Tag: photography

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 2, 20188:50 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Holiday

This place is going to feel like a real meowy beastie blog, while the backlog of photographed but not featured felines clears away. Apologies, I got behind posting to the series while furnishing my daughter’s new apartment. Four of them look out from glass, like today’s wonderful white, who is the eighteenth behind a window—and unbelievably the sixteenth sighted on Alabama Street. Monkey, who recently passed away, lived on the same block. Laramie, Lupe, and Smokey remain residents.

I waited weeks to profile the kitty that earns nickname Holiday, seeing that it’s April and a Christmas wreath still hangs on his owner’s door. Somebody often cracks a window for Holiday, who is a fixture when days are sunny and warm. I held back the profile hoping to meet his caretaker(s) and get a name. I first photographed the cat on February 17, 2018. That’s long enough ago to abandon the quest and move onward.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 2, 201812:31 am

Hey, Brownie

Two days ago, when crossing El Cajon Blvd., my wife and I spotted something surprising at the corner of Mississippi Street. We put down our groceries and snapped some quickies—she with iPhone X and me […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 31, 20185:58 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Persepolis

The series is way behind, based on the number of furballs photographed but waiting to be profiled. My apologies for the break. During the past two weeks, I was occupied setting up my daughter’s new apartment. But that project is finished. Whew. Let’s resume with the first of three kittens, living on Mississippi between Meade and El Cajon Blvd.

Persepolis is this handsome ginger’s real name. Companion Sebastian posts simultaneously but separately. Hopefully soon, their mate Lilly will join the series, whenever I capture a better portrait (She was too quick, and I too slow with the camera).

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 26, 20188:41 pm

The Only North Face They’ll Ever Climb

Our kitties Neko and Cali love to sleep on my North Face sleeping bag, which we keep for them on the spare bed in the office. Typically they take turns sleeping there. The two together […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 13, 20186:15 am

The Cats of University Heights: Apple

What other nickname could I possibly give this fine feline than Apple? Luckily somebody isn’t putting paws to keyboard. Eh? Among the 148 kitty profiles since the series started in October 2016, Apple is the seventeenth behind a window. But the first sighting was beyond a door, few weeks back—and I almost tried to get a portrait then. But distance and rudness shooting deep inside the apartment kept my finger from the shutter. Hehe, but not yesterday.

I captured the Featured Image and its companion at 3:48 p.m PDT, along Mississippi Street between Adams and Madison, using Leica M (Typ 262) with Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens. Vitals for both, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/2000 sec, 50mm. I shot the second photo first and the other immediately after, when Apple turned. The closeup is a crop; the longer-distance portrait is framed by the window edges. I let Adobe Lightroom Classic CC auto-adjust both.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 11, 20187:11 pm

My Leica M (Typ 262) Adventure Begins

I am no fan of Daylight Saving Time, which commenced today. Grumble. But warm breeze and sunlight pouring through billowing clouds, following heavy rains, made me want to walk—and carry along the Leica M (Typ 262); I need to practice manual focusing on the camera, which has been in my possession for a scant three days.

While the rangefinder pleases, a few gripes are unavoidable: Either my focusing skills are really bad, or the Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens that came with the Oberwerth Set isn’t as sharp as the Summilux 28mm f/1.7 lens built into Leica Q. The aperture ring is a bit too smooth for me, such that I inadvertently change the f-stop when moving the manual focus knob. Someday, soon hopefully, muscle memory will keep stray fingers off the Summarit lens. What did I say about the importance of practice? Eh?

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 9, 20181:29 pm

Rangefinder Revelry

Yesterday, before 10 a.m. PST, UPS delivered a package from Leica Store Miami containing the M (Typ 262) digital camera, Summarit-M 50mm f/2.4 lens, limited-edition Oberwerth bag, and two SD card holders—one black, the other cognac. My main interest is the rangefinder and 50mm glass. The Oberwerth Set, if you can still find it, is entry into the M system for essentially the lens free with cost of the camera. The Miami shop sent the last kit available, at least presently.

With no immediate plans to part with my beloved Leica Q, I will expand my photographic horizons by reducing technology. While the M262 is full frame, the camera also is in many respects no frills. There is no autofocus, live view, wired ports, or wireless connectivity. I’ll be screwing off the bottom plate to remove the storage card to transfer photos to my MacBook Pro. The menu system is two main pages plus one. The M262 is all about manual settings from dials, except ISO, which I typically leave on auto anyway.

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.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 22, 20186:12 am

The Cats of University Heights: Penny

Another day, another Alabama kitty. They’re backing up, as I seek better portraits of other recently sighted furballs. Penny (her real name) is the fourteenth feline featured in the series from the street. The others (so far): Bella, Burglar, Cal, Goldie, Itchy Valentino, Laramie, Lupe, Mr. Kitty, Monkey, Nine, Smokey, Tipsy, and Willow.

Penny is kind of a courtyard cat. She doesn’t venture into the apartment building’s public area, but she does occasionally look out from the window onto a large tree that attracts birds. Smokey, who lives two houses away, is a common (and beloved) trespasser.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 22, 201812:03 am

Mighty Monarch Withers Wind

After rummaging through old photos, I wonder why I didn’t post here this flyer fluttering against the breeze. Perhaps the pic was discarded for lacking clarity. But three years later, I value the dreamy soft […]

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.