Tag: Flickr

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 13, 20249:01 pm

Sunset Sky

This evening, I turned Leica Q2 Monochrom West to catch the setting sun sky. I wondered what would come out of a black-and-white shot and what could be made during post-production. The Featured Image is the result. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/8, ISO 200, 1/100 sec, 28mm; 6:49 p.m. PDT.

I am no landscape photographer, just someone having fun with a camera—and marking a personally meaningful moment. The view is from the front steps to our apartment building and the sky visible from my home office.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 31, 202012:01 am

Flickr a Week 53a: ‘Donna’

On January 1, I introduced this series; now comes the final post of 2020 on the last day of the year. Longstanding Internet tradition demands a cat, who joins two others in entries “Devil’s Eye” and “Lotta Love, Lijah“. Wolfgang Franzen used Leica Q2 Monochrom to capture self-titled “Donna” on Nov. 30, 2020. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 6400, 1/60 sec, 28mm. The portrait is a keeper for beautiful bokeh, compelling composition, creamy black-and-white, and high-ISO detail. Then there is the feline’s mood-setting character.

I came to this photo when searching Flickr, which Wolfgang joined eight years ago this month, specifically for the camera. If you wonder why: I am the proud owner of the Q2 Mono, which arrived from Leica Store Miami on December 28.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 30, 202012:01 am

Flickr a Week 53: ‘Blue Lives Matter meets ACAB’

The final Wednesday of the year brings us to the second-to-the-last post in the series, should it conclude as previously planned. I am undecided. For now, our selection captures some of 2020’s most important themes—triple-P: pandemic, politics, and protests; for sure one overlaps another in some manner or another. My first choice, self-titled “Respirator Life“, by David Geitgey Sierralupe, is unfortunately All Rights Reserved. So I had to pick another selection, one Creative Commons-licensed, from the carpenter who lives in Eugene, Ore.

“Rally for Democracy“—with a nurse wearing KN95 mask and typifying fallout from the Presidential Election and SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2), better known as COVID-19—was a contender. But the choice came down to a coin-toss between two street shots with the same self-title: “Blue Lives Matter meets ACAB“. The acronym stands for “all cops are bastards”. The second choice (blame the quarter for landing tails).

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 27, 202012:00 am

Flickr a Week 52b: ‘Winter afternoon at the Boston Public Garden’

The unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2), dramatically changed this series‘ planned character. There is much less street photography, fewer candid portraits, and more landscapes or scenes where people might be expected but are absent. Bleak black and white, or scant color, are common for what they represent during a year where, as I warned my wife in late January: “Fear is the contagion”. Examples relevant to today’s selection: “A Spring Snow Fall In Prescott, Wisconsin“, “A Yukon Quest Team“; “Barns in Snow“, “Break“, “Foggy Morning“, “Forever Silence“, or “Ice, Ice Baby“. The tonal change began in May, rather than March—my habit of curating two months ahead.

Our third Monochrom moment in a row comes from Subhash Roy, who used Leica SL2 to shoot self-titled “Winter afternoon at the Boston Public Garden” on Dec. 20, 2020. Vitals: f/8, ISO 200, 1/500 sec. I used to live nearby that lovely locale, and it’s wonderful to see a statue—of George Washington—still standing months after so-called peaceful protestors and rioters defaced or destroyed iconic (and some controversial) American statues and monuments. The winter scene takes the Sunday spot for composition, film-like quality, and mood.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 25, 202012:12 am

Flickr a Week 52a: ‘Where Mozart Lives’

Happy Christmas! For months, I searched for a holiday-specific, Creative Commons-licensed photo and found none that wowed me. Instead, we go non-traditional but other timely—when bow and string made merry music and smartphone distractions were beyond the imaginations of even the most prolific, prophetic science fiction writers.

Roman Boed captured self-titled “Where Mozart Lives” on Dec. 28, 2017, using Leica M and Summilux-M 1:1.4/50 ASPH lens. The EXIF doesn’t identify specific camera model. Vitals: f/1.4, ISO 3200, 1/60 sec, 50mm. The string quartet portrait is a keeper for atmosphere, composition, film-like texture, and timelessness (just ignore the lamp’s pull-string).

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 23, 202012:23 am

Flickr a Week 52: ‘Llama Love’

What’s not to like about a child receiving a little “Llama Love“? Ian Sane used Canon EOS 5DS R and EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens to capture the self-titled portrait on March 23, 2019. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 250, 1/800 sec, 50mm.

About the moment: “Here’s my granddaughter, Penelope, getting a kiss from an unlikely source at Riverfront Park in Salem, Oregon. Full disclosure: I love her wild looking hair”.

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 WilcoxDec 9, 202012:03 am

Flickr a Week 50: ‘Time Passes Too Fast’

The sentiment expressed by self-titled “Time Passes Too Fast” rues my feelings about the series‘ impending conclusion. Much as I have enjoyed curating photos, 2021 demands other projects. Had I known how SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 6, 202012:00 am

Flickr a Week 49a: ‘Endangered Skill’

For the first Sunday of the month, we turn to Mark Shahaf, who shot self-titled “Endangered Skill” on June 21, 2019, using Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II and M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm f2.8 lens. Vitals: f/8, […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 2, 202012:10 am

Flickr a Week 49: ‘Ice, Ice, Baby’

The Photostream of Matthias Ripp is a troublesome affair, because almost any image would humble this series with worthiness. He is an artist. Among the many contenders: “Autumn Walk“; “Magic of (Low) Light“; and “Say […]