Last Chance

Catch it or Regret It

by Holly Otterbein

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Morris Arboretum director Paul W. Meyer's lush, color-saturated photographs capture the relationship between Asian peoples and their regional plant life. In Firewood Gatherer, an old man joyously smokes after carrying a bundle of twigs five times the size of himself on his back. Purplebloom Maple, a snapshot of orange leaves framed by a charcoal sky, will leave you nostalgic for autumn.

Mehmet Girgic's felt is a far cry from the mass-produced junk you buy at Jo-Ann Fabrics. The Turkey native collects wild plants to create natural dye for his wool; forms a unique pattern that is rolled up like sushi; and then manually flattens it for up to four days. His vivid, highly accessible prints depict ancient cave drawings and elaborate flower structures.

Late Philadelphian Bruce Murray's black-and-white photographs show girls in one-piece swimsuits, a melancholic Babe Ruth at his last-ever game and WWI-era patriotism. But look closely, and you'll see not much has changed since the days of glass negatives: In South Phila. Block Party, c. 1940 (pictured), a schoolgirl sticks out her tongue in defiance, and the solemn-looking baseball coaches of Meeting of the Minds inspire fear and admiration.