Tag: urban photography

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 12, 20239:29 pm

Where the Crane Flies

Remember this: “The Teardown“, from February 2022? Where was a home and a few trendy shops, another multi-unit monument to more unaffordable housing rises along Park Blvd between Howard and Polk. By the strictest map boundaries, the location is in the community of University Heights. But because of zip code, someone will claim San Diego’s Hillcrest.

Vantage for the Featured Image is parallel street Georgia. I count four stories and rising. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/8800 sec, 70mm; 2:22 p.m. PDT, today; Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Leica by Joe WilcoxMay 11, 20239:21 pm

A Burst of Orange

Forgive my Gazania obsession, please. The flower observed languishing on April 29, 2023 has turned to fluff (can you say seedlings) and new buds burst in its place. You must understand that these orange lovelies took root on their own; they were not planted by the apartment complex’s gardener/landscaper. I am delighted by their presence.

I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image, today. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/320 sec, 28mm; 3:22 p.m. PDT. A second shot, using the camera’s dedicated Macro mode, misplaces the focal point; otherwise, I would have shared that one instead.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 10, 20239:41 pm

An Urban Moment

The eye doesn’t know where to look in this Featured Image close-cropped from an original taken on May 8 using Leica Q2. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/8, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, 28mm; 11:47 a.m. PDT. The view is along Florida Street towards the intersection at El Cajon Blvd.

The companion photo, composed as shot, is more dynamic—if for no other reason than more to see. To the left is BLVD North Park, which as a reminder is actually located in University Heights. Real Estate is all about location, and when your building isn’t in the trendier neighborhood you pretend that it is.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 9, 20239:52 pm

Squatter Villas

The never-ending pattern of eviction, renovation, or teardown and rebuild provides temporary residences for San Diego’s homeless. I had wondered why encampments suddenly vanished along either El Cajon Blvd or Florida Street here in University Heights. The so-called unhoused moved into unoccupied flats.

What a sad, tragic state of affairs across from Kindred Hospital on Georgia Street. Around the beginning of the year, a woman living in a charming Craftsman-like house had to leave, because the property had been sold for redevelopment. I once chatted with her about renovictions and calico Rosie. Renters of the apartments next door were forced out some months later. I had photographed ginger kitty Harvey there in June 2021. Both animals appear in my “Cats of University Heights” series.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 8, 202310:25 pm

Where Green is Good

East of Park Blvd in my neighborhood of University Heights, San Diego homeowners clearcut backyards to put up so-called Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs); developers level stately houses, which are replaced by apartment or condominium buildings; contractors relandscape grass, flowers, and trees with cement, stone, and succulents. The pillaging of property character and green growing spaces is relentless.

But some streets seem almost immune to the obsessive drive to increase population density and thus decrease the amount of earth where no structure sits. Wealth might be a reason—collective consciousness could be another (e.g., where homeowners take cues from what their neighbors do or don’t). Zoning is another consideration, as is geography. Some or all of these apply, methinks, to Panorama Drive.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 7, 20239:00 pm

Ahoy Mateys

Thermometer touched 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) on this fine Sunday but constant sunlight made for much warmer experience. Unsurprisingly, walkers were everywhere—with dogs or other people—while the occasional biker or runner breezed by.

Naturally, here in University Heights, Old Trolley Barn Park attracted adults and kids of all ages. One gathering specifically caught the attention of my wife and me, too. In what ranks as the largest private event moon bounce that I have seen, a pirate ship inflated for the kiddies.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 6, 20239:44 pm

Take it All

Early evening, I hoofed outside to top off my walking for the day. Thirteen minutes before sunset, at 7:21 p.m. PDT, I came upon the contents of the Featured Image along the University Heights side of Texas Street—somewhere between cross-streets Madison and Meade (Monroe is between them).

What an odd assortment: bottle (empty), candle, doormat, planter, potted plant, Purell, straws, table, take-out containers, white-board cleaner, and a few other oddities that I can’t identify. I’ve seen a lot of unexpected freebees along San Diego alleys and streets. Some of the more memorable sightings: Antique dresser; blue and white PowerMac G3 (circa 1999); first furnishings; LC Smith typewriter (vintage, rusted); living room set; 1970’s era gas stove; and Vitamaster Slendercycle, among other things.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 2, 202310:15 pm

All The Time (Zones) in the World

What do you make of this? The area along the Kindred Hospital property in San Diego village of University Heights is a bit of a homeless campsite. Makeshift tents tucked behind utility boxes or covered bodies stretched out on grass are commonly seen. Shopping carts chock full of junk—eh, personal belongings— are navigational hazards. Weave as you walk!

A lone cart containing a time-zone map of the world made an impression for seeming so out of place by any measure. Who did it belong to? Why did he or she abandon it? Was the wall hanging free for the taking? Discarded? Forgotten? You know, the shopping cart got left behind—accidentally detached from several carts strung together.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 1, 20238:50 pm

Crown Daisies Delight

Along Alabama Street today, across from the BLVD North Park (reminder, located in University Heights not NP), I passed by a lovely grouping of daisies that are likely garland chrysanthemum (based on online searches); flower identification is not my area of expertise; ask me about insects, for surer knowledge.

The crown daises rose so high, I could not resist stopping and taking two photos. The Featured Image utilizes Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s Portrait mode to artificially create bokeh (e.g. background blur). Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 10, 1/380 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 4:36 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 28, 20239:48 pm

Is Theft Really This Bad?

Welcome to Target in San Diego’s Mission Valley, where toothpaste is kept under lock and key. Apparently, the tubes are a high-theft item, right up there with body lotion and shaving cream. No problem, flat-screen televisions are grab and carry, and maybe an employee will notice—or maybe not. Why let loose the big-ticket item and secure the smaller one? That’s a good question.

One sales associate told me: During the time of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 consumer and commercial restrictions, the retailer had trouble stocking some personal care items, presumably because of ongoing supply-chain problems. But the bigger culprit turned out to be shoplifters—something that locked up stock quickly made clear.

Living by Joe WilcoxApr 27, 20239:49 pm

The Estate Sale

Today, my wife and I drove down Texas Street from University Heights into Mission Valley and our local Bed Bath & Beyond. About 24 hours earlier, liquidation sale started—as the retailer begins to wind down all operations in U.S. stores following an April 23, 2023 Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing. Some people will say that SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns killed the company, and they would be mistaken.

Bed Bath & Beyond’s demise is more complicated but two causes are fundamental, and one was exacerbated by the nation’s pandemic response. The first: Unnecessary debt. I told my wife years ago that too many public companies used cheap credit to buy back, and therefore bolster, shares. That’s the real reason for tech stalwarts like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and the like laying off tens of thousands of workers. Trust me: It’s not the economy but cost-cutting because of debt.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 26, 20239:37 pm

Overgrown Hydrant

The barrage of winter storms is finally finished for Southern California—as sunny days fill the future forecast. Mountains are snowcapped, reservoirs are full, and total rainfall to date in San Diego is nearly twice the total for all of 2022.

All that precipitation is good for the things that grow from the earth—and do they! Driving down Camino Del Rio N, yesterday, I was delightfully surprised to see massive yellow flowers flanking both sides of the street. The city is quite literally in full bloom.