This photo essay was a long time coming -- a full year, in fact. It started out as a portraiture series, a different type of collection for our photo essays, but all the same very Philly.

Some participants' photos were done via appointment -- "hey, can I take your picture?" -- while others were done spontaneously when it seemed like a good idea. They range from my neighbor and friend Cholly to hizzoner the mayor. The quality of the pictures also runs the gamut, from a Canon F1.8 portraiture lens on Mayuko to a slightly blurred picture of Allen Iverson taken with my old Sony CD Mavica 500 before the Sixers hit rock bottom and the soul of the city's basketball team was traded.