The Poetry of First Light
InLiquid presents The Poetry of First Light, a photographic series by Philadelphia-based artist Raymond Carballada. Through a deeply observational approach to Philadelphia's familiar landscape, Carballada uses photography to examine how light, atmosphere, and time transform how we see a place we think we already know.
Over 31 consecutive mornings in May 2024, Carballada returned to the same position on the Art Museum Steps at sunrise to photograph the Philadelphia skyline. The camera remained fixed, with the same framing and focal length each morning, so the skyline stayed constant while the light changed.
The resulting photographs are deceptively simple. Each image presents essentially the same view, yet no two are alike. Small shifts in sun, cloud, fog, and air become visible, creating changes in tone, contrast, and form. Working exclusively in black and white, Carballada removes the distraction of color, allowing these variations to become the work's central subject.
Together, the 31 photographs form more than a document of a particular month. They become a meditation on attention and perception. A landscape encountered repeatedly—passed by, photographed, and absorbed into the visual fabric of a city—is made unfamiliar again through sustained observation. By returning to the same place each morning, Carballada shows what changes when we simply take the time to look.
The series reflects the artist's longstanding relationship with the photographic medium. For Carballada, the captured image is only the beginning. He prints each photograph himself, treating the print as the work's final realization. His process draws upon decades of engagement with black-and-white photography, from his early studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology to his exploration of the darkroom and the craft of photographic printing.
The Poetry of First Light invites viewers to experience Philadelphia through a familiar yet continually changing lens. Across 31 mornings, one skyline becomes 31 distinct moments—a reminder that place is never static, and that even the most familiar view can reveal something new when we pause long enough to see it.
Raymond Carballada
Raymond Carballada is a Philadelphia-based fine art photographer whose work focuses on light, structure, and the quiet order found in natural and built environments. He began photographing at age twelve after saving for his first 35mm film camera, despite having limited vision in one eye—a perspective that contributes to his distinctive attention to composition, tone, and detail.
A graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, Raymond spent much of his career leading creative teams in the media industry before returning to photography. His work has been exhibited in Philadelphia, Paris, London, Vermont, and Portland, including a solo exhibition at Crary Art Gallery in Pennsylvania. He has received a Bronze Award from the Paris International Street Photography Awards, and his In Plain Sight series was featured on the cover of Figgi Magazine in 2026.
Raymond prints all of his own work, treating the captured image as the beginning of a creative process and the finished print as the artwork itself. His approach is informed by his studies of the masters of black-and-white photography and years of darkroom experience.
