Philly Skyline Night

Sun., Jan. 20, 8 p.m., free, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.

by John Vettese

lecture/slideshow

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Bradley "B. Love" Maule is responsible for no fewer than 79 photo essays on his blog, the majority of which feature the Philadelphia cityscape. Stunning sunrises silhouette its skyscrapers; nighttime shots make them appear slick. The preoccupation is practically innate; even when he's shooting opening day at Citizens Bank Park or the Odunde Festival, there's Liberty Place and the Comcast tower poking out of the background. Maule's fascination with the Philly skyline is partly because it happens to be the name of his blog (phillyskyline.com), partly because he relishes finding new angles on the city's nucleus. "You can see it from all over — in the Northeast, on Belmont Plateau," he says. "It's so enormous that it's a constant reminder of the heart of the city, of where you are." Maule began the blog as a jaded Shippensburg journalism grad transplanted to Philly. He saw no place for himself in dying newsrooms, instead shooting photos as a means of discovering his new surroundings. Initially a visual thing, Maule expanded the site over its six-year life to include writing on local politics, neighborhoods and land-use issues, and he plans to incorporate all of these items into the first in Johnny Brenda's series of "For the Curious" nights. Along with the site's biggest contributors — Nathaniel Popkin and Steve Ives — Maule will speak about Philly Skyline as a project, but also hopes to start a discussion on topics the blog centers around: photography, the flux of the city's geography and the evolving state of journalism. If it weren't for the sea change in the latter field, Philly Skyline wouldn't be the heavily trafficked site it is today. And Maule might never have picked up his camera to capture our cityscape.

Sun., Jan. 20, 8 p.m., free, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.