A Better Place to Be

This afternoon, I took the NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens out for a field test, attached to Nikon Zf. I trucked over to Old Trolley Barn Park, where I expected to find people who could be photographed discreetly from a distance. That’s my purpose for the zoom: Candid captures that don’t demand closer proximity—something Leica Q2 required all the time, thanks to its (fabulous) fixed 28mm f/1.7 lens.

On such a pleasant day, I expected to see more people hanging out on the grass. My timing was off; choices were few. The Featured Image and companion are close crops of single shots; I gave myself one opportunity for each.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 29, 20258:48 pm

Pitcher Perfect

They say patience is a virtue. Does waiting two months to use a new camera lens make me virtuous then? (Ah, no!) On May 2, 2025, I purchased the NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens direct from Nikon—to get ahead of tariff-induced price increases. I would put it aside for my birthday in a couple months.

But then, on May 21, I had surgery to repair an inguinal hernia, which meant taking it easy for at least six weeks (e.g., no heavy lifting). The zoom lens is surprisingly hefty, so I waited longer to attach to Nikon Zf. That is until today.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 25, 20259:55 pm

Time for Change

A year ago, I groaned when opening Galaxy Watch Ultra and seeing how big (and ugly) it was. I kept it for the larger screen and better battery life. Did I miss the Watch6 Classic! I got good value from the distinguishing, unique feature: Control bezel around the circumference. It’s back with Watch8 Classic. Thank you, Samsung!

Eh, slight problem: The company didn’t offer a trade-in option—Ultra for Classic. Damn. But Samsung would give, among other devices, $100 for any smartphone in any condition. One of my sisters had a functional Garmin she didn’t need and was willing to send it off for me. I should be able sell the Ultra for enough to make a good chunk of the remaining cost.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 24, 20258:50 pm

ICE ICE Baby

Status as a super-sanctuary county, proximity to the Mexican border, and flow of immigrants—whether or not illegal—makes San Diego a target for immigration enforcement and fear of it. ICE raids flash across social media posts faster than raging flood waters. Citizens are quick to protest and news stations nearly as fast to cover arrests as they occur and the aftermath that follows.

The sign in the Featured Image is one of many posted on utility poles in my neighborhood of University Heights and adjacent Hillcrest and North Park. Presumably, they are all over the city. But I haven’t looked far enough to see. Now you know what to do should armed masked men jump out of nondescript vehicles outside your residence or workplace.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 23, 20256:43 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Rusty

We leap past the backlog to a shorthair seen today along Georgia Street approaching North Park but well within the neighborhood boundary. The ginger scooted across a lawn onto the sidewalk and under a vehicle. I was able to kneel down and capture the Featured Image, using Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

All week, I toyed with buying Z Fold 7, for which Samsung offers an amazingly generous preorder deal that is absolutely irresistible. The foldable is sleek and appealing. But the Ultra’s bigger battery, reduced-glare screen, and superior cameras are benefits I am reluctant to give up. I could not have captured this single shot with any of the other phone’s cameras. Well, I still have another day to decide (I think).

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 19, 20257:02 pm

The Problem with Pride

For reasons that I don’t understand, San Diego holds its annual Pride parade (today, as a matter of fact) in July rather than June, which is the official month for celebrating the Alphabet coalition. Someone reading will have a conniption for my vernacular. Don’t be offended. This post should still be live in 10 years, and who knows how many more letters will be tacked on by then. Alphabet covers them all.

The main parade route and celebratory location is the main gay enclave of Hillcrest, which is adjacent to my community of University Heights. Hillcrest is grungy. Sidewalks are filthy and reek of urine. Homeless scatter about sleeping in nooks or out in the open. Some of the more industrious push about carts upon which hang bags of clanging cans and bottles, which are recyclable redeemable.

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 WilcoxJul 11, 20259:35 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Plump

Unquestionably, this balcony catio is the best that I have seen in the neighborhood—well, so far. I nearly missed the Calico, as my wife and I walked by on May 18, 2025. Location withheld.

The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 40, 1/125 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 10:17 a.m. PDT. For nickname: Plump, which I hope offends no one—least of all the owner. Our Neko is a bit rotund, too, so I understand putty-tats with big appetites.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 9, 20258:51 pm

Scene of the Dine

Nothing exciting happens in the quiet village of University Heights—until it does. Today is Wednesday. On Sunday, early evening, U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his San Diego County-native wife Usha Vance dined at the Soichi sushi restaurant on Adams Ave. between Alabama and Mississippi. He and the Second Lady had come to the area for an awards ceremony.

Call me Mr. Oblivious. I had no idea. But had I heard the chanting protestors many blocks away, me and my camera would have rushed out the door. Best I can do is the Featured Image, taken yesterday, using Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 32, 1/400 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 11:07 a.m. PDT. Composed as shot.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 6, 20258:57 pm

The Cats of University Height: Spaz

I hope you really like cats. The backlog is enormous, and this is the first addition since March 2025. Yikes! So feline frenzy will overwhelm this website for a little while, starting with Spaz—and that’s a real name!

Spaz and owner lived on Alabama when I took the Featured Image on May 31; they have since gone elsewhere. The longhair is the one-hundred-sixth kitty seen along the street, somewhere between boundaries Adams and Lincoln, since the series start in October 2016; that’s out of 607 profiles, including this one.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 2, 20259:53 pm

Don’t Come Around Here No More

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon news story “When did America’s public libraries become homeless encampments?” from Conservative Blaze Media. I thought: Yeah. Because that has been the situation with the carport at San Diego Public Library University Heights branch for years. I often wondered why homeless men (mostly) and (fewer) women chose the location.

While I link to the story, published on May 31, 2025, you can’t read it without a subscription. C`mon Blaze? You can’t give readers a couple free reads a month? O.W. Root writes: “Across the United States, a tragic number of public libraries have turned into daytime homeless shelters and temporary asylums for the mentally ill, the insane, and generally disturbed”.

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.