To celebrate yet another Caturday, we are assisted by the stalwart Sharky. I would nickname him Bruiser if not knowing his real identity. He’s a tough-looking beastie—not one to lose a territorial squabble, one could imagine.
I met Sharky once, on April 10, 2022, along Monroe about a half block from where reside Bruce, Guido, and Little. The Featured Image and companion come from iPhone 13 Pro. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/194 sec, 77mm; 4:22 p.m. PDT. The other is same but 1/233 sec.
When my wife and I set out for a morning walk today, we passed by the same mirrors from whence came my selfie yesterday. She stopped for one, too, and I captured the Featured Image; discretely with iPhone 13 Pro. Vitals: f/1.5, ISO 50, 1/1901 sec, 26mm; 10:26 a.m. PDT.
Annie tends to shoot portrait orientation, and she has a great eye for composition. More than 99-percent of the time, I choose landscape. You could count on one hand my number of vertical shots since acquiring Leica Q2 on the last day of 2019.
I am not one to take selfies but an odd opportunity presented today and the result is better than my expectation. While walking along the alley separating Alabama and Florida, in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood, I came upon discarded mirrors between cross-streets Adams and Madison. Initially, I shot sideways, capturing car reflections across the way.
My journey continued. But along Adams and the next parallel alley, I encountered a nasty wind. Chilled, I chose to retrace my warmer path. That brought me back to the mirrors, which pitted, scratched state made me stop and ponder taking a shot from the hip, which I did after manually setting the aperture on Leica Q2.
I can’t explain why the Featured Image appeals to me. Maybe the gent’s mouth caught in speaking motion is reason combined with tilt of head, necklaces hung around neck, and one presented in hand. Is he selling the beaded strings? Seeking donations? I want to know.
The moment is from the Labor Day Parade on Sept. 5, 2005 in Kensington, Md. I used Canon EOS 20D for the portrait, which is composed as shot. Vitals: f/10, ISO 400, 1/500 sec, 40mm; 10:26 a.m. EDT.
Some single sightings simply must be enough. As I crossed Monroe along Georgia on Feb. 5, 2022, a ginger strutted down the sidewalk and diagonally cut across grass and stopped at a sunny spot near the back stairs of an apartment complex. Two portraits taken using Leica Q2 flopped because the animal had turned away. One of a pair from iPhone 13 Pro has the shorthair showing his face, but even cropped 100 percent reveals little detail.
Since I am not hopeful about another meeting, so comes the decision to publish. Vitals for the Featured Image: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/254 sec, 77mm; 12:46 p.m. PST. Drumroll for nickname—Apricot!
On University Avenue in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood—alongside Bohdi Animal Hospital, across from Smart and Final—is a fitting homeless habitat. That is, if you go for the stereotype of some street-living person paranoid about government surveillance, which could include nanites from SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 vaccines. The sign says it all, in a triumphant tables-turning warning to the spies.
Today, as my wife and I waited for our turn to cross the street, I pulled around Leica Q2 for a single shot. Because, ah, someone watched me, speed mattered. The Featured Image is a close-crop, and, yes, University slopes along that stretch at Mississippi.
Somewhere in my San Diego neighborhood, I passed by these giveaways that aren’t for just anyone. Read the sign. Does your residence rise to the high bar set by “Good Homes” with an exclamation? I couldn’t take anything being among the many unworthy.
There are the makings of a good home, singular, for someone starting out in a first rental, particularly a studio. That’s who would be most worthy recipient. What first furnishings: Sofa, storage rack, pillows, VHS player, cleaning supplies, and more.
For Friday the Thirteenth, we present a lucky find from yesterday. While walking up Meade Avenue in North Park, just beyond the University Heights boundary at Texas, my wife spotted a skinny kitty dash across the street. Annie eventually found him (or her) hiding under a truck on Arizona. We moved along.
Not long later, I spotted a shorthair slunk low in a porch column’s shadow. Annie expressed concern about the beastie acting fearful. That’s when I exclaimed and pointed to the cat’s companion, which had riveted attention: Mouse in a plastic cage. Oh, how I wonder what is the backstory!
My wife and I drove over to Balboa Park, today, to explore Palm Canyon Trail, only to find much of the path blocked by chain-link and sign. We covered greater distance walking from the parking lot to the path’s entrance. Well, welcome to the wiles of San Diego’s hidden natural wonders.
Still, I relished having dirt, rather than cement, beneath my shoes—and the outside-the-city feeling of being inside the canyon, beneath the cover of various tree species, with bird call above and the only other sound being the intrusive roar of jets flying overhead to land at the airport (yeah, flightpath).
We stay on Louisiana Street, where on the same block you might meet: Cuddles, Honcho, Jingles, Kuro, Regal, Saunter, or Squeaky. All-blacks are often hardest for me to distinguish. This fine feline bears resemblance to Kuro, who was spotted on a nearby property, but without bell collar; so I take a chance that the two are not one and the same.
The beastie backlog remains, but with fewer left to publish. While I have seen this shorthair several times over several months, the documented meeting (and greeting) occurred on Jan. 28, 2022.
During the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns, I got into the bad habit of photographing alleys, buildings, and streets—yeah cats, too—but have yet to get back to people. They have come out of their dwellings, so I have no excuse.
That as preface, I present a pair of photos where humans are present but unseen. Hey, these aren’t self-driving cars. The view looks out from the University Avenue bridge in Hillcrest onto slow-moving traffic along California State Highway 163.
I am not obsessed with the construction site at El Cajon Blvd and Louisiana Street, despite the number of recent photos and commentaries about it: Cave’s Grave; Wonder Wall; Shattered Serenity; Postal Convenience Center. My interest is what the project represents to San Diego neighborhoods Hillcrest, North Park, and University Heights, where relaxation of zoning rules is bringing down charming businesses and homes and replacing them with high-rises that are way out of character with the area.
The Featured Image, taken on May 7, 2022 using Leica Q2, captures before, during, and after multi-unit construction. Foreground looks across the aforementioned recent demolition to a four-story residential complex at Mississippi, overlooking the recently relocated Red Fox Steak House.