August 31, 2016 | Culture
Photographer David Maialetti sees Philadelphia through a different lens.
As a photographer for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News since 1998, David Maialetti makes his living taking photos. But even when he’s off the clock, he doesn’t stop snapping; he merely switches the camera. Using only an iPhone, the 49-year-old Fishtown resident scours Philly for images of city life to post on his Instagram account, which has more than 47,000 followers.
The photographs, captured in a mix of shadowy black and white and saturated color, are a scroll-worthy collage of athletes, architecture, and streetscapes. “People, light, and shadow are important elements in my photographs,” Maialetti says. “I’ll search for an interesting background and wait for people to walk into the scene. I try to blend in wherever I go and work unnoticed. Humor or odd things inspire me.”
He first joined Instagram when he was teaching a class in Italy several years ago and a study abroad student asked why he didn’t have an account. Lacking an answer, he signed up. “It quickly became a place to share images that didn’t quite fit with the stories I was working on for the newspapers,” Maialetti says. “I’m doing what I love to do.”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID MAIALETTI
