Tag: San Diego

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 20, 20239:35 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Muffy

San Diego is a city of renters—about 52 percent of households, based on U.S. Census Bureau data. One reason this series continues nearly seven years later is the high turnover of tenants; pets with them. Today’s kitty is the third photographed at the same house, all with different owners.

Sophie joined in August 2017 and Vivienne in June 2018. Those are real names for both animals; I must assign one for the newcomer. The Featured Image comes from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra on Sept. 7, 2023. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/120 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 11:27 a.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 19, 20239:15 pm

Skyline Seating

Early iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max buyers are just days away from receiving their preorders. Good luck with that. My Galaxy S23 Ultra is a more versatile, worthy shooter. I’ve seen some of the professional reviews, where photos aren’t as impressive as what I enjoy daily. This is no fanboy talk. Go online and look for yourself.

In addition to the default 12-megapixels, photos can be captured at 50MP or 200MP; the Featured Image is the former, and, whoa, look at that detail. Both exceed Apple’s device, which zoom capability tops out at 5x. The Samsung offers 10x, which is 230mm film equivalent. Pro mode puts you in control, and the separate Expert RAW app delivers exactly what the name indicates.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 18, 202311:04 pm

Oriental Garden

The Featured Image has undergone numerous edits—none of which satisfies me. How about you? Problem is busyness and there being no obvious thing upon which eyes can focus. That said, I kind of like the clutter, for there is plenty to explore if you take the time.

The setup is part of the front entrance and lawn area of a house situated along Alabama Street in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. Location is the same as dusk captures “Light the Way” and “Night Garden“.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 17, 20238:50 pm

Fox on the Run

If you think there are too many nighttime shots from Galaxy S23 Ultra, I understand. Photos are noisy and not the sharpest, but I like the Samsung aesthetic—colors, light, shadows. Stated differently: Ambiance and mood.

Also motivating: Evening walks are easier during San Diego’s longest season—mid-Summer—but cooler and/or wetter nights will soon come, and I will venture out onto the streets less often. Then there is the dream of moving to the countryside in another state. Moments like this one will then be impossible.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 15, 20239:08 pm

I Do Hope So

About four minutes before observing the rocket launch last night, I passed by a neighbor’s seasonal hanging that beckoned to be photographed. I started to pull out Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra then stopped, seeing the camera beside the screen security door. I moved along.

Then I thought: What the hell. Maybe the homeowner(s) won’t be offended and post my mug, with flaming caption, on Nextdoor. I backed up, shot the Featured Image, and quickly walked away. Who knows? Maybe the 10x zoom put me just far enough away from the door-cam.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 14, 20238:27 pm

Alpha Rises

The best camera is the one with you—and that proved true tonight with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. As I walked down Monroe Ave. in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, something odd caught my attention in the sky.

I spent too much time trying to make sense of the oddity and as such missed the best shot—of continuous cloud trail. I mistakenly thought that the setting sun illuminated the exhaust of an airplane. Then the notion clicked, examining the trailing bloom, that I watched a rocket launch in the far distance.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 12, 202310:46 pm

Housing’s New Selling High is a Low Blow for San Diego

In July 2017, when we were home shopping, I started to monitor—and occasionally write about—the local housing market. The next month, countywide, median price for a single-family residence reached $610,000, according to San Diego Association of Realtors. Fast-forward six years and $1,025,000 is median, according to SDAR, which released the data yesterday.

By my quick math, that’s a 68-percent increase, which makes homeownership an outstanding investment for anyone owning before SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 or increased interest rates this year and last. For anyone else not fairly wealthy, the choices are rent, move, or live on the streets—something of an increasingly common lifestyle.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 11, 202310:34 pm

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

I promise: No more photos of the iconic sign on El Cajon Blvd in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. But tonight, returning home with a gallon of organic whole milk (whoa, November 22 sell-by date), from Sprouts market, I came upon the structure from the other side of the street. Surprise! You can get closer to the thing from there. I never would have guessed.

The Featured Image is one of two captured using Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. This one is straight from the smartphone: Composed as shot and no alterations. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 1250, 1/40 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 8:54 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 10, 20239:47 pm

The Threesome

I don’t take out Leica Q2 Monochrom often enough. The camera’s super sharp f/1.7 Summilux 28mm lens, supported by the 47.3-megapixel mono sensor, produces photos from which emerge so many possibilities. Take, for example, the Featured Image that is a close-crop of three people—one of them back-to in the hammock—during one of the summer concerts in Old Trolley Barn Park, which is located in San Diego neighborhood University Heights.

The naturally-produced graininess feels film-like enough, at least to my eyes. Is the young man looking at me? I would be surprised, since I shot from the sidewalk at the hip. This is about a 95-percent crop, for perspective.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 9, 20239:48 pm

Drives Me Crazy

I can’t complain about the weather, because inland San Diego County scorched today. Here in University Heights, which is closer to the coast, temperature reached toasty 30.5 degrees Celsius (87 Fahrenheit). As I write, it’s cooler 25 C (77 F) and best reason for the evening walk recently completed.

For days, I meant to document gasoline prices on the rise, after something of a decline that nevertheless was ghastly high compared to other states. According to AAA, the national average, as of this very day, is $3.83 per gallon. What a break. My local station at El Cajon Blvd and Texas Street is only $1.77 higher. Average for all California is $5.41 per gallon, which, by the way, is highest price for any state—even Alaska and Hawaii.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 8, 20239:02 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Meek

Perhaps you remember Proudfoot, who joined the series in early August 2021? Nearly two years to the day, Aug. 9, 2023, my wife and I passed him (or her) on nearly the same sidewalk spot. But wait! In an adjacent cottages courtyard, I saw another shorthair similarly colored. Surely they are littermates!

I used Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra to capture the Featured Image and companion. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/125 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 9:27 a.m. PDT. The other: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/490 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 9:28 a.m.

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 7, 202310:04 pm

Herbie Wannabe

It’s called popular culture for a reason. I don’t recall ever watching any of “The Love Bug” movies and yet have absorbed enough osmotically over the decades to know the basics: Animated Volkswagen Beetle—with personality, no less. Road race. Clueless adult protagonists. Oh, perhaps most revealing: I am familiar with the vehicle’s number and racing decals.

So unsurprisingly, I immediately recognized the Herbie detailing of the Toyota Scion parked on a street in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, today. If I were going to pick a modern, non-VW, that is close enough to the vintage vehicle, this coupe compact would be near top of the list.