Hometown Notes

Hometown Notes is a study of the City of Philadelphia, using photography as a way of sketching and note-taking.

The series has developed over time through repeated encounters with recurring forms and materials: plastic flowers, columns, structural bracing, barriers, windows and doors. These elements—often weathered, fractured, or patched—speak to both physical support and vulnerability, reflecting the layered histories embedded in the city’s built environment.

Columns and bracing appear repeatedly, suggesting a fragile holding-together, where structures strain to remain upright. Barriers, both permanent and makeshift, block or redirect movement—whether in the form of boarded entrances, patched openings, or temporary repairs. Windows and doors serve as points of both access and restriction, offering glimpses into spaces that remain obscured or closed off, reinforcing a sense of distance or partial visibility.

Material surfaces—chipped stucco, rough concrete, oxidized metal, and distorted plastic—further revealing cycles of repair and neglect. These textures bear marks of time and use, turning ordinary architectural details into markers of care, erosion, and adaptation.

The photographs are arranged chronologically, in keeping with the project’s diaristic nature, with each image building on the next as patterns slowly emerge. This sequencing underscores how the process of photographing reveals connections over time, as motifs and forms repeat and shift. As I continue documenting Philadelphia, where I was born and raised, the work remains rooted in close observation, shaped by the structures and materials that define the city’s evolving landscape.