It's almost Friday and you know what that means: It's time for #Scape Like, comment and repost your favorites and have fun!! #EastCoastKin #photography #photographersUnited #PhotographersofBluesky #Art #ArtChallenges

Adorable!

Love the long shadows…

10-9-2025: It feels like fall in Philly today! Her elegance, poise and bright red coat caught my eye. Photographed October 2018 in Philly. #streetphotography #phillyphotography #streetphoto #eastcoastkin #humansofbluesky #photographersofbluesky #colorphotography #streetportrait #unscriptedmoments

10-8-2025: It's a wet and rainy Wednesday in Philly Here's an #unscriptedmoment of a wet and rainy day in NYC near Madison Square Garden, December 2015 #streetphotography #nycphotography #streetphoto #eastcoastkin #humansofbluesky #photographersofbluesky #blackandwhitephotography #streetportrait

This #BannedBooksWeek, we stand proudly with @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social and @indexoncensorship.org as they sound the alarm on growing efforts to censor books and curtail the #FreedomToRead. Learn more: bit.ly/42vjnah

10-7-2025: It's Tuesday morning in Philadelphia. #Caughtyoulookingat this #unscriptedmoment from 2013 in Center City. #streetphotography #philadelphiaphotography #streetphoto #eastcoastkin #humansofbluesky #photographersofbluesky #blackandwhitephotography #streetportrait #lovers #busstop

10-6-2025: Welcome to a new week! #Caughtyoulookingat this #unscriptedmoment from August 2018 that I captured on the train ride home... #streetphotography #philadelphiaphotography #streetphoto #eastcoastkin #humansofbluesky #photographersofbluesky #blackandwhitephotography #streetportrait

10-5-2025: Happy Sunday! Caught you looking at this #unscriptedmoment from May 2012 called #summersnooze #streetphotography #philadelphiaphotography #streetphoto #eastcoastkin #humansofbluesky #photographersofbluesky #blackandwhitephotography #streetportrait #blueskyartshow #relax

10-4-2025: Welcome to the weekend! Caught you looking at this #unscriptedmoment at City Hall's Dilworth Plaza, 2018. #streetphotography #philadelphiaphotography #streetphoto #eastcoastkin #humansofbluesky #photographersofbluesky #blackandwhitephotography #streetportrait #blueskyartshow #relax

10-3-2025: Happy Friday! Caught you looking at this #unscriptedmoment in #WestPhilly, 2018. #streetphotography #philadelphiaphotography #streetphoto #eastcoastkin #humansofbluesky #photographersofbluesky #blackandwhitephotography #streetportrait #papistore #bodega #babygirl

10-2-2025: Caught you looking at this #unscriptedmoment that I encountered in 2018 in Malcolm X Park in #WestPhilly. #streetphotography #philadelphiaphotography #streetphoto #eastcoastkin #humansofbluesky #photographersofbluesky #blackandwhitephotography

10-1-2025 (happy October!!): Caught you looking at this #unscriptedmoment of #streetstillness that I came across in 2020 in the Walnut Hill section of #WestPhilly. #streetphotography #philadelphiaphotography #streetphoto #blackandwhitephotography

My Gucci Watch dealer Carl on Canal and Broadway saying hello. He has fabulous choices and reasonable rates. Check him out. #35mm 📷 #portrait #photo #colorphotography #photography #eastcoastkin #nyc #streetphotography #manhattan

9-30-2025: Caught you looking at this #unscriptedmoment of #streetstillness that I came across in 2018 in #Fishtown #streetphotography #septa #philadelphiaphotography #streetphoto #Girard #blackandwhitephotography

9-29-2025: Caught you looking at this #unscriptedmoment of #streetstillness that I came across today in #Germantown. #streetphotography #philadelphiaphotography #streetphoto #blackandwhitephotography

#unscriptedmoment in East Falls. Photographed September 28, 2025 in Philadelphia PA. #streetphotography #blackandwhitephotography #streetportrait #phillyphotography

This #UnscriptedMoment from 2013 has just been published in #TheFaoileánachJournal. Honored to share space with writers from around the world. www.faoileanachjournal.com/read #streetphotography #blackandwhitephotography #phillyphotography #historicgermantown #phillyphotographer #germantownavenue

Welcome to my feed: a mix of what matters and what catches my eye. Here you’ll find #CompositionsofBlackJoy —news, updates, happenings—alongside my #streetphotography, new and old, capturing #unscriptedmoments. Scroll. Linger. Experience both. #PhiladelphiaPhotography #Phillyauthor #BlackJoy

Between the storm and the skyline. Photographed September 25, 2025 at the Parkway Central Library, Philadelphia PA. #unscriptedmoments #streetphotography #streetportrait #blackandwhitephotography #nightphotography #philadelphiaphotography

I'm bringing Compositions of Black Joy to 2025 Phila Open Studio Tours, thanks to #ArtistsforArtistsGlobal! 📅 Oct 11–12, 12–6 PM 📍 SPIN Community & Fitness, 10980 Norcom Rd, NE Philly There'll be art, demos, live music, film screenings, and more RSVP & details → bit.ly/3I3d6vB #POST2025 #CFEVA

Philly memory keepers & storytellers: Don’t miss People’s Media Camp Oct 3–5! I’ll lead a writing workshop & selections from my Juneteenth Festival photo exhibit. Free workshops, art, community stories and more! RSVP: bit.ly/46B2CMd #PhillyStories #GrassrootsMedia #MemoryWork #PhiladelphiaEvents

First Amazon review just dropped… and it’s 5 stars! 💛 #CompositionsOfBlackJoy To order: a.co/d/9LMkbOM

Got my first editorial review for Compositions of Black Joy: “Vivid, moving, and unapologetically celebratory…” — NewInBooks.com Get your copy on Amazon today a.co/d/fEeLnz5 #BooksByBlackAuthors #RootedInJoy #PhillyAuthors #BlackWomenAuthors #IndieLit #BlackStorytelling #SupportIndieAuthors

Compositions of Black Joy is available for purchase on Amazon! a.co/d/iVysAm4

Every Juneteenth, I feel the weight of where we’ve been and the urgency of where we are. Freedom didn’t arrive all at once. It was delayed. So we gather. We sing. We dance. We carry the memory. Juneteenth isn’t just about the past—it’s a future we’re still building so that all will be free.

On June 14, 2025, I launched the paperback edition of Compositions of Black Joy at the 19th annual Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival in Germantown. This video features a few of the beautiful souls who stopped by to share in the moment. TY! 🙏 To purchase, go to form.jotform.com/250185503667...

#UnscriptedMoment #streetphotography Meet Tripp — loyal companion and friend to my human friend (not pictured) — soaking up love and ear scritches from smiling new humans at the 19th Annual Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival in Germantown, June 14, 2025. 📸: Yours truly.

The 19th annual Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival in Germantown is a wrap but I'm still buzzing from the success of the paperback drop! It was good to go back to the 'hood where it all began for me in this beautiful city of brotherly love and sisterly affection 🫶🏽

Philly artists: #ArtistsforArtistsGlobal is covering FULL registration for this year’s Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST). If you’ve never done it before, this is your time. 📅 Application deadline: June 30 Details + apply: cfeva.org/artistsforar... Share with your networks and good luck!

#unboxing The paperback order of COBJ has arrived and I just unboxed it. 📚 You can still reserve your copy before the rush this Saturday at the 19th annual Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival in Germantown. Let’s spread this joy far and wide. form.jotform.com/250185503667...

Have you seen this?? Germantown artist Kambel Smith turns cardboard into cathedrals. Literally. Genius lives here in #Philadelphia. 👏🏽 #CardboardGenius #unscriptedmoments #historicgermantown

Earlier today, Connie Swinson , Dr. Craig Stuttman, Vita Litvak & I met to review prints from my exhibit Documenting the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival in Germantown. Selections will be on view at the Johnson House and GMHT starting next weekend. #unscriptedmoments #buymybook #philly

Last year, I unveiled the cover of Compositions of Black Joy. This month’s update on my Substack is about legacy, creativity, and making space for joy—even when the world makes it hard. Read here: bit.ly/4mIjE29 #photography #Juneteenth #IndependentPublishing #BlueskyBooks #Philadelphia

A new photo exhibit — by kids! — in the heart of the city reveals how they see their corners of the world. ow.ly/Kb1Q50W1ful

Philly artists—Artists for Artists Global in partnership with The Center For Emerging Visual Artists, will award 10 scholarships to eligible artists to participate in POST this fall. Apply by June 30 → www.cfeva.org/artistsforar... #ArtistsForArtistsGlobal #CFEVA #POST2025 #ArtOpportunity

📸 Unscripted Moment, Juneteenth Festival, 2015 Inside the bounce house: joy, motion, light, laughter. Outside: one watchful elder. Because sometimes the most revolutionary thing we can do is let Black children be. #UnscriptedMoments #StreetPhotography #PhillyPhotographer #COBJOuttakes

📸 Unscripted Moment, Juneteenth Festival, 2017 Near the blue tent, a father read to his son. Juneteenth made room for this moment, too. #UnscriptedMoments #StreetPhotography #PhillyPhotographer #COBJOuttakes #streetportrait

I caught this moment just as a grandfather finished tying his grandson’s scarf before the procession to the 2017 Festival began. One of those quiet Juneteenth memories that stayed with me #UnscriptedMoments #StreetPhotography #streetportrait #PhillyPhotographer #COBJOuttakes

It was the 2019 Festival. A re-enactor from the 3rd Regiment, US Colored Troops passed by the open door of the Johnson House, where I was standing inside. An unscripted moment of living history unfolded right before my eyes. #UnscriptedMoments #StreetPhotography #PhillyPhotographer #COBJOuttakes

I just received the proof copy of the paperback edition of Compositions of Black Joy: A Visual Chronicle of the Philadelphia Juneteenth Festival (2015–2022) and whew… it still takes my breath away. If you’ve been meaning to grab a copy, now’s the time to pre-order. form.jotform.com/250185503667...

Who’s Afraid of Successful Black Artists? hyperallergic.com/1010709/whos...

🎧 Building a #JuneteenthProject playlist. Starting with Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Marching Song of the First Arkansas”: youtu.be/jKss9jF2Yxw?... What songs would you add? Spirituals, protest anthems, hip hop, jazz—drop your picks. #FreedomForward #USCT

Rain didn’t stop him. A sudden downpour rolled through the 2017 Festival. While most folks ducked for cover, he ran into it. Shirt soaked, curls dripping, hands wide open like he was trying to catch the whole sky. #UnscriptedMoments #StreetPhotography #PhillyPhotographer #COBJOuttakes

Caught this in 2019—just off to the side of the Festival main stage. Brown baby boy sank into her shoulder, with one tiny hand wrapped around her neck and the other cradling her arm. Quiet moment = potent energy. #UnscriptedMoments #StreetPhotography #PhillyPhotographer #COBJOuttakes

She chose stillness because of the heat. I chose the shot because of her stillness. Taken during the 2022 Festival, she waited beneath her umbrella, shielding herself from the unforgiving sun overhead. #UnscriptedMoments #StreetPhotography #PhillyPhotographer #COBJOuttakes

As the Festival’s official event photographer, I captured performances, posed moments & staged acts. But I’m a street photographer at heart. #UnscriptedMoments live in the space between what I was hired to capture—and what I couldn’t ignore. #StreetPhotography #PhillyPhotographer #COBJOuttakes

I didn’t start out as an event photographer. I came to the Juneteenth Festival with a street photographer’s eye—always watching for unscripted moments. That sensibility never left. I just brought it with me into the celebration. #PhillyPhotographer #BlackJoy #StreetToFestival

I’m drawn to the in-between moments— right after the laugh, right before the wave, when someone thinks they’re out of frame. That’s when the truth shows up. That’s what I try to catch. #StreetPhotography

There’s something sacred about seeing Black folks gather, laugh, build, and celebrate—especially in public. I photograph #Juneteenth not just to document the moment, but to honor the lineage. To remind us: this joy has roots. And it’s ours to protect and cherish. #BlackJoy #DocumentaryPhotography