Keeping with my black-and-white commitment for all of June, today, I used Leica Q2 Monochrom to capture the Featured Image, which is composed as shot. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/2.8, ISO 200, 1/6400, 28mm; 2:30 […]
Tag: street photography
Sybil and Friend
So why does one dog get let outside but not the other? Who is the second fido, anyway? I had no idea that Sybil, whom you met in August 2021, had a housemate. The Featured […]
Bruce is Missing!
Last night, Sunday, one of my neighbors rang the doorbell, and as I rushed to the door she pulled back the leash on her dog Apple, asking: “Have you seen Bruce?” Visibly anguished, she explained that the cat disappeared on Friday night. She, as I suddenly recalled, had gone away for Memorial Day weekend, trusting his care—and that of housemates Guido and Little—to friends.
Bruce is quite independent, and he is known in the neighborhood for his lion trim and for walking with his owner when she takes out Apple. Seems like everyone knows Bruce, which must explain the outpouring of support to find him. Neighbors are out searching and calling his name. Another made and posted lost cat signs. This handsome tabby has quite the following, and he really should have his own Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.
The Golden Man
Following up yesterday’s “The Photobomber“, we come to the intended subject of that photo—the golden man in the Featured Image and two companions. When passing him in San Diego’s Balboa Park on April 20, 2023, I was puzzled. He hung so still to the lamppost, I wondered if he was some statue—which there are a few round about. Then he moved, startling me and breaking my stare.
In the first of the three shots—all from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra—he looks at approaching people. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 50, 1/310 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 3:14 p.m. PDT; composed as shot. Unfortunately, none of the trio aptly captures just how gold painted is his face.
The Photobomber
Consider the Featured Image as start of a two-parter. The intended subject of the street shot is the big guy hanging on to a lamppost, and I had planned to close-crop on him. But just as I clicked Leica Q2 Monochrom‘s shutter, someone scooted into the frame. The unintentional photobomber instead makes the moment.
Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/1600 sec, 28mm; 3:11 p.m. PDT, April 20, 2023. Location: San Diego’s Balboa Park.
What’s the Lesson Here?
Not for the first time, car horn-honking, chanting, cheering, and clapping beckoned me to the administrative offices for San Diego Unified School District, which is but a few blocks from our University Heights apartment.
I came upon a sizable protest of people dressed in red T-Shirts. The number could have been in the thousands—size the Featured Image and companion don’t capture in part because the crowd spread out some distance. They jam-packed when marching, too. Vitals, aperture manually set for both: f/8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, 28mm; 4:23 p.m. PDT; Leica Q2.
The Cats of University Heights: Cuddles, Too
As my wife and I walked along Cleveland Avenue today, I spotted a tan shorthair on the other side of the street. We crossed and were greeted by an affectionately friendly feline that I hadn’t seen before. From behind us, a man coming along with a leashed dog, said: “That’s Cuddles”. A community cat.
By day, Cuddles hangs around where we met him; one of the neighbors put out a bed for him. At night he goes to parallel Maryland to his semi-permanent home, where there is a collection of other cats he doesn’t mix well with. I know them. Our long lost mixed-Maine Coon Kuma used to visit them.
Bye Bye Books
You would think with so many LittleFreeLibrary boxes about the neighborhood that the owner of these books could deposit them in one. That person is learned, presumably at a local college, or pretends to be. Maybe smarty sees that the extra energy to walk a few blocks is wasted when curb depositing is quicker. Dunno and don’t really care but gotta speculate.
What a collection of titles, too. Let’s start with “how to use Tarot spreads” for “effective crisis communication”. Or “I’ll grant you that” “what happens on campus stays on YouTube”. Use “pre-sausion” and “the culture map” to locate “the CEO next door”.
The Witnesses
While wandering around Balboa Park on April 20, 2023, I passed by several spots where people evangelized their religious faiths. Among them, Hare Krishna was one and Jehovah Witness was another. For the latter, I stopped to chat with a tall gent, wearing a broad smile, thick-frame eyeglasses, and straw-like hat.
He regularly comes down from Vista to San Diego to spread the good word about Jehovah. I didn’t think to mention that my apartment is located about three blocks from a Kingdom Hall. He graciously agreed to be photographed—and the woman, whom I believe was his wife, too. The Featured Image comes from Leica Q2 Monochrom. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/1250 sec, 28mm; 3:16 p.m. PDT.
Power Outage!
Quite literally, as I hit the button to post about cats Firecracker and Dynamite, lights flickered and went out. That was 6:41 a.m. PDT today. Power would remain out for us and others in portions of San Diego neighborhoods Hillcrest, Normal Heights, and (here) in University Heights until 5 p.m. sharp.
The SDGE outage alert in my customer portal at first estimated utility restoration at 8 a.m., then 9 a.m., then 2 p.m., then 3 p.m., and finally 6 p.m. We prepared for an evening in darkness and possible food spoilage in the refrigerator and freezer.
The Cats of University Heights: Firecracker and Dynamite
Look who lives with Frost. I spotted the pair on Jan. 12, 2023—and, so far, not since. The two are the one-hundred-tenth and one-hundred-eleventh felines found behind door or window. As you can see, there […]
Balboa Buskers
We return to my most recent visit to San Diego’s Balboa Park—April 20, 2023. Busking can be friendly among musicians but competition for prime location leads to jockeying for position, too. Then there is the decibel factor, when one performer is so loud he or she drowns out and therefore drives away other buskers.
That’s the story behind the Featured Image. After shooting the companion photo—both with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra—I came upon a flutist packing up and moving along. For good reason: The sax player bellowed with great gusto, such that no one could appreciate the higher register of the flute.