Big J | Scene Through the Lens

The New Jersey has been berthed in Dock #3 - the same dock it was launched from on Dec. 7, 1942 - at the Navy Yard in South Philadelphia since it was moved from its home on the Camden Waterfront in March to undergo painting and the preventive maintenance vital for the battleship’s longevity.

I have photographed at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard many times, even when it was a U.S. Navy base (closed in the 90s). During World War II, 40,000 ship workers built and repaired ships there. Today the city-owned Navy Yard is a large campus with more than 150 companies and some 15,000 people working in a mix of industries. And it’s one of the few dry-docks in the country large enough to handle the New Jersey.

Its proximity to the airport makes it hard not include airplanes taking off and landing in pictures.

While on a tour of the battleship in dry dock last week, reporter Kevin Riordan and I could occasionally hear planes flying above, but in the dock, below the water level of the Delaware River, we couldn’t see them.

My family knows what it’s like to travel with a photographer who always wants to wait for a better - if not decisive- moment to make the right picture. I am aware most people don’t share that patience, so especially while I’m at work, I try really hard not to inconvenience others.

So when our dry dock tour - escorted by the battleship museum CEO - moved topside I had my ears and eyes focused on the sky hoping a passing plane and a part of the ship’s super structure would align.

I was able to quickly move to get under three of the big guns.

The Iowa-class USS New Jersey (BB-62) is the most decorated battleship in Navy history, earning distinction in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and conflicts in the Middle East. The New Jersey’s history spanned over half the 20th century, from its design in 1938 until 1991. It is expected to back in Camden by Independence day.

Since 1998, a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color: