Category: Photo

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 12, 20269:39 pm

Party on Park in Black and White

Among the many tactile features I find beneficial on Nikon Zf, the monochrome switch is one of the most useful. In about one second, I can go from capturing color to black and white, which is super handy when street shooting—no post-production tweaking required.

On Saturday (May 9, 2026), University Heights hosted Party on Park, which was billed as a community block party, with live music, various vendors, and specials from street-side eateries. I walked through twice, first with DJI Osmo Nano—my first outing with the action camera (footage not yet processed). Later, I hauled up with the Zf and attached NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 11, 202610:04 pm

A Story of Two Meals

Confession: The family, spurred on by our daughter, is taking almost too much advantage of the Too Good To Go app—Android for me, iOS for her. Local eateries offer up food, presumably what wasn’t sold during typical business hours, for significant discount. Most places offer grab bags.

Today, my wife drove us to the Pop Pie in South Park, where I had reserved a bag with two savory pies. They typically sell for $12.50 a piece but were $$8.66 before tax together. These babies are tasty, too, and premium ingredients. Another location is closer, a few blocks away here in University Heights, but Pop Pie South Park is where I beat out others for the reservation (stated differently: goods move fast).

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 10, 202610:02 pm

Mother’s Day Starter Kit

“If it lives, kill it” might as well be the axiom across San Diego city and the close-in communities, like the Village of University Heights or nearby Hillcrest and North Park. Insecticide is spread among so many properties that I am surprised there are any insects at all. Butterflies still flourish as do house flies, crickets, and some spiders. But they don’t thrive and their numbers are diminished.

Far more serious is the carnage among things that grow. Homeowners chop down trees, tear out grass, and replace lovely green spaces with cold concrete and wood structures, so-called Accessary Dwelling Units, or ADUs. The city wants them, and residents are rewarded for erecting ADUs. Other folks keep the lawn space but replace grass with wood chips or sand; trees of every kind, even those bearing fruit, are destroyed and replaced with succulents.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 9, 202610:19 pm

Always Annette

I am not much of a poet, although you can count on me for song lyrics. Difference: One is more structured, set to melody, and tells a story—and I have a knack for the latter. That said, my beloved sister Annette passed away unexpectedly 10 years ago today, and I wanted to give something to her three children—who also lost their father—and to my two other sisters.

So, sitting in the back of our car, I pulled out Galaxy Tab 11 Ultra, opened Google Keep, and wrote them a poem over the next hour or so. The verse is written to be emotive for a select audience. However, thinking about Mother’s Day tomorrow, the poem could be used for any other mum.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 7, 202610:19 pm

Google Store, San Diego

I remember when Fashion Valley Mall had three tech branded boutique stores—Apple, Microsoft, and Sony. In my analysis, these digital lifestyle shops were the future of tech retail. But I was wrong. Microsoft Store opened in late June 2010 on the same day as Apple’s massive iPhone 4 launch. Microsoft shuttered all 83 stores 10 years later. Sony exited branded retail earlier, in 2014.

Fast-forward to the renewed future of digital lifestyle branded boutique stores. Tomorrow, Google joins thriving Apple Store as a Fashion Valley tech retailer. San Diego marks the 10th location, and it is well-placed, too—upper level across from the food court and in the same quadrant as Anthropologie, Banana Republic, and Oliver Peoples. That’s a high-traffic corridor.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 6, 20268:56 pm

Why Wait for Mother’s Day?

Our daughter brought home Baby’s Breath as an early Mother’s Day gift. I write on Wednesday, the holiday is Sunday. I take full blame for the haphazard way the flowers are crammed into the IKEA TILLBRINGARE pitcher. Annie, the artist, can make any changes tomorrow.

The Featured Image, cropped square from a 4:3 original, comes from Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Vitals: f/1.4. ISO 160, 1/120 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 8:11 p.m.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 5, 20269:57 pm

How We Named Her

Two days ago, I asked on Facebook: Why Did You Choose Your Child’s Name? An aunt, niece, and two sisters responded. For example, Nanette answered about another niece: “Lynnae’s name was chosen as part of my middle name and adding the ‘ae’ to make it unique”.

My wife and I considered several names before settling on Molly for no reason that I can recall. Coincidentally, my then 94-year-old great-grandmother started a health decline during the late stage of Annie’s pregnancy—and she was way overdue! I told Annie that the baby wasn’t coming out until Gram passed. She died on August 1st, Molly was born the next morning, 18 days late. I would later learn that Molly is a nickname for Mary—Gram’s name. Serendipity?

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 4, 20269:44 pm

What’s in a Grocer’s Name?

I made an organic milk run this evening and decided to take a stock shot. One of the many improvements that Samsung makes with the Galaxy S26 Ultra: Wider-aperture telephoto lenses that let in more light, which improves night shooting. The Featured Image, unedited and composed as captured, is good example. Vitals: f/2.9, ISO 640, 1/120 sec, 115mm (film equivalent); 8:51 p.m. PDT.

The choice of Sprouts is deliberate, and not just because I shopped there. The grocery store prohibits taking photos onsite; any attempt indoors will summon an employee lickety-split. In fact, if you need assistance and can’t find anyone around, pull out your phone and pretend to photograph something. It’s like rubbing the genie jar and poof.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 3, 20269:23 pm

Pumps for Trump

Something’s not right when your local, normally reasonably-priced filling station sells gasoline above the statewide average. According to AAA, as of today, the national average gas price per gallon is $4.446. We pay more than any other state, $6.101, which as you can see from the Featured Image is about 10 cents higher. The station is located at El Cajon and Texas on the North Park side of the street. The Arco on the University Heights side of Texas is a dime less per gallon.

As the conflict, let’s call it war, with Iran continues, the long-term consequences are all guesswork, and plenty of pundits try to do just that. I suspect the immediate impact will be diminished in the United States because of domestic energy production and what the Trump administration can siphon off from Venezuela.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 2, 20269:37 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Oren

We reach a little ways into the backlog to Aug. 11, 2025 for an unusual putty-tat. Look at those ears, which inspired the nickname, Oren, translated from the Dutch. Oren is the eighty-third cat found behind door or window, since the series‘ start 10 years ago.

I used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens to capture the Featured Image, which is close-cropped. f/8, ISO 560, 1/400 sec, 400mm; 3:01 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 1, 20269:16 pm

Once More, We Say Good-bye to San Diego Zoo

Our zoo membership expired yesterday; we chose not to renew. My wife and I hadn’t gone in months, with paid-parking changes one of the major factors keeping us away. Technically, members don’t pay to park, but confusion and congestion diminished the attendance experience.

I wonder how many members the zoo has lost because of the end to free parking for all. Matters are worse at Balboa Park, where many museums report attendance declines of 20 percent or more. Technically, both places are walkable destinations from our apartment: 3 km (1.9 miles) to the zoo, 3.3 km (2 miles) to the park. But the aforementioned confusion and congestion remain deterrents. Sigh.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 30, 20269:18 pm

When AI Makes You Somebody Else

Earlier today, as a memory, Microsoft OneDrive presented photos taken on this date in 2022—when the village of University Heights celebrated 25 years of its iconic sign. I had captured the majority of pics using Leica Q2 Monochrom, which was beyond my meager amateur skills. I sold the camera to a doctor in December 2024.

Looking over the selection, I chose one random street shot for artificial intelligence embellishment. I clicked the “Restyle with AI” button and typed “colorize”, which took surprising amount of time to do. The app, running on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, presented three options. I saved them all for your review, because the AI did more than add color; it made some surprising changes to the content that you must see.