Posted on June 29, 2016 by Tony Ward
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Light Table: Cooling Off Summer of 1975
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It was the summer of 1975. I was a sophomore in college. During my studies I fell in love with the medium of photography. It would become a lifelong passion that led to a career as a professional photographer and more recently as an educator of the medium. I’ve been teaching in the Photography department at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design, since 2010.
During the 1970’s, I always had my Nikon F2 on me ready for an opportunity to shoot in black and white, so that I could enjoy the immediacy of being able to develop the film myself in any light tight – dark place – that I could find. During one of my photographic sojourns I came across this street image of teenagers playing near the Roosevelt Blvd, in my hometown of Philadelphia. I suppose I possessed the confrontational skills needed to get such an arresting shot of young men allowing me to photograph them while they were illegally playing at a fire hydrant. The photograph captured a happy time to be alive on a hot and humid day in Philadelphia.
Editor’s Note: To see more of the early photographs by Tony Ward during the 1970’s go here: http://tonyward.com