Tag: street photography

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 3, 20259:40 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Topcat

Let’s reach into the backed-up queue to Oct. 26, 2023, and one of the first sightings of a glorious tux outside the home where lived “Herbie, the Love Bug” and “Sparky” (and they may still be). More than a year later looking for the owner to get the kitty’s real name, I surrender. We wait no more.

The Featured Image comes from Leica Q2, which I sold on Dec. 11, 2024. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/50 sec, 28mm; 9:34 a.m. PST. I used Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra to capture the companion on Jan. 23, 2024. Vitals: f/4.9, ISO 250, 1/60 sec, 230mm (film equivalent); 12:44 p.m. I have seen the cat many times since and really should shoot something current.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 2, 20259:37 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Creamsicle

As promised, the parade of pussyfoots begins, with one encountered just a few months ago. You will later meet others that have languished in the queue since at least 2023.

This orange and white carries the distinction of being the one-hundred-fifth feline seen along Alabama Street, somewhere between boundaries Adams and Lincoln, since the series‘ start in October 2016. That’s out of 596 profiles, including this one.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 31, 20249:50 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Kitten

We close 2024 with what you will see too much of during January and February: Cats! The backlog of unpublished kitties is massive, so time is long past to dispatch them all. The first of the bunch jumps to the front of queue.

I used Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to capture the Featured Image on December 2 at 10:03 a.m. PST. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 200, 1/120 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom). Nickname: Kitten. Location: Somewhere along Georgia Street.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 22, 20249:45 pm

We Found a Rat Rod

This morning, my wife and I walked through Lafayette Hotel, here in University Heights, to see if it was as bustling busy as last Sunday when we looked in to see the holiday decorations. The place was livelier seven days ago.

I had wanted to stroll in with the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 to capture video of the zillion Christmas trees (some hanging from the ceiling) and raucous crowd (some of whom were hanging from the ceiling—or might as well been). Perhaps Christmas Eve, or better, New Years Eve will bring the right ambiance.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 21, 202410:00 pm

Nikon Zf First Shots

The new camera proves to be a bit of a bear to handle, simply because the ergonomics surprisingly differ from Leica Q2 and Q2 Monchrom. I expected more obvious manipulation using tactile controls, and I still can’t fathom why the NIKKOR 40mm f/2 (SE) lens has no obvious aperture ring.

I wouldn’t return the camera for these reasons, though. I will adapt, adopt new habits, and make the best of the Nikon Zf‘s many benefits (and idiosyncrasies). The retro-looker packs plenty of potential.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 5, 20246:48 pm

When You Can’t Get an AI Girlfriend

The Barber of Seville is closing up shop after 45 years of operation—more than 30 of them in downtown University Heights. George gave me a final cut this afternoon. His last customer will be a local priest, sometime on Dec. 11, 2024.

While waiting outside for my turn, I observed something, or more appropriately someone, across the street. You can judge for yourself from the Featured Image. Homelessness is a San Diego fixture, and I see street dwellers sprawled on sidewalks every day. But this gent is the first with an inflatable woman.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 4, 20248:40 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Red

What’s that saying about when it rains, it pours? This fine feline is the first shared since Oct. 20, 2024—and an enormous backlog is in the queue. So do expect this place becoming something of a cat blog for the foreseeable future. You’ve been informed; warned, if you prefer.

For today, meet Red, who my wife and I met with his owner on Nov. 27, 2024. Before the lady moved from rental to owned home, she kept Petri, who joined the series in January 2020. Amazingly, she stayed in the neighborhood, which was no easy feat during the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 housing bubble, when local real estate prices ballooned at alarming speed.

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 4, 20247:56 pm

Trip to Trump Country

Two days ago, my wife and I enjoyed a scenic, 56-km (36-mile) drive from San Diego to Ramona, Calif., where I underwent Stop the Bleed trauma training. In our neighborhood, Democrat-candidate-supporting signs are everywhere. We have seen one for Trump, inside a window where no one could tear it away.

But we saw several banners—one hoisted high above the highway—along the route to Ramona and an actual Trump Store on Main Street. Say what? Someone would either graffiti or torch the place if located in the Hillcrest-North Park-University Heights area. Around where we live, people who can’t stop talking about inclusion and tolerance are quick to exclude and exude intolerance towards Donald Trump, his MAGA-movement, and anything or anyone Republican.

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 2, 20249:56 pm

Stop the Bleed

This morning, we drove 56 km (35 miles) to Ramona, where I received trauma training meant to Stop the Bleed when injury severs an artery. The official, instructor-led class lasted about 90 minutes. Kit Fox Outfitters’ co-owner provided hands-on learning as part of the curriculum.

I will practice the techniques taught today so that they become muscle memory. Familiarity could make the difference between life and death in the event of a bleeding emergency, where seconds matter and being flustered and slow-moving is unacceptable. Practice makes perfect, as they say.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 20, 202410:02 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Gummy

Not only is the backlog of kitties backed up, but I ignored the series‘ eighth anniversary on October 17. Yeah, 2016. I started a few months after undergoing eye surgery for one ailment, while still being treated for another. Cat photography presented opportunity to break in my ocular implants and to improve sense of composition (okay, so the latter is awash).

This fine feline is the five-hundred-ninety-third profile and one-hundred-thirty-fourth found behind door or window. I used Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra to capture the Featured Image, on Sept. 10, 2024. Vitals: f/3.4, ISO 32, 1/160 sec, (synthetic) 230mm (digital and optical zoom); 8:22 a.m. PDT. Nickname: Gummy. Because, why not?

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 15, 202411:02 pm

San Diego is Scary Now

Seventeen years ago today, the Wilcox family relocated to San Diego from the Washington, DC-metro area. We came to care for my father-in-law, who would live another decade and pass away—age 95—in his own bed. He likely would have gone sooner and/or been confined to a nursing home otherwise.

My wife and I should have fled Communist California—and the slave mentality induced here—in 2017, soon after her dad died. But ongoing concerns about our only child kept us here longer. Our daughter’s brain injury, in March 2023, justified the financial hardship of staying. She survived—something unlikely had we, from a long distance, taken doctors’ advice to end life support rather than by being present choose to continue it.

Photo by Joe WilcoxOct 5, 20247:56 pm

Witchy Women

As I walked along Louisiana Street from El Cajon Blvd, today, a lady dressed in full witch regalia—black with red accents—turned the corner from Meade. We passed and I wondered where she could be going 26 days before Halloween.

An answer approached after I crossed onto the next block: Two more witches walked my way. So, I stopped them and inquired, explaining about the other costume dresser. Some of the local ladies were off to University Heights neighborhood bar Gilly’s, which recently changed ownership and partially its name.