Category: Nikon

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 16, 20259:34 pm

Tire Planters

Believe it, or not, the Featured Image is from one of the alleys in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. I used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens to capture the moment on May 19, 2025. Vitals: f/11, ISO 200, 1/160 sec, 24mm; 3:05 p.m. PDT.

I typically edit photos from RAW, but this one is a JPEG straight from the camera—unaltered and composed as shot. I like the simplicity and oddity of the tire planters set against bamboo stalks. The things people put, or in this case keep, in one of the alleys.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 27, 20257:23 pm

Being Beachy without Waves

While walking to Smart & Final in North Park on April 19, 2025, my wife suggested going along one of the alleys we rarely traverse. At the end—I believe at Lincoln Street—she stopped, transfixed by a bright yellow cottage. The color, compactness, and surfboards screamed San Diego, despite being about 13 km (8 miles) from the waves off of Ocean Beach.

Annie pulled out her Samsung Galaxy S25 for some quick snaps. I did likewise with Nikon Zf and attached NIKKOR Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR lens. Vitals for the Featured Image: f/11, ISO 200, 1/200 sec, 60mm; 12:55 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 13, 20257:42 pm

What Are You Afraid Of?

Fear appears to be one of the most popular peddled commodities on the planet, currently and has been for some time. Tomorrow, across the United States “No Kings” protests are planned in communities large and small; these folks are afraid of Donald Trump.

U.S. immigrants—and not necessarily illegal ones—are afraid of ICE (Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement) agents. Many federal employees are afraid about losing their jobs or benefits, while receivers of federal funds fear losing them.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 21, 20259:57 pm

Yet Another Bible Story

Yesterday, my wife and I drove to East County on an errand. Returning, she missed an exit, and we ended up in downtown La Mesa. What an opportunity! We took it. Annie parked in the neighborhood nearby the Christian bookstore where in January 2021 we bought a Bible for her and in November 2022 another for me.

We were shocked! The shop is gone. Another retailer fills the space. I searched online for some information about what happened and when but found nothing—not on Yelp or the former business’ social media sites, like Instagram. But given the new occupant, I presume the demise isn’t all that recent.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 16, 20256:57 pm

Another University Heights Fire

Sometime after 11:30 a.m. PDT today, my wife spotted black, billowing smoke rising in the near distance; I suspected perhaps along El Cajon Blvd or among the houses between cross-streets Florida and Mississippi. A fire truck turning that way on Florida seemed to confirm my suspicion. But I was mistaken.

Smoke had dissipated by the time I crossed the Boulevard on foot in pursuit. As I approached Polk, smokey smell tickled my nostrils—yuck, from up the very steep hill to Georgia. After confirming with a bicyclist walking down the incline that the fire really was above, I grudgingly trudged away. Sure enough, with burning legs the cost, I had come to the right street.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 14, 202510:12 pm

Red Fox Perishes

The big, unexpected news and social media story this week here in University Heights is the sudden closure of the Red Fox Steakhouse and Piano Bar. According to bloggers, Facebookers, Journalists, Nextdoor posters, and more (oh, the dirt they sling): Management called staff to an all-hands meeting midday Monday (today is Wednesday) and fired everyone. Red Fox was closed immediately.

Except for San Diego Union Tribune wrongly calling the location North Park most of the scuttlebutt appears to be consistent but lacking one thing substantive: Why? Since everything in business is one way or another related to money, speculation and second-hand former employee reports indicate financial hardship. That would make sense, if, say, there was cashflow problems that prevented buying staples—like raw meat and veggies to cook and serve. Who knows.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 26, 20259:47 pm

Well, it’s Not Dairy Queen

Two weeks ago, my wife and I shopped at the Grocery Outlet on Waring Road, which is sandwiched between San Diego neighborhoods Grantville and Del Cerro. I tend to blitz through the grocery store. Annie is more deliberate, thoughtful, and so she tends to take longer.

So, I had some free time to mill about the strip mall, where is the ever-so non-descript TC’s Rockets comic bookstore. On another Saturday, I ventured into the cavernous space, where—beyond the racks and stacks of goodies for sale—guys (mostly) spread out on long tables and engaged in various role-playing games. Oh, the joy, of seeing real board gaming and imagination, rather than dudes planted in front of the TV, controller in hand.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 20, 202512:12 pm

An Easter Surprise

In the area of San Diego where we live, a look at most any window can reveal signage—most commonly: BLM, rainbow flag, resist (Trump), and occasionally an upside-down American flag, for example. So, surprise me (and perhaps you): The cross seen in the Featured Image, on April 3, 2024, along Park Blvd, a few blocks from the zoo.

Except for the few churches, I can’t recall ever seeing a cross so brazenly displayed in a neighborhood where people demand what they can get rather than what they can give—like the rainbow house of, ah, worship that claims “Love is Love is all You Need”. Ah, no.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 16, 20259:35 pm

Two Pandas and a Cat

I am way behind posting and make an executive decision: To share a few photos from our second trip—today—since rejoining San Diego Zoo as annual local members (first visit pics are forthcoming). My wife and I parked around 50 minutes after opening, and already the place was packed with families; by the accents, many were adult tourists and their kids.

Annie loves the red pandas (see second shot); a male lives in the main zoo and the female in the children’s area. On the way to the male, we passed the Giant Panda enclosure, where one could be seen sleeping. You tell me: Is that Yun Chuan or Xin Bao?

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 11, 20259:45 pm

My Cat Wants to Know: What the Tech?

The things that waste time. April 4, 2025: I pull a SD card from the camera, put it in a reader, and plug into one of the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge USB-C ports. Nothing happens. Windows 11 won’t mount the card. Uh, oh-oh.

Blame always starts with software—or should. I reinstalled the drivers. No change. Rebooted the operating system. No difference. The card’s contacts were clean, so I ruled that out. Somehow, I worried, the storage thang had gone bad. Oh no! I hadn’t backed up the photos recently.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 10, 20259:59 pm

Preparing to Bike

Among the benefits and features that influenced my decision to buy Nikon Zf: Easily accessible switch to toggle to black and white. Color is preserved in RAW, while the JPEGs are monochrome. The switch is thumb accessible, nearby the capture button and beneath the shutter speed dial.

The Featured Image is an example of the output, and one that I doctored in post-production to obscure a fundamental boo-boo. The photo isn’t sharp, so I took advantage of monochrome to create more analog ambiance by adding considerable amount of grain, which would more typically be removed.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 8, 20259:49 pm

You’re Waiting for WHAT?

This morning, my wife and I walked over to Trader Joe’s, after failing to find what we wanted from Smart & Final. Approaching, we observed a long line wrapped down the side of the store around to the back employee/loading entrance.

Is this about eggs? I wondered, thinking that perhaps people were being let in a few customers at a time to avoid crowding and violating fire codes. But, when we arrived at the doors, other folks flowed in and out unimpaired. The line stayed still in place. WTH?