Category: Aspiration

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 1, 20238:50 pm

Crown Daisies Delight

Along Alabama Street today, across from the BLVD North Park (reminder, located in University Heights not NP), I passed by a lovely grouping of daisies that are likely garland chrysanthemum (based on online searches); flower identification is not my area of expertise; ask me about insects, for surer knowledge.

The crown daises rose so high, I could not resist stopping and taking two photos. The Featured Image utilizes Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s Portrait mode to artificially create bokeh (e.g. background blur). Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 10, 1/380 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 4:36 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 29, 20238:04 pm

Sigh, Everything Dies

The second shot from my then new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, on Feb. 16, 2023, was a lone, bright orange flower in our apartment courtyard. Even a couple days ago, the thing appeared to be vital. But today, when leaving for a walk, I saw something surprising. Well, you can see from the portrait pair.

The Featured Image comes from the S23 Ultra. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 10, 1/800 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 1:57 p.m. PDT. The photo is cropped 3:2 but not otherwise altered. Color, dynamic range, white balance, etc. are as shot. I used the smartphone’s Portrait mode, which blurred the background. Does that look natural enough to you?

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 26, 20239:37 pm

Overgrown Hydrant

The barrage of winter storms is finally finished for Southern California—as sunny days fill the future forecast. Mountains are snowcapped, reservoirs are full, and total rainfall to date in San Diego is nearly twice the total for all of 2022.

All that precipitation is good for the things that grow from the earth—and do they! Driving down Camino Del Rio N, yesterday, I was delightfully surprised to see massive yellow flowers flanking both sides of the street. The city is quite literally in full bloom.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 25, 20239:21 pm

Balboa Buskers

We return to my most recent visit to San Diego’s Balboa Park—April 20, 2023. Busking can be friendly among musicians but competition for prime location leads to jockeying for position, too. Then there is the decibel factor, when one performer is so loud he or she drowns out and therefore drives away other buskers.

That’s the story behind the Featured Image. After shooting the companion photo—both with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra—I came upon a flutist packing up and moving along. For good reason: The sax player bellowed with great gusto, such that no one could appreciate the higher register of the flute.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 24, 20239:14 pm

Sticker Shock

I couldn’t count the number of times that I have walked by this car, parked in one of the University Heights alleys. I don’t recall which one; they’re so similar in this part of San Diego. On April 19, 2023, I strolled past again, stopped, and turned about. The moment demanded antithetical approach: Shooting colorful stickers in black and white.

The super sharp Featured Image comes from Leica Q2 Monochrom. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/400 sec, 28mm; 5:11 p.m. PDT; composed as shot.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 23, 20238:07 pm

Just Fountain Around

Before taking stealth shots of a pair of content creators, I turned Leica Q2 Monochrom onto a skateboarder going around Bea Evenson Fountain in San Diego’s Balboa Park. Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s 10x zoom lenses—that’s 230mm film equivalent—let me close the distance on the two women but the photo is muddy rather than sharp.

By contrast, the captures from the camera are richly detailed with great dynamic range, even close-cropped. The smartphone’s small sensor cannot compete with the Leica’s full frame. High IQ, meaning image quality, lets me crop in and get much the same benefit of the Samsung’s zoom caapability. That said, 230mm is huge reach and not to be easily dismissed because of its overall utility on a device carried in the pocket.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 21, 20238:58 am

When Vanlife Ends

What could be more aspirational than freedom? Shake off the shackles of mortgage or rent—and associated financial obligations—to travel about as a deliberate vagabond. You aren’t homeless because your vehicle is your residence. Cost-effective. Safe and contained. Simple. Free. All are allures of vanlife.

But what happens when aspiration falls far from reality? I guess that’s the state of the Featured Image, captured using Leica Q2 Monochrom, yesterday. I came upon the van for sale along Alabama Street in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/1600 sec, 28mm; 11:33 a.m.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 20, 202310:00 pm

Uh-oh, Busted Band But, Hey, the Watch is Okay

Gasp. Look what happened to the band on my wife’s Luminox Leatherback Sea Turtle Giant 0323 Dive Watch, which I bought for her as a Christmas present on Nov. 30, 2021; we grabbed the timepiece on a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale—and what savings, too. The manufacturer currently sells the wristwear for 68 percent more than we paid nearly 17 months ago.

Broken was yesterday, when I captured the Featured Image, incidentally. Today, we have an exact replacement band that I purchased through one of Amazon’s third-party sellers. I couldn’t find the correct Polyurethane strap on the Luminox website. But what we got looks legit and appears to be exactly like the one the watch came with.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 15, 20239:44 pm

She Waits

One of the benefits of our old apartment was the frequent nesting of hummingbirds. They typically made their appearance about this time of year, which is why I chose the Featured Image taken on April […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 9, 202310:27 pm

Canyon Zooming Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

While walking along the Vermont Street Bridge, which separates San Diego neighborhoods Hillcrest and University Heights, I caught a flash of blue in the canyon below. Someone, presumably homeless, trudged through the foliage—lush and tall from heavy rains—towards a more protected space. Through the trees, I could make out red color that could be from a tent.

I whipped out Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and captured the Featured Image using the smartphone’s amazing 10X optical zoom capability. The companion pic is 3X, which I chose after seeing that 1X, which is 23mm film equivalent, would barely show the subject. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/120 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 10:15 a.m. PDT, today. The other: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/522 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 10:15 a.m.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 31, 202310:20 pm

A Little Friend Returns

Our daughter’s recovery companion is a little Japanese chick, likely purchased during Comic-Con 2010. She gave it to her best friend years ago; he returned it when she was still in critical condition. Yesterday, our girl left the hospital about 40 minutes shy of 30 days. She has moved on to facility for rehabilitation, which will be the subject of a future post.

For now, the Featured Image is the topic. You can disbelieve me, but this one comes from Nexus One—composed as shot and in no way edited. Vitals are incomplete, but the date is there: July 23, 2010, 1:22 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 29, 20239:53 pm

Another Radio Rig

I most likely shot the Featured Image when offering the radio for sale 10 years ago. To my surprise, Craigslist no longer lists my full history of posts, which is a shocking discovery. I see three total—two for 2022 and one for 2020. Where are the rest?

Fortunately, my email exchanges are diligently archived, which confirms the date. I used Fujifilm X-E1 to shoot the Grundig Satellit 750 on Dec. 22, 2013. Someone bought the world band receiver on Jan. 5, 2014. I do miss the radio, but it was large for my office space at the time.