Take a Photo, It’ll Last Longer

Philadelphia’s Convention Center and the Oldenburg paintbrush sculpture frame City Hall.

One of my favorite parts of summer is the evening. It’s much more pleasant to be outside when the weather cools down, and the skies during and after sunset are radiant and colorful, if only for a moment. These conditions are especially favorable to building photography, complementing the artificial lighting both on the street and within the structure.

Periods like “blue hour” and “golden hour” rarely last the full sixty minutes. That lush stretch of indigo can be gone in the blink of an eye, making twilight photography feel a bit like catching a firefly in a jar.

Here are some of my favorites.

Bicycling past Penn Park feels a little more magical.

A warm glow beckons gamblers at the Sugar House Casino.

Don’t ask me how, but cheesesteaks taste better at twilight.

Keep the warmth and light going with a bonfire after sunset.