Tag: photography

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 18, 20209:33 pm

Why Watermelon?

As I crossed the Vermont Street Bridge from San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood to Hillcrest today, something strange stopped my morning walk. Why was there cut-up watermelon? Was it left for someone—perhaps the homeless gent wrapped in a blanket, lying still, and (likely) sleeping on the sidewalk outside the structure’s entrance? Was it a flavorless, abandoned breakfast? The slices looked fairly fresh and no flies swarmed about. So free from wildlife and human attention, the makeshift meal could have been the final feast of the apocalypse.

Update, June 19, 2020: Call me clueless! This morning, I showed the photo to my wife, who scolded: “You do know that there’s a stereotype about black people eating watermelon?” That’s news to me. “I love watermelon, and I don’t understand why there’s some kind of negative stereotype about it”. She, and me, is hyper-aware, given three weeks of protests about racism in America.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 17, 202012:03 am

Flickr a Week 25: ‘The Last Walk’

Grim self-titled “The Last Walk” takes the week for composition and emotion—the latter evoked by the caption that shooter Zoltán Vörös gives: “This is probably one of the most poignant memorials of the world, commemorating […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 16, 202010:08 pm

Signs of Our Turbulent Times

Six minutes after seeing the squirrel treed by Bruce, I came upon something quite unexpected along the Florida-Georgia alley between Madison and Monroe in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood. The Featured Image (warning 29MB file) needs no explanation—other than camera (Leica Q2) and vitals: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/125 sec, 28mm; 10:15 a.m. PDT, today.

We started 2020 with a pandemic and subsequent, nearly-nationwide shutdown of most businesses and all schools. Just as states started to reopen, a black man (George Floyd) died in the custody of white police officers. People poured into the streets, protesting and rioting, in response. Seattle surrendered six blocks to vigilante demonstrators, who have cordoned off the area, which they claim to be a cop-free zone.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 16, 20209:08 pm

Fright for Life

While walking down Alabama Street today, something scurried by brush to my right—Bruce, who was profiled in my “Cats of University Heights” series during May 2017. The fairly diminutive tabby treed a squirrel, and it […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 14, 202012:01 am

Flickr a Week 24a: ‘Logs on the Bus, Sullivan County’

Can someone please explain self-titled “Logs on the Bus, Sullivan County” to me? Shooter Doug Turetsky doesn’t, and I really want to know. Mystery and storytelling are principal reasons for claiming the Sunday Spot. He […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 10, 202012:01 am

Flickr a Week 24: ‘Rockin’ Rabbi’

There’s something you don’t see everyday—least not in my neighborhood. It’s the Orthodox busker, self-titled “Rockin’ Rabbi“, which Michael Summers captured on July 9, 2018 using Olympus E-M5 Mark II and M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm F2.8 […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 9, 20205:40 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Scamper

On May 29, 2020, as my wife and I walked through the perpendicular alley shortcutting between Campus and North, someone opening a garage door startled a ginger, which scampered (hence the nickname) away, with great stride and speed along the buildings and into a yard facing Meade. We circled around and found the kitty grooming, which he stopped long enough for a pose. I had hoped for a better photo on another day, but the skinny kitty hasn’t presented opportunity. The one you got is better than none.

I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image, which is more notable for the surroundings than cat portraiture. That’s the compromise I make using a camera with fixed, wide-angle lens. Cropping-in is no substitute for a telephoto (my favorite focal-length is 135mm prime, for whatever that information is worth to you). Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/160 sec, 28mm; 4:34 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 7, 202012:01 am

Flickr a Week 23a: ‘Selfmade Man’

We pivot unexpectedly, following entries “I Can’t Breathe” and “Black Lives Matter Protest, Seattle WA“. Somewhat peaceful protests continue across America, and in some other countries, decrying racism and urging localities to “defund the police”, which, honestly, is a shocking demand. Finding no other compelling, Creative-Commons-licensed street shot to document the historical moment and mayhem, I chose a simple portrait that appeals to my visual tastes—and hopefully yours.

Oddly, our selection comes from a search for “calm”, which I had hoped would turn up a soothing shot to take the mind off the current cultural chaos. Sometimes when looking for one thing, you find something else better.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 3, 202012:03 am

Flickr a Week 23: ‘Black Lives Matter Protest, Seattle WA’

The series spotlights the current crisis raging across America for the second of three consecutive entries. To recap: Nine days ago, George Floyd died in the custody of Minneapolis police. The Hennepin County corner has certified the death as a homicide, and police officer Derek Chauvin is charged with murder. Since, protests in most major metropolitans are rife with looting, property destruction, and violence.

“Black Lives Matter Protest, Seattle WA“, one of a collection of street shots using the same self-title, quite literally illuminates pent-up rage and resentment from some and attempts to create anarchy by others. America is at war, with itself.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJun 2, 20206:57 pm

Feel Free to Flee, Bud

Raging riots—er, protests—across the country shine spotlights on law enforcement, following release of citizen-captured video showing the death of George Floyd under the knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. A lifetime—oh, yeah, just eight days—has passed since the incident that precipitated looting, property destruction, and violence in major cities across America, including San Diego.

Is surveilling cops the new thing, in the wake of the alleged MPLS murder and its aftermath? I wonder. Today, as I walked through the alley separating Campus and North, flashing cop car lights along Monroe near Park caught my attention. Approaching, I saw some dude apparently filming what looked like an insignificant incident—something to do with a car that would later be towed. His iPhone pointed at one of the two “Protect and Serve” vehicles. I circled and captured four shots of him, using Leica Q2, from two different vantage points. Apparently, he saw me take the last photo, pulled back the smartphone, and walked off fairly fast—to the corner, around it, and away.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 31, 202012:04 am

Flickr a Week 22a: ‘I Can’t Breathe’

The entry previously planned for today is now queued for mid-July, which reveals just how far in advance posts are prepared. I made the change around 9 p.m. PDT last evening, to make place for a provocative and timely street portrait by Miki Jourdan. Reason: Protests, riots, looting, and property destruction are underway in major metropolitans across the United States; Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and Washington, DC are among them. City-wide curfew is underway in LA, as I write, while Minnesota’s governor has mobilized the National Guard to the Twin Cities.

The incendiary that set the country ablaze was the death of George Floyd, an African-American man arrested six days ago for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill and who died in police custody, while Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on the victim’s neck. The tinder is much more than racial tension; many millions of Americans already are frustrated by “stay-at-home” and “social distancing” orders; closing of most businesses and all schools; cancellation of many summer events; and sudden, explosive unemployment—sacrifices meant to slow spread of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)—also known as COVID-19. What had been economic and viral pandemics adds another: violence.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 28, 202010:00 pm

The Incident on Cleveland Avenue

The overflowing mailboxes outside the US Post Office in Hillcrest seemed afternoon walk-reward enough until I came upon the ruckus along Cleveland Ave. between Tyler and Van Buren, which are in University Heights. As I approached from Washington Street, my eyes couldn’t reconcile a black mass moving amoeba-like on the sidewalk nearly two blocks ahead. Closing in, a line of parked cop cars hinted to what could only be a rather large number of San Diego police officers.

Residents looked on from the sidewalk, apartment stairs, and balconies at the commotion. As one gent exited his building, I ask if he knew what happened. “A murder”, he said, “in one of the apartments”. He pointed up the street. Yikes! But further along, I observed a policeman talking to another neighbor. I asked him the same question. Someone attacked one of the officers. Possibly a homeless person, he speculated.