Every day I cross Chew Avenue on my way to Lincoln Drive. I shoot down West River, and 20 minutes later, I'm in Old City. Why this route? It's the quickest. What part of town does this route just happen to avoid? The badlands of North Philly. The tough streets that I explore with my camera on a weekly basis. So last week, instead of crossing Chew Avenue and heading toward the Drive, I walked Chew Avenue, on foot. I released the shutter on every block, I stopped and talked with those who gave me dirty looks. I explained to the residents my passion for street photography and my disdain for being thought of as an undercover surveillance chump. I studied the architecture. I experienced the transition from a balanced utopia that I call home to a wounded and struggling Germantown corridor. Racially diverse residents planting flowers and cleaning sidewalks soon gave way to crackheads hiding behind vacant lots and homeless residents camped out under train bridges. I journeyed past La Salle and finally arrived at the 5900 block of North Broad Street. I sat down on a stoop, drank a bottle of water, walked a few blocks up to Stenton Avenue, then walked back home. A different street, but the experience was the same.