To observe Lancaster’s past and present, you don’t need a time machine. In fact, a visit to Lancaster city’s Lime Street should be sufficient.

The Lancaster Museum of Art’s current exhibit, “Then & Now: Lancaster Through the Lens,” features the work of local photographers Jim Yescalis and Shelby Wormley.

Yescalis is a Lancaster photographer with decades of experience; his work dates back to 1969. Wormley, a younger artist, has selections in the show that are as recent as 2023. The exhibit juxtaposes two different views of Lancaster in separate times, yet tells a common story about the importance of community in the city.

The exhibit will be on display at the museum, located at 135 N. Lime Street, until July 9. 

‘Where the people were’

Jim Yescalis, 76, has been living in and photographing Lancaster since his college days at Franklin & Marshall College in the 1960s. He was drawn to the area after growing up in the suburbs, finding the city to be much more lively.

“Cities were where the people were,” Yescalis says.

After working as a photographer at the Sunday News, Yescalis spent 20 years as the campus photographer at Millersville University. Yescalis was “opened up to a road of color” while at Millersville, where he was first introduced to digital cameras. His work now consists of large volumes of both film and digital pieces.

Throughout his career, Yescalis has always intended to reflect life as it is, trying to blend into the crowd and not be noticed.

“It became a passion to capture people,” Yescalis says. “I always wanted to take pictures where the camera didn’t dictate the picture.”

‘Delmonico Cafe, Penn Square, 1969’

To Yescalis, one of the most intriguing aspects of “Delmonico Cafe, Penn Square” is one you might not notice at first glance.

A close look at one of the tables and you’ll see a simple, empty glass sitting on its surface. But to him, it is what sets the scene.

The photo is one of Yescalis’ favorite pieces and his earliest work featured in the exhibit.

Reminiscent of a film noir scene, Yescalis took the photograph in a small cafe once located right off of Penn Square.

“It just caught a mood. A little melancholy, not necessarily despairing or pessimistic,” Yescalis says. “You wonder what he’s thinking.”

While Yescalis had experimented with photography briefly before coming to Lancaster, he says it was around this time, in 1969, that it “just started to click” for him.

This photo, like most of his film work, was taken on a Leica camera.

‘Kool, 1982’

(See photo at top of article)

After capturing so many moments in time, Yescalis often finds himself wondering what kind of lives his subjects go on to live.

“I imagine a lot of people in these pictures are no longer with us. And the kids are grown up, and hopefully still with us,” Yescalis says.

Yescalis says he often considers this when reflecting on the two young boys depicted in his 1982 image, “Kool.”

He is drawn to the photograph because of how playful and carefree they are, despite whatever situation they found themselves in at the time.

Kool was photographed right off Lemon and Concord streets. Zengari’s Pizza Shop was once located there, Yescalis says, which was a favorite of his since his college years.

‘Quarry Tree – Excavation, January, 2017’

Some of Yescalis’ fondest memories come from when he lived near a quarry, located where The Shoppes at Belmont now stand. At the time, he would often take his dog on walks there, looking for geese or new animal tracks in the snow.

Bringing his camera along, Yescalis was drawn to a specific tree in the quarry. From various perspectives and in varying weather conditions, Yescalis accumulated many photos of the tree, recording how the area changed with the seasons.

Usually, his photos depicted the quarry’s “magical” landscape, lively foliage and reflective waters. However, “Quarry Tree- Excavation,” provided a new view, one where construction for The Shoppes at Belmont had taken over.

Yescalis says that there is now a small pond behind the shops, however nothing that compares to the habitat that used to thrive there.

‘Evidence that we were here’

Shelby Wormley, 32, has been a photographer since her early 20s, with a focus on Lancaster since moving here in 2016. Originally from York, Wormley was struck by how much art was embraced in Lancaster.

Throughout the years, Wormley’s intended for her photography to tell the stories of people who live in the Lancaster area.

“There’s a sacredness when someone shares a story,” Wormley says. “They want their stories told with respect and dignity, and they want it handled with care.”

Documenting communities of color is particularly important in her work. She considers how, historically, these communities have not always had access to such means of communication and expression.

“I like to say that the collection of everything you see is just evidence that we were here,” Wormley says.

‘Tuesday Night, 2020’

Wormley was working as a photojournalist for ABC27 when she shot “Tuesday Night,” which was taken as Black Lives Matter protests began across the country in June 2020. She happened to be assigned a night shift that day and ended up catching one of her most memorable pieces.

Wormley remembers the time vividly, describing how impactful it was to experience so many people rallying around a common sentiment.

“It was turbulent, it was powerful, there was this collective feeling,” Wormley says. “Everyone came out, no matter your background.”

Wormley says being present to photograph the protests allowed her to help preserve history. She felt called to use her camera as a voice and says that capturing the events unfold changed her life “in every way possible.”

“I think it’s also important for a community’s history to be preserved not just through action, but visually,” Wormley says.

Wormley thought it was crucial to include photos of the 2020 protests in the exhibit to serve as a reminder of those whose lives were affected and that there is still much work to be done towards equality.

‘Bonita’

To Wormley, storytelling through art is a connecting force, and she hopes that people feel seen by the stories her subjects share.

“Through our individuality is where we find a lot of our commonality,” Wormley says, reflecting on her photo, “Bonita.”

“Bonita” was taken as part of a series in partnership with BLK Voices Magazine in 2022. The series, called “They Said,” represented how people are impacted by negative things said about them, yet how they manage to rise above and thrive.

Wormley said that the photo’s subject, a young woman named Bonita, had endured many obstacles throughout her life. Yet smiling in the grass and enjoying the sunny day around her, she is a reminder that it is possible to preserve joy through hardship.

“We all have a ‘they said’ story,” Wormley says. “You never know anyone’s full story, but when someone does share it with you, it’s a privilege.”

‘5th Ward’

After moving to Lancaster, Wormley was drawn to the southeast region of the city, the area she says most closely resembled her hometown in York. Curious about its community, Wormley set out to learn more about its history and the people that lived there.

“I was able to talk with a lot of people from the southeast that shared with me the beauty of it,” Wormley says.

Photographing two kids riding by on their bicycles, “5th Ward” was a part of a project she’d been working on aimed at capturing the authenticity of the area.

It was important to Wormley to go and experience life in the neighborhood first-hand rather than base her understanding on how the area has been represented and perceived over the years.

“You have to be able to witness [it] just to see how it naturally evolves, without having your own idea or agenda behind it,” Wormley says. “You can’t capture the essence of a community if you only see it from that certain angle.”