More than 10 years ago, in late October, an abandoned property on North Ave. in San Diego’s University Heights community was fixed up as a neighborhood fright-fest for local kids. I’ve called the place the […]
Flickr a Week 21a: ‘Intimacy’
What could be better to celebrate my dad’s 79th birthday than something he might see loose on the family farm? Stephanie Young Merzel delivers, with self-titled “Intimacy“, which is a keeper for clarity, color, and […]
Traffic Detours, Pandemic, and Makeshift Cul-De-Sacs
The so-called “traffic calming measures” along Meade Ave. at Alabama and Louisiana are nearly complete. I will be sorry to see the “road closed” signs come down—and I won’t be alone. California schools and many local businesses (still) are shut because of the COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2) pandemic. Semi-blocked Alabama—and to lesser degree Louisiana—is a makeshift cul-de-sac where kids bike, run about, and skateboard. Soon, the party’s over, following nearly six month’s construction.
As of this week, all 50 US states are partially to semi-completely reopened. Meanwhile, the Novel Coronavirus rages on. According to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, there are, as I write, nearly 5 million confirmed cases (4,996,472) in 188 countries and 328,115 reported deaths. Soon to be 100,000 of the dead are from the United States (93,439 currently).
Flickr a Week 21: ‘Luberon’
The week goes to Willy Verhulst and self-titled “Luberon“, or as he elaborates: “Meeting with a survivor of the past”. The portrait is evocative, and demonstrates how black-and-white photography can strip away distractions so that […]
Flickr a Week 20a: ‘Truck Bed Friends’
The definition of frustration is an artist like Göran Johansson, whose Photostream presents too many superb street shots to choose from. Almost any image is worthy, but the Sunday spot goes to self-titled “Truck Bed Friends” […]
The Cats of University Heights: Lily
This morning, while we walked along Meade, my wife spotted a grey kitty across the street, nearby a gent whom we had spoken to once many moons ago. Turns out, the slender beauty belongs to him. Meet 13 year-old Lily, who appeared in nearly the same spot as Mittens in October 2017.
I used iPhone XS to capture the Featured Image and its companion. Both portraits are composed as shot. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 25, 1/1282 sec, 26mm (film equivalent); 9:24 a.m. PDT. The other is same except for 1/1136 sec.
Streamline Barber Shop
Strange the things you see every day and ignore until the unexpected occurrence draws your attention. Last week, for reasons I won’t bother guessing, YouTube’s algorithm recommended video “I Bought An Airstream! Tiny Home Project” by vlogger Monica Church. Bored, I watched—and, admittedly, intrigued.
Yesterday, while walking along the alley behind Coronavirus-closed LeStat’s, I walked by the Airstream perennially parked there and took fresh notice. With the “shelter-in-place” orders still shuttering most businesses, but restrictions marginally lifting in California, the area was deserted—and I had been looking for something, anything, reasonable to photograph. Out came the Leica Q2.
Yes, But Did She Foresee the Pandemic?
Times are tough for small businesses that thrive on person-to-person contact, courtesy of stay-at-home orders closing commercial operations and schools. California Governor Gavin Newsom has outlined a four-stage reopening ramp-up to semi-normalcy. Nail salons are relegated to the third phase. Psychics, too, perhaps?
How unfortunate, because reliable fortune-telling should be in big-time demand during the pandemic. If I were this soothsayer, who should be able to see the way without my saying, Zoom would be the remote-conferencing choice rather than FaceTime. Gather together a family and offer a group discount, or employees from a (supposedly) temporarily closed business. They have questions, and you have answers!
Flickr a Week 20: ‘February Super Snow Moon’
The week goes to Steve McClanahan for self-titled “February Super ‘Snow’ Moon“, which is “playing hard to get behind the San Francisco Bay Bridge”, he explains. Ambience, character, composition, and contrasting elements—natural and man-made—make the […]
Flickr a Week 19a: ‘Afterbath’
Happy Mother’s Day, readers. We celebrate with self-titled “Afterbath“, which Gerry Dincher shot on April 4, 2020, using Canon PowerShot SX10 IS. Vitals: f/4, ISO 80, 1/250 sec, 5mm. Released more than 11 years ago, […]
Flickr a Week 19: ‘A Spring Snow Fall in Prescott, Wisconsin’
The pandemic almost returned to the series with “Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy in Quarantine” by Lorie Shaull. But after reviewing her Photostream, I couldn’t pass by self-titled “A Spring Snow Fall in Prescott, Wisconsin“, which […]
Joy in the Midst of Pandemic
Yesterday, while walking up Monroe Ave. on the west side of San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood, I came upon an unexpected sign of hope—and maybe a little despair—strangely appropriate as Mother’s Day approaches and the […]