September 7, 2014: “The sun is rising and starting to eat away at the fog—revealing two fisherman who were up before the crack of dawn to drop their lines”, says Jamie McCaffrey, who shot self-titled […]
Author: Joe Wilcox
The iPhone 6s Doppelgänger
Without even turning on the HTC One A9 (which I haven’t yet), the physical similarities with iPhone 6/6s are unmistakable. The smartphones share striking design ethic, separated by the shape of the home-button fingerprint sensor, placement of the rear-facing camera, and left-side SIM and microSD card slots. But these differences aren’t immediately obvious.
My question: Is this the Android for people wanting the iPhone 6s look but something more flexible than the iOS platform? If there is truth in marketing, HTC’s tag lines reveal much: “Design worth imitating”, which while referring the company’s One legacy also could be interpreted as backhanded praise or even fist-to-snub about Apple’s device, which some could argue imitates earlier One models. “Power to choose”—customization and personalization options not offered on fruit-logo handsets.
Flickr a Day 310: ‘Clumsy’
For being interesting and giving great composition, Alexis Mire takes the Day with self-titled “Clumsy”, captured using Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi on March 1, 2009. Vitals: f/3.5, ISO 800, 1/6 sec, 28mm. The photo is […]
Flickr a Day 309: ‘Vicars Close, Wells’
Our featured shooter, Mike Beales, describes the subject of our selection as “probably one of the best looking streets in the UK—also happens to be one of the oldest; what lovely place to live”. According to […]
I Love ‘X Factor UK’ But Must Leave It
Six months ago, nearly a year after cutting the cord, the Wilcox household reattached—to AT&T U-verse. At the time, my daughter was moving back home, and Cox cable comes into the room where she would reside. Given the importance of the Internet to my daily work,and not wanting the modem and WiFi access point to be in a place with limited access, we signed up for AT&T Internet service and television with it. The connection is in the main room of our apartment, where Cox can’t come without drilling and cabling the landlord won’t allow.
Before the Fall college semester started, Molly moved out to a group place near the ocean. Around the same time, U-verse started to behave badly. We had bandwidth, but some websites consistently hung or slowly loaded. Top of list: Anything Google. I would later learn that, coincidentally or perhaps not, Google Fiber courted San Diego County.
Flickr a Day 308: ‘Preying Mantis’
I took some liberty by condensing the self-title to today’s pick, which should be: “Preying Mantis on the Hand Rail Outside HP Headquarters”. Does that reveal where our shooter, Don DeBold, works? Living in San […]
Flickr a Day 307: ‘rOOller rOt’
Urban decay is theme of the Day, for composition, perspective, and bokeh. David Barnas shot self-titled “rOOller rOt” on Oct. 18, 2015, using Nikon D7100. Vitals: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1.6 sec, 18mm. “I love nature and […]
Get Nexus 9 Cheap, While You Can
HTC is just killing me. Last week, I bought a new Nexus 9 tablet from Amazon, thinking: “What a deal!” But every Tuesday, the device manufacturer boasts big 24-hour sale. “What a steal” is my […]
Flickr a Day 306: ‘I Just Have To Make One More Call, He Said’
Day of the Dead actually is a three-day celebration, ending November 2nd. I can’t resist slipping in another timely portrait, captured by Tom Waterhouse on May 10, 2008. He shot self-titled “I Just Have To Make One More Call, He Said” using Panasonic DMC-FX100. Vitals: f/4.8, ISO 80, 1/100 sec, 16.6mm. I picked the pic for being interesting and for bokeh, composition, perspective, and the photographer recognizing opportunity.
In 2015, Tom takes the Fujifilm X100T to the streets, where his focus is facial character. “I’m currently trying to make a serious attempt at becoming a credible street photographer”, he says. I say: He’s earned his street cred.
Flickr a Day 305: ‘Los Muertos’
Happy Day of the Dead—”Dia de los Muertos”. Hence the self-title of our selection shot by Colin Gallagher four years ago today. Vitals: Nikon D700 and 85mm f/1.4 lens, which is a helluva prime for […]
Nexus 9 Revised Review
My May, lukewarm assessment begins: “t want to love Google-branded, HTC-manufactured Nexus 9. But ours is a contentious relationship”. I didn’t see value for the cost, particularly comparing performance to other tabs similarly priced. On Oct. 29, 2015, Amazon delivered a new N9, and the user experience dramatically differs from the previous device—so much I must revise my review.
Days earlier, I parted with iPad Air 2 LTE. The family hopes to change cellular carriers, and there was opportunity to amicably relinquish my payment responsibility to Verizon. I would love to replace the Apple with Google Pixel C, but the tab’s forthcoming release date is uncertain. I reconsidered Nexus 9 and found the 32GB white model available from Amazon for $130 less than list price. I ordered, knowing that the device could be returned for refund if Pixel C imminently released or if N9 dissatisfied again. Lower price made buying and trying again an easy decision.
Flickr a Day 304: ‘Never did the Pumpkin Thing since Childhood!’
I debated long-time about what pic to pick for Halloween. Jack o’ lanterns are cliché, but Cristian Iohan Ştefănescu does them well—and I want to draw attention to his photostream, which is a real treat (no trick, promise). 🙂
One word describes Cristian’s style, whether expressed from the lens or in post-processing: Interesting. He has a terrific eye for composition and perspective. Some of his more recent art I could have featured if not for the holiday: “Study: Cats Understand Humans but don’t Really Care“; “Try walking in My Eyes!“; “Bring the Art Down on the Street and They will Come!“; “Life is a Foreign Country“; or “Hable Con Ella“.