52nd City

Mike D

The Riverfront Times has employed a very small stable of photographers over the years, with only three main shutterbugs finding an editorial home there over the last two decades-plus. Prior to the long, continuing run of Jennifer Silverberg, Mike Defilippo held the post for a number of years, creating a host of evocative cover shots and interior images; all of that work came during a time when the paper utilized considerably more photography on the cover.

One of the best features produced by Defilippo was the weekly "Big Picture," a single page devoted to a single image caught that week, often while the photographer was out on another shot. Taken as a large group, the works combined for a classic "slice of life" perspective on our town, a fact proven by a show at Flo Valley a couple years back.

Though still employed by a wide variety of corporate, political and editorial concerns, Mike's work hasn't been as public in recent years. Though that's changed with a new feature on Mayor Slay's site. (Though the photos, curiously, don't feature the photographer's byline.) It's nice to see my old co-worker's snaps in a new, digital format. Already, the breadth of work is starting to show, including a pic of City Museum "finisher" Mary Levi, the most recent addition.