Tag: San Diego

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 16, 202110:47 am

Pumpkin Mountain

The iPhone 13 Pro camera system surprisingly satisfies—more than any other smartphone to bless my grubby fingers. I am loving the ultra-wide (13mm) and telephoto (77mm) lenses, along with RAW capture capabilities. Shots are sharper than I would ever expect from a device with relatively small sensor and which primary function is not photography.

All combined, the 13 Pro is creative fun—and that’s from my only surface skimming the sea of benefits. The Featured Image is example, with distortion from the ultra-wide lens adding character to an otherwise mundane scene. Vitals: f/1.8, ISO 50, 1/122 sec, 13mm; 1:01 p.m. PDT, yesterday.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 15, 20214:07 pm

Who Do We Blame for This?

You tell me. Because I really want to know.

I used iPhone 13 Pro to take the Featured Image, this afternoon in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood. The gas station is located at Fourth and Washington. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 32, 1/699 sec, 77mm; 1:18 p.m. PDT.

Leica by Joe WilcoxOct 14, 20219:22 pm

The Big ‘Little Library’

I cannot rightly express my surprise while walking along Campus Avenue close to cross-street Monroe on Oct. 5, 2021. In the distance, a decorated utility box beckoned attention. The things are all about University Heights, but all others are plain grey. Shape and overall size were right for what I expected to find, but something else waited: A “LittleFreeLibrary”.

The Featured Image gives some perspective of dimensions set against the Ford Super Duty truck for comparison. Vitals, aperture manually set for all: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/800 sec, 28mm; 12:59 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 13, 20218:35 pm

The Benefits are Mutual

Along Mission Avenue, which cuts through University Heights East of Park Blvd, someone placed an appropriate sign for the many residents walking their dogs. The message could be interpreted as a politer way of saying “Don’t let your animal poo on my property” but I see something else: Too many mutt owners stroll the sidewalks, leashed dogs pulled along by one hand, with eyes glued to a smartphone held in the other. Frak, yeah. Play with your woof-woof.

San Diego is like so much of California: Dog-loving. There are special beaches and parks for the beasties to run about. They are walked all times of day or night, and I often see one person with three or more mutts. At least these people are more likely to engage their leashed charges than a cellular device.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 9, 20219:22 pm

The Cats of University Heights: A.C.

The seventy-seventh feline found behind door or window made a single appearance on Sept. 14, 2021. I hadn’t seen the beastie before that day and not since. While good at spotting furballs, I am not knowledgeable about cat breeds. If my online sleuthing is accurate, you are looking at the series‘ first American Curl.

I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image and iPhone XS for the companion, along Louisiana approaching Adams. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/125 sec, 28mm; 12:25 p.m. PDT. The other: f/2.4, ISO 25, 1/149 sec, 52mm; 12:25 p.m.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 8, 20219:32 pm

There’s No Vaxx for That

During last year’s SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns, electric scooters nearly disappeared from San Diego streets. But as the pandemic becomes endemic, and activity approaches some semblance of normalcy, the two-wheel rentals return.

If SARS-CoV-2 could be a metaphor, first electric bikes, then scooters, suddenly were everywhere three years ago. County-wide, communities had no natural immunity (e.g. ordinances) to prevent the e-rides from clogging sidewalks or from masses of people zipping about—jeopardizing themselves and other citizens. City councils imposed restrictions to, ah, flatten the curve—to prevent quite literally the flattening of some riders. But the scooters spread unchecked until COVID-19 lockdowns crushed the scourge.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 6, 202110:48 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Jax

The cruelty to the kitty backlog of still-to-be-published profiles: We skip to the front of the queue a tabby observed today—on Alabama, making this fine feline the seventy-fifth seen on the street since the series started five years ago this month.

Honey and Phil both live (if they still do) nearby where I passed by the tiger-stripe on my way to the Smart and Final (shopping for frozen tri-colored peppers, but none were available). I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/80 sec, 28mm; 4:06 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 5, 20219:12 pm

Where Lightning Strikes

Last night’s thunderstorms brought 524 “cloud-to-ground lightning” strikes throughout San Diego County for the “24 hours ending at 7 a.m. [PDT] today”, according to the National Weather Service. I saw evidence of one on Louisiana Street between Meade and Monroe, not far from where live Angelo and Huck—both of which were profiled in my “Cats of University Heights” series. According to the closest-living neighbor, the strike, which sent portion of a palm tree to blaze, occurred around 8 p.m. Not long later, fire crews extinguished the flames.

The Featured Image is the unbecoming first photo from iPhone 13 Pro, which arrived from Apple on Sept. 24, 2021. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 25, 1/2597 sec, 77mm; 10:24 a.m., today. Scaring and some charing is visible below the frond top. The device’s telephoto lens proved its worth.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 4, 20218:55 pm

University Heights in Black and White

As I write there is an enormous thunderstorm underway in this part of San Diego; first rumbles and flashes started more than two hours ago. The cracks of thunder are overhead and all around now; […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 3, 20219:22 pm

Not My Masi

My walk to the pet store on Sept. 25, 2021 was an unexpected trip down memory lane. On the corner of Adams and Ohio, at the leading edge of San Diego’s Normal Heights neighborhood, someone had locked up their Masi Speciale Fixed. What a great roadster. I used to own the exact same color and configuration.

I bought my Masi in November 2008 and treasured her (my site, my pronoun choice)—the more after thieves tried to steal her (February 2010) out of a locked garage (they got bicycles belonging to my wife and daughter—bastards). The Speciale Fixed is what the name implies: single-gear. However, the bike sports a flip-flop hub that allows freewheel conversion. In fixed-configuration, pedals always move when the wheels are in motion. Freewheel is what most riders are accustomed to: Coasting when not actively pedaling.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 1, 202110:42 am

Annie Takes Photos of New Surveillance System

Seven days ago, UPS delivered two boxes—each containing iPhone 13 Pro: 1TB Silver for me and 512GB Sierra Blue for my wife. The improved camera, over the XS, is a big benefit for Annie. In […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxSep 30, 202110:08 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Cutie

This series started on Oct. 17, 2016—as a whim. Not long before, I had surgery that recovered my eyesight and I also sought to improve my photographic skills. The two things combined into a quest to spot neighborhood kitties and to compose their portraits. I figured 30 days would be enough time, because how many cats could there be in dog-loving San Diego?

Still relatively early on, December 24 of that year, my wife and I came upon a woof-woof and meow-meow looking out a bay window. Nickname Watcher, the feline would be the first featured behind glass or screen—and by no means the last. On Sept. 26, 2021, I observed a different furball nestled inside the same window, making her the seventy-sixth seen as such.