What is the meaning of the Featured Image? Simply stated: 2025 is a gift, and it’s a gift we should share with other people. Opportunity abounds, if we let it. The first, and very vital, […]
Category: Photo
The Cats of University Heights: Kitten
We close 2024 with what you will see too much of during January and February: Cats! The backlog of unpublished kitties is massive, so time is long past to dispatch them all. The first of the bunch jumps to the front of queue.
I used Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to capture the Featured Image on December 2 at 10:03 a.m. PST. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 200, 1/120 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom). Nickname: Kitten. Location: Somewhere along Georgia Street.
Use Artificial Intelligence to Make Journalists Journalists Again
Among the major problems with today’s news reporting is sourcing. Writers generate stories from Instagrams or TikToks. They take Reddit posts and treat them as gospel (praise, Jesus!). They second- or third-source from blogs, X-posts, or other news sites. Instead, reporters should source firsthand.
If you don’t directly engage someone, you don’t know what’s true. Hearsay isn’t admissible in court and surely shouldn’t be permissible in journalism. I understand that time is a problem when employers impose quotas in an attempt to pay homage to the Great Google God of search. But that’s no excuse for poor sourcing.
Sorry, Santa
File this in the categories of good intentions gone wrong and meddling where you shouldn’t. Leading up to Christmas, unidentified flying objects—presumably drones, some the size of SUVs—flew about New Jersey close to its coastline. UFOs later appeared elsewhere, which includes San Diego County. Some locals talked about shooting one down.
Finally, some solid citizen pulled out some surplus military missile thing and pointed it to the sky. Boom! He got one! But his excitement turned to horror when a spotter reported hitting a different, and quite unintended, target.
Merry Christmas!
Another Christmas Day is nearly over, but every day should be a celebration of giving. Live for the sake others—give and forget. That’s the spirit of the season, which is instead awash with wanton materialism, rather than celebrating Jesus—or the birth of any child, for that matter.
Around San Diego neighborhood University Heights, the atmosphere was spiritless today. During a morning walk, my wife and I passed numerous residents—many of them walking dogs. I greeted everyone with “Good Morning” and “Merry Christmas”. No one, and I mean no one, returned the greeting or acknowledged our presence. I know that we are old now, but so were some of the non-responders.
Plaza Bonita’s Christmas Eve Surprise
Heavy morning fog giving way to drab drizzle defined Christmas Eve. My wife and I broke with our normal neighborhood walking protocol and headed off to one of San Diego’s few enclosed malls: Westfield Plaza Bonita. I wanted someplace for warming walking, and we hadn’t gone retail shopping anywhere really this season.
The shoppers were characteristically different from the locals where we live (University Heights). According to U.S. Census data, National City residents are about 66 percent Hispanic, 19.7 percent Asian, 8 percent White, and 4 percent Black. Around ultra-white UH, Hillcrest, and North Park, the population is older and more likely single or childless couples (straight and not). By contrast, Plaza Bonita bustled with families and teenagers. I swear that the average of people dropped 10 or 15 years. I love it! Hello, National City!
We Found a Rat Rod
This morning, my wife and I walked through Lafayette Hotel, here in University Heights, to see if it was as bustling busy as last Sunday when we looked in to see the holiday decorations. The place was livelier seven days ago.
I had wanted to stroll in with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 to capture video of the zillion Christmas trees (some hanging from the ceiling) and raucous crowd (some of whom were hanging from the ceiling—or might as well been). Perhaps Christmas Eve, or better, New Years Eve will bring the right ambiance.
Nikon Zf First Shots
The new camera proves to be a bit of a bear to handle, simply because the ergonomics surprisingly differ from Leica Q2 and Q2 Monchrom. I expected more obvious manipulation using tactile controls, and I still can’t fathom why the NIKKOR 40mm f/2 (SE) lens has no obvious aperture ring.
I wouldn’t return the camera for these reasons, though. I will adapt, adopt new habits, and make the best of the Nikon Zf‘s many benefits (and idiosyncrasies). The retro-looker packs plenty of potential.
Meet Nikon Zf
UPS delivered the Nikon Zf camera kit, with bundled f/4 40mm lens, and separately two others, on December 16, 2024. But, being busy bustling about other responsibilities, I didn’t break out the camera until last night. I want to share some quick first impressions.
The Zf is hefty in the hand, and the small hand grip makes for questionable balance—and I won’t assess that characteristic until spending more time with the thing in the field (I was supposed to also receive, for free, the Zf-GR1 Extension Grip, but it’s backordered). For that reason, I initially mounted the smallish kit lens—Zf 40mm (SE).
Hotel Del Christmas Tree
Yesterday, I was invited to a luncheon with a group of people celebrating the 2024 Presidential Election. Venue: the historic, stately, and expensive Hotel Del Coronado. I hadn’t been there in years—and never in December. Wow, was the place packed with revelers local and visiting, loners and families, of every fashion.
One neighbor (and good friend) and I were the spendthrifts of the group. She asked if I would want to go halvsies on a meal. That works for me. She suggested a breakfast burrito. Great choice. When the thing was served, I cut off a piece and, after nibbling a bit, decided not to eat any. The tortilla was flaky and tasty and fancily unlike any burrito I ever ate. I thought my wife would love it (she did) and a waiter boxed up the largely uneaten meal. The thing cost $23 before tax and tip, which we split.
I Wouldn’t Live Here
On September 29, I asked: “Would You Want to Live Here?” regarding the new, ah, studio apartments converted from garages along the alley separating Alabama and Florida streets. One of the five units is still available, and it’s the lowest-cost rental here in University Heights: $1,295. Wow, what a bargain.
How much room do you need? The domicile provides a whole 180-square-feet of living space. You don’t mind sleeping on the floor, do you—or eating there—all Japanese style? But the big benefit is proximity to trash and recycle bins. You can practically open the window and drop in trash. The Featured Image shows what to expect. Don’t open the window or door. Oh, that smell!
I Love Leica But…
Yesterday, someone bought my Leica Q2, which I acquired on Dec. 31, 2019. But my Leica journey started in May 2017 with the original Q, which I initially regretted selling. I preferred the smaller sensor (24 megapixels vs 47.3 for the successor), the look of the images produced, and the ability to switch from single to continuous shooting by flicking a switch set around the shutter button. Besides, the Q was my first Leica love—a feeling that didn’t carry forward as I had expected.
Day before yesterday, a doctor and sculptor bought Q2 Monochrom, which I acquired in December 2020. Turns out I don’t have an eye for black-and-white photography. I got good value from the camera but nowhere near what was hoped. Surely the new owners will do better.