With increasing mayhem—everything from armed robbery to migrant mischief to unpredictable homeless encounters—self-protection gurus council people, particularly among vulnerable populations like older folks, to practice situational awareness. Stated simply: Pay attention to your surroundings.
Most people are clueless, at least around my San Diego neighborhood. Every day, I see dozens and dozens of folks, many of them walking dogs, wearing Apple AirPods—and thus tuning out by tuning in, so to speak. They don’t pay attention—as they should, if for no other reason than the increased amount of traffic precipitated by increased population density. Previously quiet streets suddenly are quite congested.
One of the benefits of carrying a camera about is how I am compelled to be more attentive to my environment. Things that matter present, and I also see seemingly meaningless minutia that might make a photographic moment—like the Featured Image. The sign nabbed my attention for being altered. The homeowner apparently is more besieged by smokers than solicitors. (My local Ace Hardware sells the very same sign, without the “smoking” sticker, for $3.99.)
Second-hand smoke, of the stinky cannabis variety, would certainly be a reason for someone changing priorities about what they don’t want outside their fence. Smoking and loitering are more likely to occur together than soliciting and loitering.
I used Leica Q2 Monochrom for this one. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/200 sec, 28mm; 1:36 p.m. PDT, yesterday.