Tag: street photography

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 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 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.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 2, 20228:03 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Saunter

The backlog of unpublished kitties is so long that I stopped taking every photographic opportunity. Hopefully, regrets won’t follow that decision. We resume with a longhair that my wife and I assumed was feral on first sighting: Alley separating Louisiana and Texas, on Jan. 13, 2022. The animal posed for some time before passing into a property facing Texas.

The Featured Image captures that moment. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/145 sec, 77mm; 11:58 a.m. PST. We next saw the feline along Louisiana, but on the other side of Meade, three days later. Because of location, I assumed we had come upon a different cat, but Annie correctly identified the two sightings as the same beastie.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 1, 20227:38 pm

Be Mine

The menacing palm that you met in April 2021 dresses in holiday-appropriate attire, like Uncle Sam garb for Fourth of July. Now he’s ready for Valentine’s Day in 13 days and has been at least since I captured the Featured Image on Jan. 4, 2022. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/4, ISO 100, 1/640 sec, 28mm; 2:04 p.m. PST.

Composed as shot, the moment comes from Leica Q2. If you live in, or visit, San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood, you can see this terrifying tree on North Avenue between Meade and Monroe.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 31, 20229:10 pm

The Future of Transportation?

As part of its strategy to reduce so-called carbon emissions, San Diego is building bikeways through various close-in neighborhoods. The one starting at Georgia in University Heights and ending at Fairmont in City Heights is complete. My wife and I drove the length along Meade Avenue on Jan. 29, 2022 to attend the free-admission Lunar New Year celebration sponsored by the Little Saigon Foundation. However, Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park and the surrounding area was so packed, and parking so scare, we did a drive-by only.

A series of traffic circles and speed bumps has greatly reduced vehicular traffic along Meade—not that a marked increase in bikers is apparent. What I do see, and this is something that should trouble city planners and their long-term goals: An alarmingly greater number of motor-powered bicycles. Everywhere. Some are pedaled, too, and most are battery-electric. But not all.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 29, 20229:41 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Cuddles

For the last Caturday of the month, meet a kitty whose appearance is remarkable. I first spotted the black in a side alley separating multi-unit residences on Jan. 13, 2022, around 4:45 p.m. PST. My wife encountered the same shorthair sometime later, either on that street or the next. She doesn’t recall which but says the animal crossed Meade Ave.

That’s where we both met the meowing kitty three days later, one block further along. The tiny eyes, seemingly fixed stare, wide face, and white whiskers give impression of something stuffed rather than living. If I hadn’t heard the cat or seen it move, I would guess that some child lost a plushie.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 23, 20228:27 pm

The Film Shooter

My wife and I made Panorama Drive part of our Sunday walk routine—entering the loop at Louisiana. After we exited onto Alabama, at cross-street Madison, Annie pointed out a group of people meandering down the sidewalk ahead. She wondered if we should choose another way. Understanding that everyone would have to squeeze by, I asked to continue on. Before proceeding even 10 paces, I saw the cameras. Lots of them. We had come upon an apparent photo walk.

We passed through the throng, with many people stopping to shoot anything and everything about. University Heights is one of San Diego’s oldest neighborhoods. As such, in part because of different construction eras—following world wars, for example—the housing architecture is distinct and varied. The contrast is striking compared to what locals call North County, where whole areas of homes look one and alike.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 22, 20227:00 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Mizu

It’s Caturday, and I’ve got a backlog of unpublished felines. Let’s celebrate! We bump to the front of queue, Mizu (yes, real name), who my wife and I met yesterday in the alley between Louisiana and Mississippi. She was friendly and cautious—and happiest when invited inside to visit a neighbor.

Mizu initially and unexpectedly rushed across the alley to visit with us, but a passing car caused her to retreat beneath another vehicle. I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image and two companions. Vitals: f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/4831 sec, 26mm; 12:32 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 20, 20228:18 pm

Where the Palm Crown Fell

Now I understand why the city of San Diego cut down the majestic palm on my street that South American Palm Weevils had infested. The dead, or dying trees, are dangerous. What a story we tell today, with accompanying photographs. Read and look on.

Walking with my wife along Meade Ave. in University Heights, I told her about the restaurant that Canadian officials closed for accepting dog photos instead of vaccination verifications for SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19. Wanting to confirm country, I asked Annie to stop at cross-street Georgia, where I pulled out iPhone 13 Pro and web-searched. If not for that 30 seconds delay, we would have missed the disaster that had occurred at the corner. She saw the aftermath and called me to look.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 18, 20228:16 pm

The Stranger

This afternoon, after I crossed back into University Heights, carrying bananas in one hand, someone called from behind me. I turned to see a bearded fellow who had seen my strapped, slung-back Leica Q2. He asked if I would take his photograph—because he was interested in modeling. Ah, okay.

I responded cautiously, but welcomingly, because that’s the kind of delaying ruse a thief might use. But he seemed to be genuine enough, there was good distance between us, and I was situationally aware of his movements and my exit options along an extremely familiar route.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 17, 20228:41 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Pudding

A sudden surge in kitty sightings is creating a backlog for the series. My apologies, then, if they overwhelm the site for awhile. For reasons that make no sense to me, they cluster around Alabama and Louisiana, which, coincidentally or not, are also where are the new traffic circles at Meade.

We begin with a black and white seen on the latter of the two streets. This fine feline, who earns nickname Pudding (for something about those cute ears), is the eighty-third behind door or window. I used iPhone 13 Pro to capture the Featured Image on Dec. 17, 2021. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/602 sec; 9:22 a.m. PST.