Category: Fuji

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 30, 20229:59 pm

Comic-Con’s Crazy COVID Conniption

To close out the month, and first half of the year, we connect the somewhat distant past with the not-so-far-off future. San Diego Comic Con returns July 21-24, 2022 with Preview Night on the 20th. The show floor, or break-out sessions, will look nothing like the Featured Image, taken seven years ago.

SDCC apparently didn’t get the memo that SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 is endemic and no longer pandemic. Locally, people move freely about without being required to wear masks, be tested, or verify vax status. Based on the official tally, the cumulative-calculated case fatality rate in San Diego County is 0.64 percent. Meaning: Your chance of surviving Coronavirus is better than 99 percent, while more than 85 percent of those infected likely show no symptoms.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 28, 202210:19 pm

Ten Years with Neko

On this day in 2012, my wife and I brought home the ginger that the County of San Diego Animal Services called Dermott. We renamed him Neko, which is Japanese for cat. The shelter took him in on February 15. We would have first seen him on either the 18th or 25th; I don’t recall which but am confident a Saturday. Because he was so handsome, we were surprised to see him on subsequent visits.

Our Maine Coon mix, Kuma, disappeared on January 15. After city workers recovered his collar in a nearby canyon, we had to assume that a coyote took him. But being ever hopeful not, I checked the shelter website most evenings and we walked through the facility every few days looking. All the while, Dermott remained unclaimed, and we soon learned why.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 16, 20219:04 pm

Why the Maine Coons Lost Their Home

To see where was the golf cart accident that led to yesterday morning’s dramatic chase and capture, my wife and I walked along Florida to Adams, where I shot additional photos. We returned the same way, passing by a man leaning on the porch railing of the house where feral felines Mimi and Sweet Pea lived for about eight years in the spacious backyard. I profiled both animals in my “Cats of University Heights” series in May 2018.

I asked the gentleman about clearcutting the property, which he confirmed started on Aug. 10, 2021. The action was taken at the behest of the broker, who believes there is a 98-percent chance an investor will buy the place, rather than a resident; removing the lush greenery and trees emphasizes the lot’s large size for the neighborhood and increases likelihood of higher bidding during the September 11 auction.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 17, 20219:18 pm

He Wants You to Celebrate Freedom

The Wilcox family lived nearly 10 years in our old apartment, located in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood. Except briefly for one or two bad rain storms, the small window by the front door stayed […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 31, 20216:37 pm

A Pooch Portrait

Few days ago, Fujifilm unveiled the long-rumored GFX-100S—a 102-megapixel medium-format sensor shooter. I almost regret going back to Leica (Q2 and Q2 Monochrom), after letting go the GFX-50R in late-November 2019. Soon after, I purchased and returned the Sigma fp before buying the Q2. I love Fuji cameras, and the 50R surely satisfied. Problem: The impressive physical size intimidated animals and people, which was my primary reason for selling the thang.

The 100S reminds of what I gave up, with respect to image quality and dynamic range—both stellar benefits of the medium-format behemoth(s). So-o-o, this afternoon, I started reviewing some of my 50R RAW originals and happened upon a pooch portrait that silly me forgot to share with you.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 20, 202012:08 am

Flickr a Week 51a: ‘Someone left These’

Brrr. Does self-titled “Someone left These” make you feel cold? I shiver just looking at this fine photo, which Jack Wallsten captured on Feb. 15, 2017, using Fujifilm X-T2 and Fujinon XF35mmF2 R WR lens. Vitals: f/5, ISO 400, 1/1800 sec, 35mm. The provocative, but simple, shot takes the Sunday spot for color, composition, contrast, and creativity—then there is use of light.

The “professional videographer and editor” shoots “mainly street photography, pictures of my beautiful girlfriend, or sights from my balcony in Örnsberg, a southern suburb of Stockholm”. He wants “to improve as a photographer. I believe that no matter what skills you inhabit you are never too experienced to become better or to discover something new about yourself”.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 16, 202012:06 am

Flickr a Week 51: ‘La Orotava, Tenerife’

Expressing a sentiment that applies to most photos showcased in this series, Viktor Kirilko says about self-titled “La Orotava, Tenerife“: “Pre COVID-19 era”. No social distancing. No mandated mask wearing. We see life as it was—magnificently depicted, too—one year ago, when, already, SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2) silently spread. How dramatically—no, drastically—life has changed since.

Viktor captured the moment on Dec. 7, 2019, using Fujifilm X100. Vitals: f/16, ISO 200, 1/4000 sec, 23mm. Nearly a decade after its release, the X100 is still worthy in capable hands and eyes. The photo takes the week for clarity, color, contrast, sassy saturation, and three-dimensional depth. BTW, the yellow building to the right is a hardware store: Ferretería Orotava. The Novel Coronavirus hit Spain hard. Did, or will, the shop—and others around it—survive?

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 13, 202012:30 am

Flickr a Week 50a: ‘Rastplatz’

Our nature trek starts with Enzio Harpaintner and self-titled “Rastplatz“, which translates from German as “resting place”. He used Fujifilm X-H1 and Fujinon XF100-400mmF4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens to capture the little bird, on […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 20, 202012:01 am

Flickr a Week 38a: ‘No Trespassing’

Our Sunday selection goes to Susan Jane Golding, who snapped this street shot on May 10, 2018, using Fujifilm X-Pro2 and Fujinon XF35mmF2 R WR lens. Vitals are unknown because the metadata is absent. Self-titled “No […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 13, 202012:00 am

Flickr a Week 37b: ‘Window’

Self-titled “Window” isn’t the best street shot in the Photostream of Spyros Papaspyropoulos, but it’s the one that caught my eye and that appropriately defines his style: People, or things, that fit oddly together. His composition technique is brash and intimate—as if he were invisible and thus able to get close in to capture candid, raw, unfiltered moments.

He used Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon XF18mmF2 R lens for the portrait “snapped in Chania, Crete, Greece” on Aug. 8, 2018. Vitals: f/11, ISO 1600, 1/250 sec, 18mm. The image takes the Sunday spot for candor, character, color, composition, and creamy grain that adds film-like quality. From Athens, but living in Rethymno, Spyros joined Flickr in May 2008. He also is cofounder of Street Hunters—where you should go to see more of his work and that of his companion photographers.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 6, 202012:00 am

Flickr a Week 36a: ‘The Mystery Woman’

Composition, light, shadows, symmetry, and intrigue give the Sunday spot to self-titled “The Mystery Woman” by Enric Fradera, which he captured on April 17, 2015, using Fujifilm X100. Vitals: f/2, ISO 200, 1/750 sec, 23mm. […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 9, 202012:15 am

Flickr a Week 32a: ‘I Couldn’t Resist’

Self-titled “I Couldn’t Resist” certainly could be me—or perhaps you—walking by, seeing the sign, and taking the shot. But the moment belongs to Tom Driggers, who explains: “How very appropriate! This humorous sign was standing near the register at a well-known sandwich shop in Atlanta, GA”. The composed juxtaposition—big, sharp sign to the right and blurred cook to the left—just works.

Tom used Fujifilm X100F on Jan. 25, 2019 to capture our Weekend Winner. Vitals: f/2, ISO 640, 1/125 sec, 23mm.