Catching their fancy | Scene Through the Lens

Even a semi-occasional reader of this column knows I’ve been at The Inquirer over four decades now. I’ve mentioned how newspaper assignments tend to be cyclical.

I mostly photograph the same things over and over again, every year. Call it the circle of covering life: the comings and goings of seasonal milestones - and changing seasons, public meetings, and grip-and-grin photo ops. And like now, the end/beginning of each year, with the Mummers (and fireworks).

The goal while re-photographing everything is to not do it the same way every time. So I try to look for those moments and interesting details often overlooked by a casual observer.

I’ve photographed lots of Mummers parades, both outdoors and inside. Even Mummers getting ready.

Two years ago I sat in one place, on the floor right in front of the “stage” for the Fancy Brigades finale inside the Convention Center, with my laptop beside me and posted photos throughout all the performances.

This year I again photographed each 4-1/2 minute performance of all 10 brigades, but I moved all over - and made most of my favorite photos backstage and on the periphery.

My colleagues David Maialetti and Elizabeth Robertson worked the cold streets outside.

» READ MORE: 2025 Mummers in Pictures

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 print editions of The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color: