roped provolone, 9th and Carpenter Sts.

Z is for Zote soap, 10th St. and Washington Ave.

I mapped Arch Street from Front Street to Schuylkill River Park. I tried to use varied angles and perspectives as a theme for my photographs.

Front and Arch Streets at 1:29

Between Front and Second Streets at 1:32

Second and Arch Streets at 1:36

Third and Arch Streets at 1:40

Fourth and Arch Streets at 1:42

Fifth and Arch Streets at 1:44

Sixth and Arch Streets at 1:46

Seventh and Arch Streets at 1:50

Eigth and Arch Streets at 1:55

Ninth and Arch Streets at 2:10

Hutchinson and Arch Streets at 2:15

Tenth and Arch Streets at 2:20

Eleventh and Arch Streets at 2:25

Twelfth and Arch Streets at 2:28

Thirteenth and Arch Streets at 2:35

Juniper and Arch Streets at 2:39

Between Thirteenth and Broad Streets at 2:43

Fifteenth and Arch Streets at 2:50

Sixteenth and Arch Streets at 2:53

Arch and the Parkway at 2:59

Seventeenth and Arch Streets at 3:01

Eigtheenth and Arch Streets at 3:03

Nineteenth and Arch Streets at 3:07

Twentieth and Arch Streets at 3:10

Twenty-first and Arch Streets at 3:12

Twenty-second and Arch Streets at 3:15

Twenty-third and Arch Streets at 3:17

The Schuylkill River Park at 3:20

Megan Ronning

1. Megan Ronning, age 22, from Yardley, PA has been coming to Boat House Row to run for five years. She has lived outside of Philadelphia her entire life. She runs from the Art Museum area to Manayunk, which is between 6 and 8 miles according to Megan. She runs five days a week and has participated in half marathons. She is preparing right now for her first full marathon. She says that Philadelphia is “ A really historic city—there’s a lot of really nice parts and nice places to eat. There is a lot of cultural diversity, it was one of the first big cities, and people from Philadelphia are very passionate about their sports.” She doesn’t like “driving on 76 because of all the traffic—people can be very nasty on the roads here.”

Zuly Vera

2. Zuly Vera, age 26 is from Venezuela and just recently moved here in the past few months. She is a massage therapist and enjoys living “in a fast paced city that’s old and has good people.” She dislikes the way “that Philadelphia is culturally divided—Italians on one side, Albanians on the other, etc.”

Eriona Nacollari

3. Eriona Nacollari, age 22 is from Albania and has been living in Philadelphia for eight years. She likes that “life here is so fast paced and that people are friendly.” She also points out that while people are friendly, “there are a lot of racial tensions between ethnicities.”

Shane Brengde

4. Shane Brengde, age 24 is from San Diego, California and has been living here for six months. He just started going to Temple’s Law School and he likes “it a lot—I really like that it’s so easy to get around without a car, everything is so close together.” Shane feels that “there is a large gap between rich and poor people, in terms of physical space.”

Maureen Spring

6. Maureen Spring, age 23 has also been living in Philadelphia for a year and a half and enjoys “the nightlife in Philly, but it’s really dirty and there are too many bums.”

Michelle Horton

7. Michelle Horton, age 19 from Yardley, PA has been living in Philadelphia for four months. “I like the culture and entertainment are within ten minutes of anywhere you are in the city,” she says. She came here for school and dislikes nothing about Philly.

Tina Clark

8. Tina Clark, age 20 from Fairless Hills, PA has lived there her entire life. She likes “the close proximity of things” and doesn’t dislike anything about Philly.

Breanne O'Neill

9. Breanne O’Neill, age 20 from Yardley, PA has been living here for a year and enjoys Philadelphia’s “exciting and busy atmosphere.” She says “there is too much pollution.”

Rebecca Heaps

10. Rebecca Heaps, age 19 has been living here for two years and attends Moore College of Art for fashion design. “ I love being so close to all the museums, but I don’t like all the traffic and how crowded everything is. I’m from a rural area so it’s not natural for me.”

Allison Berry

11. Allison Berry, age 20 has lived here for two years and attends Moore College of Art for illustration. “Everything is so easy to get to, especially compared to NYC or D.C.” she says, “I really don’t like how busy the Parkway is.”

Tom Van-Curren

12. Tom Van-Curren, age 20 is from Haddonfield, NJ and he says he loves “everything about Philadelphia and there’s nothing I dislike about it.”

Here is a map of my journey through the city:

Court House in Washington Square facing the NE near 4th and Walnut Streets. 1859, unknown.

Court House, 2009

Lit Brothers, NE corner of 8th and Market Sts. 1898, unknown.

Lit Brothers, 2009

Market Street at 12th, facing west towards City Hall. 1907, John Gibb Smith

Market Street, 2009

St. Mark's Church 16th and Locust Streets. Date and photographer unknown.

St. Mark's, 2009

Weightman Mansion, 18th Street and Rittenhouse Square. 1865, unknown.

18th Street and Rittenhouse Square, 2009

Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul 18th Street at Logan Square. 1902, unkown.

Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul, 2009

Rodin Garden, date and photographer unknown.

Rodin Museum, 2009

View of the city from the Philadelphia Museum of Art date and photographer unknown.

View of Philadelphia, 2009

Logan Square date and photographer unknown

Logan Circle, 2009

15th and Market Streets date and photographer unknown

15th and Market, 2009