Tag: Leica Q

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 16, 20186:06 am

The Cats of University Heights: STAR

This beautiful kitten earns nickname Blend for being somewhat camouflage-colored against an area in the neighborhood known as the Point. My wife and I encountered her quite unexpectedly on April 10, 2018, frolicking about and seeking attentive pats, which you can see Anne giving in the Featured Image and its companion.

We were both concerned about the calico’s interest in the canyon below. Anne and I have often joked about scaling down the hill to Wendy’s for a burger; the fast food place looks so close. There be coyotes, which wouldn’t bother us but could make a snack of our new-found friend.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 13, 20186:21 am

The Cats of University Heights: Cali

Along Golden Gate between Cleveland and Maryland Avenues, on April 8, 2018, my wife and I met two kitties that appeared to be companions. I nicknamed the other Bushy. A neighbor says, and I can’t confirm, this lovely calico is Cali.

The shorthair was friendly enough with the neighbor—and her dog Shelly—but kept distance from me. I used Leica Q to capture the Featured Image and its companion, 8:29 and 8:37 a.m. PDT, respectively. Vitals for the first, aperture manually set: f/4, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, 28mm. The second is same, except for shutter speed: 1/400 sec.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 11, 20186:16 am

The Cats of University Heights: Bushy

The day after seeing E.T. (for Exotic Tail), my wife and I returned to the same place, as I sought another portrait and maybe a name (from the owner). The kitty slept far back in a driveway, and unaccessible. We later came upon two other furballs, along Golden Gate between Cleveland and Maryland Avenues. The first is another tiger tabby with fluffy tail. What a lucky segue. I nickname him Bushy.

The other cat, a calico, will be the series’ next profile. Bushy kept his distance, flanking from the bushes along several houses, while his companion was fairly friendly.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 6, 201810:30 pm

Meow! More Second Sightings

While walking this evening, I unexpectedly came upon a kitty that I hadn’t seen since our first meeting on Sept. 4, 2017. Bandit, the Tuxedo hung out in a yard near where Monroe Ave. crosses […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 10, 20189:42 am

The Cats of University Heights: Bob

The morning is unusually cloudy and damp here in San Diego as this otherwise fine Caturday unfolds. Meet Bob (real name), whom I encountered on March 7, 2018 along Cliff Street, where he lives. Initially, I thought he was the putty-tat I call Finny, from nearby Adams Ave., but closer photo inspection reveals they are not the same animal.

A woman taking her daughter to school gave me Bob’s name, and she said that he belongs to one of her neighbors. He surely is a friendly puss. Bengal Abby also lives somewhere on the street. She will appear in the series when I finally capture a portrait worthy of her beauty. Currently, I am zero for four attempts.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 7, 20186:27 am

The Cats of University Heights: Charlie (the Third)

Add another furball to the number of Alabama Street sighted, and profiled; I have seen four or five others, which will appear when there are portraits captured. Charlie (name on tag) is the fifteenth featured in this series between neighborhood boundaries Adams and Lincoln. On no other street are there so many beasties, and for reasons I cannot explain. Those profiled (so far): Bella, Burglar, Cal, Goldie, Itchy Valentino, Laramie, Lupe, Mr. Kitty, Monkey, Anthony, Penny, Smokey, Tipsy, and Willow. Monkey passed away on Feb. 24, 2018. 🙁

Charlie presents a quandary for titling this post, being the third cat with that name. Three alike in the list of past putty-tats could cause confusion among them. Hence, “the third” added in parenthesis, and “Too” to the previous one.

Leica by Joe WilcoxMar 6, 20181:29 pm

San Diego Bike Invasion

Like mushrooms suddenly appearing after the rain, ride-sharing bicycles are popping up all around my neighborhood (University Heights East) as well as North Park—and from two separate providers: LimeBike and Ofo. The sightings started several weeks ago, one or two, here or there. Now these things are absolutely everywhere!

The Featured Image makes the point. In the foreground, at Alabama and Madison, two Ofos are parked, while across the way—go ahead, count `em—another four can be seen. Out of view are two more further along towards Adams Ave. Photo vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/500 sec, 28mm; 8:31 a.m. PST, today.

Leica by Joe WilcoxMar 2, 20187:40 pm

Goodbye, Monkey

The day after we rented our apartment on the East side of Park Blvd., I encountered a friendly feline sitting in what would eventually be our parking space. There was something warmly foreshadowing about his presence, soon after emerging from under the gate leading inside the complex’s courtyard. I wrongly assumed he lived here. But Monkey’s home was the second house away.

He appeared in my “Cats of University Heights” series on Oct. 10, 2017. The Featured Image and its companions, shot with Leica Q on the Ninth, didn’t make the post. Vitals for the first: f/1.7, ISO 1250, 1/250 sec, 28mm; 6:38 p.m. PST. The other two are same except for ISO 3200.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 18, 20186:01 am

The Cats of University Heights: Mew

Tuxedos sure are popular in the neighborhood. Meet the twenty-secondnth to appear in the series, which follows a reclassification allowing kitties with more mixed black-and-white coats. Yesterday, while walking along Florida from Meade to Mission, I heard meowing—the tenor like a feline asking to be let in. I unintentionally passed by the sound, then backtracked, finding the shorthair, who earns nickname Mew, peering down cement steps.

Looking up at the kitty, I felt a pang. While one is safe, another is not. On Feb. 16, 2018, according to a post on NextDoor, a Tuxedo was hit and killed by a vehicle at Cleveland Ave. and Washington Street. Unless some beastie wandered many blocks, the Tuxedo is unlikely to be one previously profiled: Black and White, Boss, Bright, Buddies, Cal, Captain Blackbeard, Charm, Curious, Fraidy, Fresh, Jellicle, Lola, Mittens, Nine, Patience, Pepe, Poser, Sammy, Spot, Seer, and Tux.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 17, 201812:33 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Zander

For some odd reason, there is an increasing number of kitty-in-the-window sightings, recently, so expect several more ahead. We celebrate Caturday with this handsome black that looked out onto Meade Ave. between Alabama and Florida streets as I walked by this morning.

I hesitated to attempt a portrait, because of the greenery before the glass and my inability to manually focus. I had an ophthalmologist appointment yesterday, and my shooting eye (left) isn’t quite recovered from the dilation (hence, vision not normally sharp yet). But, what the Hell? I had Leica Q with me for a reason.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 16, 201811:21 am

You’re Never Too Old

While walking this morning—for fresh air and exercise on a promised 20-degree celsius day—I passed a couple and dog sitting on a patio, along Mission Cliff. The woman’s blue, highlighted hair rapped my attention. She is one among several matronly, grey-haired ladies I have seen colored this way. Is that a style now?

I passed, paused, and after a minute mustering courage turned around, approached, and asked to take their portrait. Because of a fence, and distance to the two, I couldn’t capture closeup as would be my preference. Her hair and accompanying scarf and his eyeglasses—pretty much everything about them—stylishly appealed to me. I pulled up Leica Q, and they posed.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 16, 20186:18 am

The Cats of University Heights: Lilly

Where do they come from—all these putty-tats on Alabama? I have spent more time walking along Campus, Cleveland, or Maryland, for example, and they can’t, combined, match the number of beasties living on—like the Lynyrd Skynyrd song—”Sweet Home Alabama”. Meet the thirteenth cat from the street to appear in the series; there are four others that I have sighted but not presented, for poor photographs or none yet made. Surely, there are more.

The others (so far): Bella, Burglar, Cal, Goldie, Itchy Valentino, Laramie, Lupe, Mr. Kitty, Monkey, Anthony, Smokey, and Willow. The newest member of the SHA Club earns nickname Tipsy, because the tip of her tail is bent as if it had been broken but healed crooked. She wore a striking pink collar but without ID tag (damn it). The shorthair and I visited yesterday morning, about midway between Mission and Madison.