Over four days and Preview Night, San Diego Comic-Con presents people opportunity to cosplay as someone whom they aspire to be. Cosplayers are popular with any camera-carrying attendees, which could be anyone and everyone because of ubiquity and versatility of smartphones.
But the event is demanding, especially when costumes and accompanying gear are bulky or heavy. People tire, as you can see from the Featured Image, which hardly shows two people in character.
Don’t bother asking. Joe has no idea what are Link Monks–—if he ever knew. I used Fujifilm X-T1 and XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS lens to shoot the Featured Image, eleven years ago today during San Diego Comic-Con 2015.
Vitals: f/3.2, ISO 200, 1/2500 sec, 18.8mm; 10:44 a.m. PDT. The portrait is a horizontal crop from a vertical original. See how sharp the shot still is? I loved the X-T1, BTW.
Eleven years ago today, I stomped about San Diego Convention Center shooting photos of Comic-Con 2015. Next week, I return for two days—Thursday and Sunday—marking my first attendance since (gasp) 2017. Oh, I tried but failed to secure passes.
During 2015 Con, I purchased the Fujifilm X-T1, bundled with two lenses, from Best Buy and made good use of the kit during most of the four full days. I used the X-T1 and XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS lens to capture the Featured Image. Vitals: f/4, ISO 2500, 1/60 sec, 18mm; 4:31 p.m. PDT, July 9, 2015.
Let’s play memories like Facebook or your favorite photo app might do by presenting posts or pics from that day over the years. On July 9, 2015, San Diego Comic-Con commenced with Preview Night, and I was there.
In no way could I guess that the year would be my last with full attendance to the event over the full four days and evening. I did possess an entire Con pass for 2016, but I underwent cataract surgery that limited going to Saturday and Sunday; handicapped, I made no meaningful pictorial record.
One-eyed Warrior and this blackie playfully chased one another on May 22, 2026. I have seen neither since. Both stopped and rested under the same car. They could easily be a bonded pair, for there was no territorial tension between them,
I used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens to capture the Featured Image. Vitals: f/8, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, 400mm; 9:58 a.m. PDT. Nickname: Pango, which is Māori for black.
Happy Caturday! I held back this kitty, thinking that the Featured Image was Donuts, because of fur markings, size, and location seen. But on closer inspection, they are different animals.
The portrait comes from Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, on April 1, 2026. Vitals: f/2.9, ISO 25, 1/135 sec; 7:44 a.m. PDT. Nickname: Jolie, which is French for Pretty.
The mailman, whose last day delivering to my street is tomorrow, delivered not one but two golden tickets: Thursday and Sunday passes to San Diego Comic-Con 2026. The annual pulp media pilgrimage starts one month from today, July 23, and runs through the 26th. Additionally, the lucky—or the chosen—can attend Preview Night on the 22nd.
Thursday is official first day. Friday tends to be busier. Saturday often is busiest because of the masquerade ball that evening. You will see more cosplayers strutting about than on any other day. I call Sunday “family day”; locals predominantly fill the convention center. Meanwhile, the majority of celebrities have gone. (Should I say good riddance?)
This afternoon, as I walked along Mississippi Street, about a block-and-a-half South of El Cajon Blvd, a gentleman coming towards me wished a hearty “Happy Father’s Day!” He passed, I turned around, and I called, “Are you a dad??” So that I could return the sentiment. He isn’t one yet.
So, I asked how old he is. Thirty-one. He hopes to be a father someday, but he’s still single, and he is but six months into the current relationship; I heard hope in the man’s voice regarding the woman.
Today, the portrait used to illustrate this 2021 post popped up in my photo memories from June 19, 2013. Well, where is one, what about another? Digging through an old external hard drive I found several and chose the Featured Image.
The photo is a reminder of what I liked and loathed about the Fujifilm FinePix X100, which I acquired in May 2011, soon after its launch availability. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 1000, 1/60 sec, 23mm (35mm film equivalent); 7:13 a.m. PDT. Composed as shot; unedited.
This morning my wife rang, unexpectedly. After a brisk morning of cooking, she had gone out for an unwinding walk. I stayed behind to clean up the kitchen and wash dishes. She called after coming upon a wayward rabbit. By fur color, this was a wild bunny. But another characteristic revealed a domesticated animal. Somebody’s pet.
When living in the Washington, DC area, our family owned two bunnies: Daisy and Mayflower. Both had floppy ears, which is not a trait exhibited in nature. As you can see from the Featured Image and companions, this rabbit has floppy ears, which are a product of domestication and selective breeding.
Say what you will about Donald Trump but the man knows how to throw a birthday party. His 80th brought the UFC Freedom 250 to the South Lawn of the White House. What a spectacle it was, last night.
For all the pomp, all the celebrity, and the testosterone, the White House itself emerged as a symbol of the Trump Presidency and secondary star of the fighting event. Americans don’t get to see inside the White House. It’s locked down so tight. But through the UFC event, Trump opened the building for everyone to see–unlike any president before him. His house is your house.
This fine feline is the eighty-sixth found behind door or window. I spotted him on June 12, 2026, during an early morning walk, and used Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra to shoot the Featured Image.
Vitals: f/2.9, ISO 25, 1/2000 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 8:17 a.m. PDT. Nickname: Gingerbread.