Tag: street photography

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 11, 20216:41 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Champagne

With a backlog of photographed but unpublished kitties, I shouldn’t skip a fresh feline to the front of the line. But I am too satisfied with the Featured Image and companion, both captured today using Leica Q2. Vitals for each, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100. 1/125 sec, 28mm; 11:58 a.m. PST.

Nicknamed Champagne, for fur color, he appeared along Louisiana not far from where Gracie lived (she has passed away from old age). My wife, who first spotted the tan shorthair, also observed Ash lurking nearby; I assume the cats regarded one another—as he and Nelson often do.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 9, 20219:40 pm

Before Meade’s Traffic Circles

I continue to review past photos of San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood for their personal, nostalgic value. Many were edited around the time captured—like the Featured Image, using Leica M10 and Summarit-M 1:2.4/50 lens—but not published. Until now. Vitals, aperture unknown: ISO 100, 1/2000 sec, 50mm; 5:08 p.m. PDT, May 26, 2018.

The view is from cross-street Georgia; Florida is at the bottom of the hill. Beyond is Alabama, where currently there is a so-called “traffic calming measure” (e.g. circle), supporting the forthcoming regional bikeway. Mississippi follows, then Louisiana (where three years later there is another calming measure). At the stoplight is Texas, where across starts North Park, which name is rudely etched into the two circles on the UH side. That’s but one of the obstructions’ unintended consequences.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 8, 20219:09 pm

Schwinn Time

This afternoon, I walked home through the San Diego neighborhood of Hillcrest, where waits one of the many artifacts of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns. Schwinn stationary bikes are available for those locals looking to exercise outdoors, which is a periodic requirement depending on which way the stay-at-home order blows; sometimes indoor gyms are allowed to open, oftentimes not.

I have seen souls pedaling together during tandem instruction. But nobody rode the road to nowhere when I happened to pass by. Unfortunately, I carried along Leica Q2 Monochrom, which was supposed to effuse magnificent ambience in my nibble hands. But the scene was overly cluttered; in black and white the compositions are too busy, with little comfortable place for the eyes to naturally go.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 7, 202111:53 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Buff

The backlog of kitties takes a sudden, unexpected, fortuitous turn with a lightly-toned ginger photographed anew. Our first encounter was March 3, 2020, but the shorthair was too far away and its face obscured by […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 6, 20216:55 pm

The Halloween House

Continuing the walk down nostalgia lane, in my San Diego neighborhood, we go out of season—back before SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns tempered some holiday decorating. I used Leica Q to capture […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 4, 20219:14 pm

A Calico Moves On

One of the earliest kitties photographed for my “Cats of University Heights” series (Oct. 29, 2016), but not featured until March 24, 2017, is Veruca. She is gone now; her family left the neighborhood. I […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 3, 20218:35 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Blueberry

Looking out onto an alley, this fine feline lives in the same apartment on which balcony sat Spur in September 2020. Because the building stretches out to Alabama, where also is the front-gated entrance, the kitty counts for that street—bringing the total to fifty-eight out of the 377 profiles posted since the series started in October 2016. Mao dwells in the same multi-unit residence and maybe Dizzy, whom I haven’t seen for more than a year. Fifty meters (165 feet) down the alley, but on the Florida side, Chancy regularly suns on a second-floor railing.

Fifty-ninth seen behind door or window, the tabby earns nickname Blueberry—inspired in part by the hue of the curtains behind. I used iPhone XS to capture the Featured Image on Jan. 25, 2021. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 16, 1/615 sec, 52mm (film equivalent); 12:32 p.m PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 31, 20216:37 pm

A Pooch Portrait

Few days ago, Fujifilm unveiled the long-rumored GFX-100S—a 102-megapixel medium-format sensor shooter. I almost regret going back to Leica (Q2 and Q2 Monochrom), after letting go the GFX-50R in late-November 2019. Soon after, I purchased and returned the Sigma fp before buying the Q2. I love Fuji cameras, and the 50R surely satisfied. Problem: The impressive physical size intimidated animals and people, which was my primary reason for selling the thang.

The 100S reminds of what I gave up, with respect to image quality and dynamic range—both stellar benefits of the medium-format behemoth(s). So-o-o, this afternoon, I started reviewing some of my 50R RAW originals and happened upon a pooch portrait that silly me forgot to share with you.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 30, 20216:30 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Weepy

We celebrate the last Caturday of the month by featuring a young shorthair spotted along Florida at a property from which other kitties were profiled: Bramble, Brumble, and Shrub. I have seen other beasties there but have been unable to get photos, and none of the ones taken are all that good; they’re make-dos. Cat carrying and other paraphernalia stored by the front door makes me guess that someone is a feline fosterer.

I used iPhone XS to capture the Featured Image and companions on Jan. 13, 2021. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 16, 1/436 sec, 52mm (film equivalent); 10:02 a.m. PST. Second: f/1.8, ISO 25, 1/928 sec, 26mm (film equivalent); 10:02 a.m. Third: f/2.4, ISO 16, 1/118 sec, 52mm (film equivalent): 10:03 a.m. The trio is presented in sequence shot.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 29, 20217:09 pm

What is That Thing?

The Featured Image is bit of a metaphor—and not one I considered when composing. On Sept. 1, 2020, while walking along Mission at Mississippi in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood, I observed what looked like […]

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 26, 20219:30 pm

The Cats of University Heights: Gleam

Along campus—outside a condominium where once lived Blue, Chipper, and Copper (before a dog mauled her) and where resides Valentine—I spied a black on Jan. 10, 2021. The Featured Image comes from Leica Q2. Vitals, aperture manually set: f5.6, ISO 125, 1/125 sec, 28mm; 3:21 p.m. PST.

For the shimmer from the fur and glowing green eyes, the kitty earns nickname Gleam.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 25, 20219:53 pm

Nature Shaves the Bearded Tree

Over the past year or so, I regret not having taken photos of trees that were unceremoniously and needlessly cut down. There is a relentless culling that makes no sense when Southern California society obsesses about Climate Change. Aren’t carbon-dioxide-breathers that exhale oxygen good for the health of the planet and everything living on it? Ah, yeah. So why mercilessly hack them to pieces?

Another tree in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights is in peril of being chopped down—but unlike the others maybe for legitimate safety reasons. Few months ago, during heavy rains and winds, some of the dead fronds covering the trunk ripped away about fourth-tenths the distance to the top. Overnight and throughout this brisk Monday, winds raged 48-64 kilometers per hour (30-40 mph) with fairly consistent gusts to 97 kph (60 mph). The few fallen fronds are now many, exposing the trunk. When viewed a half-block or more away, the top portion of the tree leans from the section laid mostly bare.