Intoxicating photographs of soirée! re: Philadelphia Inquirer & Daily News bi-annual Photo Exhibit
Mary Patel is always looking out for me, pushing me, inspiring me, and she knows what’s good for me. She called me up a few weeks ago and said “HughE I know you admire a lot of the Philly Inquirer and Daily News photographers, and I want to take you to a photo exhibit that they have twice a year at one of their houses.”
I responded with the same trepidations that I do whenever I have a chance to meet someone I admire, I said no I can’t go. She insisted and well I went. Would I see one of my favorite photographers, ERIC MENCHER (WEBSITE), TOM GRALISH/PHOTOGRAPHER , TED ADAMS/PHOTOGRAPHER or April Saul?
Well I met Eric Mencher and his lovely wife of 23 years, Kass Mencher ; I also met Ted Adams, April Saul and a handful of others.
Curated
by Philadelphia Inquirer Photographer Eric Mencher.
Elliot Curson had a few political photos on display (I had no idea he was a photographer). One of his photos was my favorite.
Hillary Clinton purposely shot out of focus
The invitation stated:
Intoxicating photographs of soirées
and celebrations —
Or political
parties and party conventions.
Dirty dancing and leisure wear,
campaign trails and blow-dried hair!
Bacchanalian
indiscretions, lame-duck sessions,
abandoned
inhibitions!
I had a chance to talk to a few of the photographers and they all sensed a forboding sense of hopelessness, that maybe this was the last time that many of them would be showing here as a co-employee. One even said that occassionally they look out the window and expect to see the Ch3 KYW truck outside reporting that the paper has closed. It’s scary times for these folks who were dedicted to their field delivering photos in our newspaper that sometimes told the story better than the copy. 
In recent days there has been a lot of talk of more cut backs of the paper.
I wrote my friend John Taggert, who used to freelance for the Philly Daily News:
“The Philly Newspapers are in for a blood bath. 15 photographers are being let go. 15 columnist. Some of this could just be because of digital cameras and how easy it is to get the photos processed now; you need less people on the street because of turnaround. [Where will my photographers that I love end up? What will they do? ]I don’t want to see my paper go under.”
John, who currently shoots for the NY Daily News, writes back:
“its not because of digital cameras, its not because there is a lack of circulation, its not because people don’t read anymore, its all a bunch of shit, these papers need more people on the streets than ever with all of the government corruption , police scandals and other shit going on in our so called “free society” I am going to take a photograph of the constitution and enlarge the rights to a free press and put that on the fucking window of my car. This country is doomed buddy, save your self, tell Philly to say goodbye to the newspaper industry and let everyone start their own media crunching eye watching website, newspapers are dead, the sooner these hard headed journalists realize that, the better off we are.” Dead Men Walking, indeed. Check out my favorite philly Inquirer & Daily News Photographers linked through Eric Menchers site: http://thisurbanlife.blogspot.com/ 
Thanks: Sarah Stolfa, Jenny Lynn, Tony Ward, Harvey Finkle, Elliott Curson,
April Saul, David Maialetti, Michael Mercanti, Harris Fogel, Laurie
Beck-Peterson, John Costello, Bunky & Rita deVecchis, Michael Perez, Richard
Bell, Kass Mencher, Sarah Berry, Angelo Benedetto, Meredith Edlow, John Gayusky,
Ed Snyder, Phil Taylor, Mike Zebe, Ted Adams and others.
It was an honor to attend this show. I\’ve been to galleries the world over, but the works hanging in that South Philly living room were some of the most powerful, most moving photos I\’ve ever seen.