Stories & Series

Some of my favorite stories and photographic series

Fear not the rain…

We’ve had a lot of storms and rain lately, and Philadelphians are probably relieved to see sunshine on the forecast. While I like the sun, I’m always a little bit surprised to see how upset people can be by rain. I was recently shooting in Manayunk, where we had a storm roll through our outdoor…

A prison visit… [sort of]

Here’s a story about trying to support a friend who was incarcerated. The system seems pretty broken; I’m grateful to those who are working to fix it…

Walk AROUND Philadelphia

The beginning of an epic pilgrimage around the city’s perimeter. Here’s the story of our first day on the walk…

Shale Gas Outrage

That’s Dana Dolney. Those breasts of hers are fake. I first met Dana in the airport in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, back in 2002, long before her battle with breast cancer. I was thrilled to see her back in good health, joining the throng of citizens in the streets of Philadelphia for last week’s Shale Gas Outrage,…

Swirls

Explorations of abstract forms…

Why do we compete?

Two interesting experiences from this weekend that I’d like to share: I spent Saturday evening onstage at the Kimmel Center, acting as a judge in Southeast Philadelphia Collaborative‘s talent show. While I’d originally been asked to act as a judge for the visual arts exhibit, I ended up being roped into judging the performance component…

Lessons from a “failed” Kickstarter

$38,000+ pledged disappeared overnight. Here are a few reflections on the campaign, lessons that I learned, and what might come next.

Invisible River – preview!

An amazing shoot on the Schuylkill river in preparation for choreographer Alie Vidich’s ‘Invisible River’ performance…

This Town Is A Mystery…

One of my favorite moments at this year’s Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe was getting to share in Headlong Dance Theater‘s dress rehearsals for “This Town Is A Mystery”… Such a beautiful set of pieces that I wanted to share a bit of it with you:

“Could even I be photogenic?”

I got an email today that blew my mind a little bit. It simultaneously made me so sad and so happy. I could talk your ear off about why I think that the idea that everyone is photogenic is important, but really this email that I got today pretty much crystalizes exactly why this project…

We made it! The February 2021 Walk Around Philadelphia is complete…

I set out on February 7th for my 6th annual (and 7th total) pilgrimage around the city’s edge. One week later, after ~110 miles through snow and ice, detours and discoveries, setbacks and surprises, challenges and connections, I found my way back to the beginning, yet again amazed by the wonder of this city, and…

Feb 2021 Walk Around Philadelphia: Day 4

The Delaware, from Glen Foerd to Pier 68… Day 4 begins where we’d left off, at the Torresdale regional rail station, with a train that was scheduled to get in at 7:09am. There’s more folks joining the walk today, and I’d told those who were intercepting us at Glen Foerd to get there earlier if…

My first Truth Tour – Everyone Is Photogenic

One more trip down memory lane for JJ Tiziou Photography’s 10yr anniversary… That last post told you about how an invitation to document the creation of an LPFM radio station for a farmworker community in Florida first plugged me into the community media movement; this post is about how I got involved with the Coalition…

Community Radio

Building low-power radio stations so that we can hear our neighbors…

Delaware days: Recap of 3rd weekend of Fall 2021 walk.

Segment 6:Torresdale towards Bridesburg We started off this weekend’s iteration of Walk Around Philadelphia having already walked halfway ’round the city, from 61st & Baltimore up Cobbs Creek, along City Ave, up the Schuylkill and around Chestnut Hill all the way to Fox Chase (recap of first 3 days) and then all the way around…

Feb 2021 Walk Around Philadelphia: Day 6

Heinz Wildlife Refuge, Darby & Cobbs Creek, Mt Moriah Cemetery… The final day of the walk started with a bit of a mad scramble of physical and logistical challenges: The ice storm had continued overnight, and the whole world was coated in ice in the morning. Just walking out the door was a challenge. Getting…

Mercy Ships Screening Day

What does it look like when 4,000 people come seeking medical care all at once?

The Million-Picture Giveaway…

I’ve begun making my archive available to the communities that I’ve photographed for unlimited free high res downloads. Here’s why.

First weekend of 10 x 10 Walk complete…

The first weekend of this fall’s 10 x 10 edition of Walk Around Philadelphia is was pretty fantastic. Each route offered surprises, challenges, contrasts and unexpected delights (as expected!) There’s seven more segments open for you to join (Sept 18/19, 25/26/27 and Oct 2/3) alongside an option to organize your own group, so head on…

Feb 2021 Walk Around Philadelphia: Day 3

Pine Rd, the Northeast / Poquessing Creek / Knights Rd… This might be the longest and most ambitious segment of the six-day itinerary, at least for those of us coming from W. Philly / Center City. I was up by 4:15 in order to leave enough time to get ready and make it to the…