Thursday, February 25, 2010
Carmel Mission Bell Tower from the Fountain

A view of the Carmel Mission bell tower over the fountain in the courtyard. The sun was getting low in the sky and there was just enough of a breeze to make the water look beautiful in the sun.

California Historical Landmark NO. 135 Mission San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo

Saturday, February 20, 2010
East Beach Sunset

The winter sunsets are always beautiful in Santa Barbara. But once in a while there is a particularly amazing evening. This was one of those evenings.

Saturday, February 13, 2010
Santa Barbara Hills

The beauty of the architecture of Santa Barbara is exceeded only by the natural splendor. The hills surrounding Santa Barbara are beautiful especially when the golen sunset light plays across them just right.

Saturday, February 6, 2010
Trinity Episcopal Church Bell Tower

There is no shortage of beautiful architecture in Santa Barbara. The Trinity Episcopal Church (giant stone) church on State Street is something particularly interesting. Unlike the mission with its wide open spaces and rose garden, the Episcopal church right in the middle of things takes a little creativity to get a good angle for a shot. This particular shot was the result of driving by at the right time of day and realizing that the beautiful clouds in the evening sky would make a great background for an up shot close to the church. I only stopped for a couple of minutes, but I was very happy with the timing.

Sunday, January 31, 2010
Courthouse Clocktower at Sunrise

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse has been called the most beautiful government building in the country and it's easy to see why. Overall the grounds and the building are absolutely breathtaking, and when you focus on the details both well known like the clock tower and the lesser known architectural aspects you can really see how much thought and care went into its design.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
UCSB Starry Night

Walking at sunset around the campus of UCSB during a holiday break I thought I might find everything too quiet to get the photos I was looking for. But like any small city, there is always something going on there. I was happy to see some lights in the windows and the beautiful landscape lighting still on. This image was the last of the evening and one of my favorites.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Butterfly Beach Stone Wall Sunset Landscape

We're having a wonderful run of beautiful sunsets right now. But this is actually from a beautiful evening walk along Butterfly Beach back in October. I had a request to use the image, but they needed a horizontal layout. Fortunately I usually shoot both horizontal and vertical if I can frame a nice composition both ways for just this reason.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Shipwrecked After Dark on Butterfly Beach

The clouds were beautiful the other evening at Butterfly beach. Just after sunset they looked almost like an aurora. This was an extremely long exposure, the last of a particularly beautiful day.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Sunset over Santa Barbara from Butterfly Beach

If you've looked around my sites much you probably already know that Butterfly Beach is my favorite beach in Santa Barbara. It's a beautiful place to wander and relax. Sunset is my favorite time, it's always beautiful, but Sunday (the day this was taken) was something truly special!

Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunset Clouds Over The Clock Tower

This is a little bit different angle on the Courthouse from the sunken gardens. Of course the main star of the show was the amazing sunset clouds. They were moving very quickly and the light was changing fast. In only a few minutes they were gone. But I'm very happy with the results!

Sunday, October 25, 2009
Camino Cielo Sunset Over Cachuma Lake

Sunset is one of the most beautiful things that happens every day. It's so hard to take the time to enjoy it. Most people think of the sun setting over the surf in California, and that is the case in most parts of the state. Our little section of the coast is a little different. We look south when we watch the waves break and this is the view from a trail at the top of our mountains. Just in front and to the right of the sun you can see Lake Cachuma, a man made lake which is a beautiful home to all sorts of amazing wild life including bald eagles. Someday soon I'm going to go catch one of them with my camera.

Saturday, October 24, 2009
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Courtyard

This is a beautiful little church out in Montecito. It's one of my favorite places to wander in the evenings with my camera. The architecture is really something special and the people are really nice too! This was actually taken the same night as a previous photo of the day which is now part of my Santa Barbara Calendar.

Friday, October 23, 2009
Nojoqui Falls Rock Shelter

This little cave-like formation is common at the bottom of a waterfall. The churning of the water easily erodes the rock more quickly than the falling water down the face of the waterfall. I would imagine it would be a much more violent and dangerous place in the middle of a rain storm. But I'll bet it's a spectacular sight!

Thursday, September 24, 2009
Santa Barbara Historical Museum 360 Panorama

Some days you look for a nice lighting for the subject you are interested in. Then there are the days that the lighting itself is the real star of the show. Actually, most great shots are more about the lighting than the subject but not usually this literally or obviously.

Friday, September 18, 2009
Santa Ynez Valley Grapes

I've been working on trying to get an image that captures the feel of the Santa Ynez Valley. Of course, vineyards are a big part of that area of California these days. Especially after a rather popular movie about the area a few years ago. But wine is not the only thing they are known for. This weekend Solvang is having their Danish Days festival. If you've never eaten an Aebleskiver that alone could be worth the trip. Of course, I prefer just making my own and avoiding the crowds. Then again, maybe I'll brave the sand castle festival in Santa Barbara this weekend. Could be a busy weekend!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Mission Sunset Fog

Click on the main image for a larger view.

Once again we are having a fire in the area. Fortunately for us here in the city it's a little further away this time. Of course that's not much consolation to the over-worked firefighters on the front lines.

As always, the fire is making for some nice sunsets. And I had a project specifically looking for a nice wide straight shot of the mission. This looked like my opportunity, but I thought the fog was going to roll in too thick to get the photo. In the end the fog swirled right behind the mission with the beautiful colors of the sunset making for an amazing backdrop.

Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunset Over El Presidio de Santa Barbara

This is one of those local landmarks that has been photographed a million or so times. I wander by every now and then thinking of new ways to look at it. This evening I had some help. Nothing like a spectacular sunset to make things look exciting.

Saturday, July 25, 2009
Grand Finale Over Santa Barbara

So there I was thinking "If only I had a flash powerful enough to light up the whole city," and then...

Monday, July 20, 2009
Stearns Wharf Sunset

Click the main image for a larger view.

Last Friday was a beautiful day to sit and watch the clouds. They really catch my attention this time of year since we usually don't have many of them. I took the opportunity to wander out on the wharf where I could get a wide open view of the evening sky. It was a perfect start for a relxing weekend!

Saturday, July 4, 2009
Fourth of July Over Santa Barbara

We usually try to avoid the crowds when there is some sort of celebration in town. (The exception being the Solstice Parade.) This year however, I was looking for a nice Independence Day Photograph for a project I'm working on. The thing is I would not really have been interested in the normal looking-up-from-the-crowd shot anyway. So earlier in the day we spent some time scoping out a nice angle that would include the Wharf and a more interesting Santa Barbara view and this is the result. It always helps to scout your locations ahead of time.

You can click on the main image for a larger view.

Happy Independence Day!! And thank you to all the brave people in uniform who make this day possible.

Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sunset Over the Rose Garden Bench

Usually when I'm in the Mission rose garden I'm focusing on the Mission, or even the roses. But this time was something special. I was there to get an image for an anniversary gift. You see, one of the rose garden benches is where he chose to propose to her. He came to me looking for just the right image and had just about selected one of my older panoramic Mission Photographs. But listening to his story, I thought I could create something a little more fitting. Of course, it's not all up to me. I had to hope for just the right backdrop. Wednesday evening I saw my chance!

Thursday, April 30, 2009
Storybook Castle Sunset

Click on the main image for a larger view.

One more shot from the mountains. And, if I had to choose, I think this would be my favorite. I really like the way the wall frames the stairway.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Queen of the Missions Fountain Test VR

This is the rest of the image from my lens test at the Mission Santa Barbara the other day. Actually, most of the recent photos of the day have full 360° panorams to go with them that I will get online soon. Usually the panoramas start out based around one nice shot. Of course the challenge is to find a point of view on that nice shot that also looks good in all directions.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Church of the Wayfarer VR

We spent a couple days in Monterey and Carmel this week. Like the Mission here in Santa Barbara, I have my favorite spots in Carmel to tinker with new camera equipment. This is the Church of the Wayfarer in Carmel by the Sea. This beautiful little church and a bakery on Ocean street where you can get some of the biggest Coconut Macroons you can imagine are two of our regular stops as soon as we get to the Monterey area.