Why wait for Halloween to show off how San Diegans go nutso decorating all things ghoulish for October 31st? Our attention turns to seemingly innocuous street art (graffiti by any other name) scrawled on a utility box along El Cajon Blvd at 30th Street in North Park.
Perhaps, like me, “spoopy” is unfamiliar to you. Or perhaps you caught the 60-seconds of meme-fame a dozen years ago, when a single Flickr photo purloined and reposted on a Tumblr blog set off a frenzy of trick-or-treat wordplay.
I could count dozens of ways Southern California is oddly different from anywhere else I have lived, or traveled. With respect to the USA, I have been to every state—and Puerto Rico—but one: Hawaii. Among the oddities: Around San Diego, and presumably Los Angeles, helicopters frequently fly over with loudspeaker blaring some warning or notice.
“Suspect six-foot-ten black male wearing black hat, black hoodie, black jeans, and black backpack. Last seen scaling the fence at the 4500 block of Cleveland Avenue. Stay inside and lock your doors. Call 911 if you see suspect six-foot…” You know, repeats.
Six years ago today, I shot the Featured Image to mark then what continues now: Neighbors putting out Halloween decorations in September. Welcome to Southern California, where residents celebrate pagan holidays with reverence.
This one comes from iPhone 7 Plus. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 20, 1/396 sec, 28mm (film equivalent); 11:10 a.m. PDT, Sept. 23, 2017; composed as shot.
University Heights’ biggest, newest apartment complex—with 379 units—is anything but affordable housing. Rentals at the Winslow start at $2,400 for a 484-square-foot studio and go up to $5,945 for 1300-sq-ft apartment with two bedrooms and baths. San Diego officials propagate the myth that building more residences will decrease housing costs and therefore increase availability across lower income brackets.
But the opposite is reality: As newer complexes open, higher rents go with them, lifting the so-called “market rate” that other landlords watch as measure for what they charge their tenants. More is more, meaning rents rise with the new builds raised.
The Featured Image has undergone numerous edits—none of which satisfies me. How about you? Problem is busyness and there being no obvious thing upon which eyes can focus. That said, I kind of like the clutter, for there is plenty to explore if you take the time.
The setup is part of the front entrance and lawn area of a house situated along Alabama Street in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. Location is the same as dusk captures “Light the Way” and “Night Garden“.
If you think there are too many nighttime shots from Galaxy S23 Ultra, I understand. Photos are noisy and not the sharpest, but I like the Samsung aesthetic—colors, light, shadows. Stated differently: Ambiance and mood.
Also motivating: Evening walks are easier during San Diego’s longest season—mid-Summer—but cooler and/or wetter nights will soon come, and I will venture out onto the streets less often. Then there is the dream of moving to the countryside in another state. Moments like this one will then be impossible.
Yikes! When I walked by my local Valero two days ago, price per gallon held steady at godawful $5.50—as when I filled up on Sept. 10, 2023. The Featured Image tells the story: 50-cent increase to, gasp, six bucks a gallon! This is typically a bargain station, too.
The photo comes from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 250, 1/30 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 7:57 p.m. PDT.
About four minutes before observing the rocket launch last night, I passed by a neighbor’s seasonal hanging that beckoned to be photographed. I started to pull out Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra then stopped, seeing the camera beside the screen security door. I moved along.
Then I thought: What the hell. Maybe the homeowner(s) won’t be offended and post my mug, with flaming caption, on Nextdoor. I backed up, shot the Featured Image, and quickly walked away. Who knows? Maybe the 10x zoom put me just far enough away from the door-cam.
In July 2017, when we were home shopping, I started to monitor—and occasionally write about—the local housing market. The next month, countywide, median price for a single-family residence reached $610,000, according to San Diego Association of Realtors. Fast-forward six years and $1,025,000 is median, according to SDAR, which released the data yesterday.
By my quick math, that’s a 68-percent increase, which makes homeownership an outstanding investment for anyone owning before SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns in early 2020 or increased interest rates this year and last. For anyone else not fairly wealthy, the choices are rent, move, or live on the streets—something of an increasingly common lifestyle.
I promise: No more photos of the iconic sign on El Cajon Blvd in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. But tonight, returning home with a gallon of organic whole milk (whoa, November 22 sell-by date), from Sprouts market, I came upon the structure from the other side of the street. Surprise! You can get closer to the thing from there. I never would have guessed.
The Featured Image is one of two captured using Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. This one is straight from the smartphone: Composed as shot and no alterations. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 1250, 1/40 sec, 70mm (film equivalent); 8:54 p.m. PDT.
The owner of Bruce, one of the “Cats of University Heights“, occasionally receives reports about presumed sightings. The most recent puts him across Texas Street inside North Park. A gent is certain (aren’t they all) that he saw the missing feline, which turned back when his name was called. But a car scared him off. The beloved neighborhood mascot disappeared over Memorial Day weekend.
This afternoon, I hoofed up the hill to the area where Bruce might be. Along the way, I passed a flag seen a few days earlier mistakenly identified as the Japanese rising sun. Whoops. I got that wrong. That instance, I walked down the hill on the other side of the street. From the uphill vantage, the flying heart—and all the others—visually clicked.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra continues to amaze and delight, as the Featured Image and companion show. Capability and character appeal more than does clarity—at least for low-light photos like these.
Granted, the second shot is grainy but that’s part of the charm. Like the so-called Leica Look, Galaxy captures are dynamic and vibrant rather than flat or color washed out at higher ISO. Sure, sharper is great—as my Q2 would produce—but so is ambiance and painting-like quality.