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.
I originally had discarded the Featured Image, but pulled it from obscurity unexpectedly. My router lost Internet connection, causing me to be behind posting. Of all reasons: Loose cable connected to the ISP’s gateway. How did that happen?
The night shot, composed as captured, comes from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. I amped dehaze to embolden the darkening sky but otherwise the photo is as shot by the smartphone. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 800, 1/25 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 8:05 p.m. PDT, Aug. 17, 2023.
We return to the pizzeria located at El Cajon Blvd and Louisiana Street in the San Diego neighborhood of University Heights. Already you should have seen slimer dripping into three glasses and a table of leftovers.
The Featured Image can’t quite convey the evocative character of the sign just inside the back door that exits onto a patio. This one comes from Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, like the others. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 500, 1/40 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 8:30 p.m. PDT, Aug. 15, 2023.
This evening, I snagged one last dry walk for the next day or so. Rain is expected to start overnight as the outer edge of Hilary—the hurricane become tropical storm—blasts through Southern California. As I write, the weather is remarkably pleasant: Cozy muggy and 23 degrees Celsius (74 Fahrenheit).
The Featured Image, of apartment complex BLVD North Park, marks the moment. Vitals: f/1.7, ISO 640, 1/40 sec, 23mm (film equivalent). I used Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra‘s 50-megapixel mode for this one.
I am maximizing my evening walks ahead of potentially foul weather. Hurricane Hilary approaches from the South. Current track puts landfall along Baja California, then across San Diego County, and headed towards Los Angeles. The thing is currently Category 3 and may only rate as a tropical storm if passing over our area. Heavy rains and winds would nevertheless unleash.
Hurricanes are uncommon in San Diego. The last recorded was, wow, in 1858, according to a report by CBS 8 News. Whatever the extent of turmoil might be, Sunday and/or Monday should be when (I write on Thursday). Surely, I will have something to share with you during, or after, the event.
Walking about my neighborhood of University Heights last night, I passed few people on the streets. Some small crowds gathered at several restaurants along El Cajon Blvd, but few folks appeared elsewhere. The Featured Image, taken at 8:28 p.m. PDT, provides timeframe.
Desolate best describes the scene, which would have made great setting for shooting an apocalyptic movie. Zombie. Viral Armageddon. Alien invasion. You suggest one. Where was everybody? This is summer-year-round San Diego. The cool evening—21 Celsius (71 Fahrenheit)—appealed to me. Was everyone else home streaming content and ordering GrubHub? Is that the sorry state of society?
This isn’t my first Featured Image of this sign—and certainly not at night. But this one is the first using Samsung’s Expert RAW app on Galaxy S23 Ultra. Results do surprise, because I didn’t expect this much character or clarity from a smartphone’s small sensor.
I chose 50 megapixels and let S23 pick the settings. They’re easily adjustable, and I will do so on another day’s test run. Vitals: f/1/7, ISO 1600, 1/25 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 8:39 p.m. PDT, tonight.