FRP Journal

FR-P Journal

  • Back To The Streets – the California Lockdown

    Quarantine is tough. I’m not writing anything the world doesn’t already know. Parents with school age children are saints. Work from home is difficult, at best. Isolation and anxiety are rampant. The streets here in San Diego have often resembled a dystopian movie set. Empty and trafficless. But the lockdown created a unique rhythm to life. A quiet, peaceful cadence also developed on the streets.

    As tough as it’s been, there have even been a few bright spots. Some things are even better.

    The air got cleaner, crisper: Automobile traffic is a fraction of its normal volume. Within a matter of days air quality improved. You could smell, even taste, the difference.

    It’s eerily quiet. Cities are noisy; really, really noisy. With bars, clubs, and restaurants all closed it’s been noticeably muted. In our neighborhood, Friday and Saturday, usually a cacophony of sounds, are exceptionally serene.  

    Running down the middle of the street: that feeling of going for a run and the streets are your personal track.

    Family time: fractioned tribes have migrated back to the roost. Families are taking advantage of forced togetherness. Quality family time is abundant. Nobody is rushing from here to there and back again. The pace has slowed to a crawl. Life is slower, more peaceful.

    Quarantine has not been easy, but there have been a few silver linings along the way.

    Stay Safe out there. It’s far from over.

  • Peaceful Unrest – Protests continue in San Diego

    Another peaceful Black Lives Matter protest over the weekend here in San Diego. Thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday to have their voices heard.  The march started in downtown and ended up in Hillcrest. There’s been a large police presence at all the marches this last week.  Yet I haven’t seen any acrimony or antagonistic behavior on either side. I’ve heard about some, but I haven’t witnessed anything myself. Just a lot of passion in the streets. Continue to stay safe out there.  

  • Peaceful BLM Protest

    June 4th saw the largest protest to date in San Diego from the recent Black Lives Matter rallies.  While others have had varying degrees of pushback, looting, and violence, this one was quite peaceful.  The energy and urgency was palpable, but it remained peaceful throughout.  

  • Back to the Streets – PetCo Park

    The MLB regular season wrapped last night. Playoffs start tomorrow. Until then, a couple of images from the last Padres night game for the 2019 season.

  • Back to the Streets – The Beach

    Things quiet down a lot around here after Labor Day. I suppose that’s true for most cities. The kids head back to school. Summer vacations are over. However, the weather doesn’t suddenly flip over the Labor Day weekend. Especially here in Southern California. In San Diego the weather remains warm and inviting into November. Some would argue year round. Post Labor Day is the perfect time to head back to the beach. Warm winds and chill vibes.

  • Back to the Streets – Little Italy / Downtown

    Needed an afternoon pick me up yesterday so took a walk to get a dirty chai. I picked a spot my wife recommended about a mile from the studio so I could log some time on the streets. Bold, graphic elements are what presented. Take some time this Labor Day weekend to explore what’s around you. Immerse yourself, be present. But most of all enjoy the 3 day holiday!

  • Back to the Streets – Downtown San Diego

    Like many large American cities over the last couple of decades San Diego’s downtown has seen a resurgence and revitalization. Most areas of downtown are now safe and “happening”. This was not always the case. Prior to the Padres building and relocating to PetCo Park the area was blighted and dangerous. That, along with many other revitalization projects has transformed downtown SD into a destination for tourists and locals alike. People actually live downtown now. There are numerous hi rise condos – a new concept for San Diego where sprawl has always been the name of the game . Downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter is considered the Heart of San Diego. It’s teaming with restaurants, bars, clubs – hard not to be entertained. It’s a happening destination. The Gaslamp is often compared to New Orleans’ French Quarter. I’ve lived in both cities. The Gaslamp is no French Quarter. It doesn’t embrace it’s history the way they do in Louisiana. For that matter, it doesn’t have the history that the French Quarter does. But what little historical significance it has is whitewashed, as you often find in historic areas of California. There’s still enough happening downtown and in the Gaslamp to make it interesting and weird. Great place to explore with a camera, especially as the sun is going down.

  • Back to the Streets – Transpo

    More walking. More street photography. Stumbled on a bit of a transportation theme today.

  • Back to the Streets – City in Motion

    How do you get around in the gig economy? E-bike? Scooter? Trolley? Or the quintessential Southern California ride, a Skateboard? Me? I’ve been walking. Slowing things down. Taking some time to observe what’s around me. What I’m seeing is a lot of people on the move. Moving fast. Lots of motion in all directions.

  • Back to the Streets – OB at Night

    Ocean Beach, a small beach community in San Diego, CA is one of those unique beach communities in Southern California. Sadly, like so many other funky hideaways, it’s slowly being gentrified, with OBceans kicking and screaming the whole way. But when the sun goes down there’s still a a whole lotta flavor.