Category: Aspiration

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 1, 202311:04 pm

Mission (Beach) Accomplished

Last night, my wife strongly suggested that we make an early coastal excursion today. Honestly, I was a bit ambivalent but followed along. Advice to myself: Listen to Annie. We both enjoyed the simple outing, which turned out to be unexpectedly productive, too. Destination: San Diego’s Mission Beach.

We arrived close to 9 a.m. PDT to find ample parking (still) but masses of people already gathered for the July 4th holiday weekend. In addition to sand and sea, Belmont Park, with its iconic rollercoaster, is the other main attraction. Annie and I traipsed about before rides or stores opened, coming upon a sign for holiday special: annual pass for $98 (discounted from $120).

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 29, 20239:30 pm

Don’t Be Angry

San Diego Comic-Con commences with Preview Night, on July 19, 2023. Early buzz isn’t so much about what attendees will see but what they won’t. The Writer’s Guild of America is on strike and could be joined by SAG-AFTRA, which represents 160,000 actors, as early as tomorrow.

In the midst of the mayhem, Hollywood studios suddenly are pulling presence from this year’s Con. The infamous Hall H, where some of the best panels and previews take place, is suddenly an unpopular presentation venue. Pick any number of reasons, among them: Nobody to be on stage for fans to gawk at; picketers parading placards outside the convention center.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 19, 202310:19 pm

You Could Work From Home

Are you doing it now, or hoping to? Thanks to SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 mandates, many people were compelled to work from home—and when the restrictions lifted many didn’t want to return to the office. Of course, much depended upon the employee’s duties.

Let me clear up some myths, having worked out of a home office since May 1999. Often someone would ask how I could work at home and not be distracted by the environment or tempted to watch television all day. That was never my problem. Let’s start with that one and move along.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 16, 20238:10 pm

Rustic Rose

Walking along Campus Ave., yesterday, here in San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, a few properties past the Schoolhouse, I came upon some roses of similar—if not the same—variety as the ones shared with you a few weeks ago. I thought: They’re white. I’m carrying Leica Q2 Monochrom. Why not?

The Featured Image is the original, edited to taste but composed as shot. The companion is a close crop so you can see just how amazing is the dazzling detail that this camera can capture. Focus is spot on where I wanted it.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 15, 20238:14 pm

Mommy Monarch

According to one of my neighbors, who tends a butterfly garden in her front yard, a female Monarch lays eggs on milkweed. As such, the mom-to-be stayed still long enough for me to shoot six shots, the last being the Featured Image.

This one is composed as captured and as produced by Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Meaning: No post-production. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/850 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 11:25 a.m. PDT, today.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 14, 20238:54 pm

A Walk in the Park

This massively cropped composition catches walkers in San Diego’s Balboa Park, on April 20, 2023. I used Leica Q2 Monochrom to capture the Featured Image. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/11, ISO 200, 1/400 sec, 28mm; […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 12, 20239:47 pm

Keep It Simple

Around my neighborhood are many little lending libraries. Some are fancy, others large, then there those paying homage to something. All are wooden boxes of various types placed and placarded (as LittleFreeLibrary). Someone made them.

But why go to all that trouble? Today, I happened upon the best book sharing station ever. Why build something new, when you can repurpose something else—in this instance a fence post upon which to place a cardboard box with books. I love it! Use what you got instead of making something new.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 11, 202310:09 pm

Neko Nestles

As the hunt for my neighbor’s missing kitty Bruce continues, I take a moment to regard one of our two felines. Neko has started to occasionally nap on the bed in my old office, which is now our daughter’s bedroom. She moved into our apartment on April 11, 2023, as part of recovery from a traumatic event, which her medical record describes as “severe hypoxic injury and bilateral subcortical infarctions”. Her progress so far is nothing short of miraculous, considering where she was on March 2. That said, doctors have counseled us to expect one to two years for her brain to heal as much as it will ever.

Our girl’s arrival kind of sent the cats (Cali is the other) into exile from one of their main rooms in the residence. But the Featured Image, taken today using Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, shows how Neko is starting to share territory with our girl. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 125, 1/60 sec, 70mm; 10:40 a.m. PDT; composed as shot.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 10, 20239:49 pm

National Pride

June is when come out the proud boys—and I don’t mean the group caught up in what occurred inside and outside the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. Rainbow banners fly in homes and businesses around San Diego, supposedly supporting the prideful.

So I was quite surprised, today, to come upon colors of different character and national pride. At the corner of Madison and Texas streets, someone set up a stand selling the flag of Mexico and related sundries. Driving to Costco and stopped at a red light, I rolled down the car’s window and used Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra to shoot the Featured Image and companion.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 3, 20239:33 pm

Runny Bunny

Walking home from Trader Joe’s this afternoon, I passed a rabbit hanging out on the lawn where Kitty used to go. (One of the “Cats of University Heights“, the tuxedo vanished in September 2021.) The bunny seemed quite content until I reached for Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra; he hoped off and stopped behind the gate leading into the backyard.

The smartphone may not produce the sharpest photos, but they’re good enough, particularly considering the benefit: Massive 10x optical zoom in a device carried in my pocket; no bulky, costly expensive camera gear required.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 30, 202310:20 pm

You Fill Up My Senses

For a seeming paradise environment, San Diego air fills with bad smells: chemical (mostly from pesticides); exhaust (mostly from construction machinery and vehicles); rotting food (from compost and garbage containers); skunky stink (from pot smokers); and urine (from the homeless), among many others. (Got an hour to read? I can give a fuller list.)

So it was a surprise, and relief, when my wife and I hit a sweet smelling zone while walking on May 26, 2023. The Featured Image shows why: Hedge of Honeysuckle. Thank you, neighbor, whomever you are! At a time when more residences erect fortress fences around their properties, someone else chooses a natural barrier that delights the senses—eyes along with the nose.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 27, 202310:07 pm

‘Feed Me! Please?’

The fine family that owns ginger cat Daniel Tiger also keeps three chickens. Typically, a jar of feed is placed in a caddy on the fence so that neighbors can greet and treat the birds. But, today, when my wife and I walked by, the glass wasn’t half full, so to speak, but empty. We had nothing to share, and, oh, did the hens want some.

When we slipped out of the apartment between loads of washed and drying laundry, I left behind Leica Q2. To capture the moment, I relied on Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, choosing the Portrait mode that creates bokeh—or the illusion of blurred background.