Category: Photo

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 16, 20228:53 pm

Cheesy or Queasy?

Do you remember this mural from the abandoned Twisted Taps? The building art is gone—replaced by what you see in the Featured Image. I see something disturbingly dystopian about the pizza slices, representing the new restaurant taking up residence. The drawing style immediately makes me think of something out of Invader Zim.

Also appears to be missing, and I will need to walk over to Louisiana Street and El Cajon Blvd in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood to confirm: The tree behind the building, visible in the photo from August 2021. Is it really gone, or is the slightly closer perspective enough to hide the towering thing?

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 15, 20228:44 pm

Whither the Homeless Maine Coons?

After the August 2021 clearcutting of their backyard habit and sale of the property two months later, I assumed that kitties Mimi and daughter Sweet Pea would make their home elsewhere—particularly in the outdoor space provided by the woman who cared for them. But as grass, plants, shrubs, and trees regrew, the Maine Coons clung to the territory where they had lived for the better part of a decade. Mimi unexpectedly posed for me on Jan. 2, 2022. Vitals for the Featured Image, captured using iPhone 13 Pro: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/126 sec, 77mm; 11:17 a.m. PST.

I saw one or the other longhair in the yard several times a week, last month; now, likely no longer. Looks like the new owners won’t raise the house to build a massive multi-unit structure on the massive lot—increasingly commonplace for San Diego real estate. Instead, renovation is underway, and it is structurally extensive. Debris and building materials currently occupy portions of the backyard where roamed the cats. The foundation is being massively reconstructed, which surely is sign the house will remain.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 14, 20229:57 pm

Where Do You Hang Your Heart?

I saved the Featured Image, captured on Jan. 2, 2022 using Leica Q2, for Valentine’s Day. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/400 sec, 28mm; 9:43 a.m. PST. The tree rises above a utility […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 13, 20226:24 pm

Game Night

As I write, Super Bowl LVI is still underway, with the Cincinnati Bengals ahead of the Los Angeles Rams 20-16. At dusk in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, the cheering and clamoring of groups gathered rise from among the many residences.

Twelve minutes after sunset, 5:43 p.m. PST, I ventured past one of the many local breweries and shot the Featured Image—Leica Q2 Monochrom, from the hip. Vitals, aperture and shutter speed manually set: f/2, ISO 1600, 1/125 sec, 28mm. Photo is cropped about 98 percent.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 12, 20229:12 pm

The Cutest Kitten Ever

While rummaging an old external hard drive, I came upon some unprocessed, unpublished photos of our long-lost Kuma. Here, he nestles in the blinds of the sliding glass door of our old apartment days after he joined our household.

The Featured Image comes from Leica X1 on Sept. 17, 2010. Vitals: f/4, ISO 250, 1/30 sec, 24mm; 3:27 p.m. PDT. Portrait is composed as shot.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 11, 20228:34 pm

Mission Valley, a Dozen Years Ago

For reasons only guessed and not remembered, on July 16, 2010, I stopped at one of the University Heights overlooks and pointed Leica X1 at Mission Valley below. The view is much changed 12 years later, as apartment and condominium construction has transformed the horizon.

Dramatically more development is ongoing and the number of projects increasing. In autumn 2019, San Diego City Council approved a plan to add 50,000 more residents to Mission Valley by 2050, bolstered by the building of even more high density housing.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 10, 20229:18 pm

Inflation Disarms The Bomb

I learned something about cost-creep today that hopefully will benefit you. Don Miguel The Bomb Spicy Red Hot Beef & Bean Burrito is a favorite of mine—available in lots of 12 at my local Costco Business Center. When I first found them, some years ago, a case could be bought for $18.99 or $1.58 per 14-ounce burrito. Later, the price rose to $19.99 before quickly going up to $20.99 and finally $21.99 during the tightest SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns. That’s $1.67, $1.75, and $1.83 per package, respectively.

After nearly exhausting a somewhat stocked supply, I returned with my wife to the warehouse store for more. My mistake: I did not closely inspect the box. Price is higher now: $22.49 for that dozen-filled case. But that 50 cents more is for less. The Bomb now is 12 ounces, a decrease of 14 percent in size for a burrito costing $1.87—15 cents per ounce versus 13 cents previously or 11 cents from what I paid about three years ago; maybe four, I don’t rightly recall.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 9, 20228:42 pm

The Humiliation Games

On the same day the 2022 Olympics opened, February 4, I passed by something appropriate and timely: discarded pair of thirtytwo brand snowboarding boots. Their abandonment, along the North Avenue alley in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood, could be a metaphor for what’s being chucked away in Beijing right now: fair competitive spirit, human dignity, and truthfulness. It’s all humiliating.

Let me count the ways: Humiliating that, because of surveillance, athletes were instructed to bring burner phones to China—and, for their own safety, not to publicly criticize the host nation. Humiliating that China presented as propaganda a token Uyghur during the opening ceremony; what genocide? Humiliating that Russian President Vladimir Putin joined Chinese President Xi Jinping, while Western nations, including the United States, chose not to send diplomatic delegations. Humiliating that Chinese officials dragged away a Dutch reporter during a live broadcast. Humiliating that athletes quarantined for positive SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 are mentally and physically impaired by poor food quality and living conditions. Humiliating, and convenient, that some foreign gold medal contenders test Coronavirus positive and can’t compete. Humiliating that most NBC Sports commentators and hosts are broadcasting from the United States rather than China.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 8, 20228:49 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Dragon Claws

Our four-hundred-sixtieth profile, since the series started in October 2016, is the eighty-fourth from Alabama Street between boundaries Adams and Lincoln. Lilly lives on the same block. My wife and I met Dragon Claws leashed and walking with his owner on Jan. 27, 2022. His sister, whose name I didn’t get, doesn’t demand, or enjoy, these outings as much.

I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image, with difficulty. Dragon Claws explored everything and often turned away as I shot. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/176 sec, 77mm; 4:18 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 20229:40 pm

The Pool Player

I feel off this evening and must delay my planned treatise about the 2022 Olympic Games for another day. For now, I present a portrait of a friend behind the cue stick. He is a […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 6, 20229:27 pm

The Teardown

The massive redevelopment of my San Diego locale advances so briskly that today’s cute business or residence is tomorrow’s demolition. In December 2021, while walking along the University Heights side of Park Blvd, I saw that vintage clothier Frock You! had closed. Strangely. On the door was an eviction notice from the county sheriff, while clothes and debris littered the business’ (uncharacteristically exposed) outdoor shopping area, which had attracted a cadre of the homeless. The adjacent businesses were shuttered, too, suggesting a soon-to-be teardown before the build up of something new.

Fast forward to this afternoon and my first venture that way in more than six weeks. A fence cordons off the former strip of shops and what had been a beautiful home converted into several residences—the Featured Image and companion. The exposed kitchen appliances piqued my interest enough to pull out iPhone 13 Pro and point it through one of the spaces among the chain-links.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 5, 20228:50 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Tucker

Our Caturday story begins in summer 2021, when my wife learned about two felines that frequented a property that wasn’t their home. The all-black, Loki, joined the series in July. We wouldn’t first see the other until October 17, when I used iPhone 13 Pro to shoot the long-delayed Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/22 sec, 77mm; 10:40 a.m. PST. I regrettably resisted adding the newcomer sooner because no name, and I couldn’t be sure there wasn’t a mix up and this kitty was Loki. Everything changed yesterday, when Annie and I chatted with another neighbor who identified the second cat as Tucker. Whew.

That introduction brings us to the drama. Tucker occasionally appeared during the end of last year but made a startling entrance on Jan. 2, 2022. As we approached the property where he is somewhat an interloper, I spotted the black and white on a fence and pointed him out to Annie. She observed what I missed. “He has feathers in his mouth”, she exclaimed.