Classic car makes an iconic moment—self-titled “Follow at Your Peril“, which David Ingram captured on Nov. 9, 2013 using Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens. Vitals: f/5, ISO 400, […]
Tag: photography
Flickr a Week 25b: ‘Zombie Movie’
For Father’s Day, we present something sublime and classic—for timeless composition and subject: Self-titled “Zombie Movie“, by Robert Couse-Baker. The television may be analog and archaic but the camera is digital (Canon EOS 5D Mark […]
Flickr a Week 25a: ‘Happy Midsummer’
The week gets an extra entry, and surely self-titled “Happy Midsummer” reveals why. “Just after two o’clock, in wilderness”, on June 19, 2019, yrjö jyske captured the moment, using Canon EOS 700D and EF 70-300mm […]
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.
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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.
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.