Tag: photography

Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Let the People Eat

For what did Rudford’s have to be grateful for on Thanksgiving Day last week? I wonder, as the COVID-19 crackdown prohibits indoor dining and imposes a 10-p.m.-to-5-a.m. curfew that impinges on the 24-hour diner’s normal operations. Eateries across California—and the country—are beaten back because of rising confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2) infections, which are misidentified by politicians and the news media as cases. Most people testing positive are not sick nor will they be hospitalized.

In the weekly report released today: 81,084 people have tested positive (e.g., confirmed cases) for COVID-19 since San Diego County started tracking data in February. Median age: 35. Number of deaths: 997, with a median age of 76. No one died in the week ended Nov. 28, 2020. Case fatality rate: 1.2 percent. Stated differently, if you live in SDC and test positive your chance of surviving the Novel Coronavirus is 98.8 percent.

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Flickr a Week 48a: ‘President Trump Pardons the National Thanksgiving Turkey’

We celebrate America’s day of family, friends, and gratitude with self-titled “President Trump Pardons the National Thanksgiving Turkey“, which Shealah Craighead captured on Nov. 24, 2020. Camera and photo vitals are not available. Shooting location, for the fowl named Corn, is the White House Rose Garden.

I had wanted to feature something about the Pilgrims, whose pilgrimage to this continent would be a 400-year-anniversary celebration in Plymouth, Mass., if not for the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)—also known as COVID-19—pandemic. Failing to find an appropriate Creative Commons-licensed image and seeing that the President likely gives amnesty to his last bird—following the General Services Administration declaring Joe Biden “apparent President-elect“—plans changed.

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Flickr a Week 46a: ‘Rainbow’

Here’s some Leprechaun lore to celebrate the second Friday the 13th of the year: Should you ever get to the end of the rainbow, the pot of gold will be at the other end. So much for the luck of the Irish—or anyone else. We commemorate the day with self-titled “Rainbow“, which Alexander Kozik captured on Feb. 21, 2017, using handy compact Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 80, 1/640 sec, 4.7mm. Composition and perspective make the moment a keeper.

He says about the shot: “Rainbow break at the lab meeting. We were lucky to be at the 5th floor, probably, with the best available viewing point. My excitement was doubled when I discovered that the rainbow ends fitted into the camera frame. Windows were washed and cleaned by recent rains and showers. Right place and the right time. It would be different from the ground level”.

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Flickr a Week 46: ‘Coming to America: Pursuing the American Dream’

I looked through several thousand Creative Commons-licensed photos to find one to use for Veteran’s Day. Nothing moved me more than self-titled “Coming to America: Pursuing the American Dream“—active serviceman Personnel Specialist 1st Class Patrick Mbayoh. Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Greg Hall made the moment aboard aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on July 3, 2020, using Nikon D800 and 50mm f/1.4 lens. Vitals: f/8, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, 50mm.

According to U.S. Pacific Fleet, which joined Flickr in October 2009 and whose Photostream is source of the image, Mbayoh is “assigned to the ‘Kestrels’ of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 137”. A refugee from the Sierra Leone Civil War, Mbayoh arrived in “Brooklyn, New York, in 1998”, Hall explains. “Moving to the U.S. gave Mbayoh the opportunity to pursue a life-long dream”. Joining the Navy in September 2000 opened a path to earning a college education and to repaying the nation that harbored him. The sailor gained “his American citizenship in 2003”, Hall adds. “He and his wife have a child and live in Lemoore, California. Mbayoh hopes to one day retire from the Navy and go back to school to gain his PhD”.

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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The Cats of University Heights: Puss

How surprising: I am seeing some new kitties along North, where it intersects Madison, or in the alley between Campus. Four appeared today, but two vanished before I could close the distance for photos (you’ll see them soon). I encountered the series‘ newest addition, nicknamed Puss, for no particular reason, on Oct. 30, 2020. The Featured Image comes from iPhone XS. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 40, 1/122 sec, 52mm (film equivalent); 9:16 a.m. PDT.

Somebody’s outdoor space is luxury. Look at the cat trees and surrounding plants. In perennially sunny San Diego, the cat can have indoor furniture outside for much of the year. What a habitat! My question: Does he (or she) spend time within the caretaker’s residence, too?

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Flickr a Week 45a: ‘Welcome to Paradise’

Two years ago today, the Northern California town of Paradise largely burned to the ground during the raging Camp Fire, which destroyed in excess of 18,000 structures and displaced more than 26,000 people. Ninety-percent of the community’s residents have fled, and the majority won’t return anytime soon; if ever.

There are several documentaries about the disaster. Tonight, National Geographic will air my pick for best: Ron Howard film “Rebuilding Paradise“, which my wife and I rented and watched about four months ago. The doc tells the story of those who stayed.

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