Tag: street photography

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The Cats of University Heights: Woo

Woo, who resides among apartments off Park Blvd. near Meade, is a fixture. I’ve seen her, and a littermate, around the same courtyard for years. Not nearly as long as I have lived in University Heights but definitely for a good half-decade. But this summer into autumn, though, she is alone—and I wonder about the other. (I later learned that Woo’s sister was mauled by a dog, leading to her death.)

Google’s Android auto-upload photo feature saved these captures; I can find no digital hard copies anywhere. For about 28 days in autumn 2013, I owned the Moto X Developer Edition before returning for refund. I praised the camera for shooting what the eye sees, which wasn’t enough to offset huge variances in image quality, depending on lighting. I captured the calico using Moto X on October 15th three years ago. If not for Cloud backup, the pics would be lost. 

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The Cats of University Heights: Roly Poly

Meet the second feline featured in this limited series. From Scruffy we go to Roly Poly (real name unknown). He and I first crossed paths on July 8, 2016 at 6:20 p.m. PDT a few meters onto Cleveland Ave. where it meets Monroe. He couldn’t stay still for long—moving from rolling around on the sidewalk to pestering a black cat meowing and growling on the other side of a hedge to lying flat. He preoccupied most of the time tormenting the hidden beast that I occasionally could see behind the brush.

I shot Roly’s portrait, the Featured Image, using iPhone 6s Plus. Vitals: f/2.2, ISO 32, 1/120 sec, 4.15mm.

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Halloween Cat

I sighted the same cat sitting in the same place two nights in a row—second time with enough light to capture meaningful pics with iPhone 7 Plus. The candid presented opportunity to use the dual-camera’s zoom feature. Image on right is standard, and the other is 2X. The collage editor cropped, so for reference I provide the originals separately.

The captures are from Oct. 12, 2016, at 5:36 p.m. PDT. Vitals for the first: f/1.8, ISO 20, 1/399 sec, 3.99mm. The second: f/2.8, ISO 20, 1/129 sec, 6.6mm. I shot the pics quick, fully auto. Activating the optical zoom was one-touch easy. 

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What Would You Add?

Walking through San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood earlier this evening, I spotted something new—or at least to me. The “Before I Die…” wall has been there since June 2012. Clearly, I don’t get to that side of University Ave. often enough.

There’s something morbid about the giant chalkboard compared to aspirational “The Courage Wall”, which was my Flickr-a-Day-231 selection last year. Both fixtures provide space for passersby to express something longed to do; one is about overcoming something to achieve something more, while the other is wished for far less earnestly. Compare the aspirations to see the differences. 

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Flickr a Day 365: ‘Cat Scratch Fever’

My favorite photo of the 365 is Day 38 “Master of Venice” by Alexis Bross. Cats are such an Internet stereotype how could I not conclude the series with another—conceding that Flickr a Day has too many. Additional Days: 51143201220, and 302.

In choosing the feline that would end the series, I favored habitat shots and ignored facial closeups or handsome subjects. None of the finalists is ugly, per se, but only the last two do I find to be attractive. I never imagined seeing more cat photos than I could possible tolerate, until selecting our winner.

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Flickr a Day 360: ‘The Leaving’

The series winds down with a dramatic change in curation. From the first day forward, I prepared posts in advance—sometimes as many as 10. But with six selections remaining, I prep the next to follow the current one; for emphasis and care choosing.

First up, street photographer Tuncay Coşkun, who shot self-titled “The Leaving” on June 6, 2014, using Canon EOS 60D. Vitals: f/13, ISO 200, 1/125 sec, 50mm. I picked the pic for clever composition and character. Need I even explain why?