WHAT’S GOOD: PEGGY WASHBURN

Peggy Washburn got her first camera, a Polaroid Land Camera, in 1973. She remembers thinking, “If I could just hold still, I’d take better pictures.” Disheartened, she didn’t pick up a camera again until the early 90s, when she began creating images in the context of collage work. It was then she fell in love with the dark room, and learned that rules could be broken. When she eventually began photographing people and creating portraits, she approached photography with the eye of an artist. Capturing her subjects was a byproduct of her own self expression. Two decades in, she still doesn’t think of herself as a portrait photographer, but rather a multi-media artist who utilizes photography in the process of her craft. Peggy’s work has been acquired by the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, the Ralph Lauren Collection, and the Harry Ransom Center, among numerous others. She has exhibited her work all over the United States, and around the world.

Learn more about Peggy.

We asked Peggy to tell us about a few of her favorite spots in Philly.

Where is a place you go when you have a little time to kill?
I sometimes walk across the obsolete train trestle bridge in Manayunk. It’s completely quiet, except for the Schuylkill. I know I’m not going to fall through the cracks or get hit by a train, but it still scares me.