Saturday, February 4, 2012
Santa Barbara California

View of Santa Barbara, and the Santa Barbara mountains from Santa Barbara City College overlooking Pershing Park. Santa Barbara City College has some amazing views. Most commonly, it's the view toward the harbor and wharf that I think of and photograph. But this is looking over Pershing Park, toward the city. In my experience talking to people about my photos of our beautiful city, the tourists love the beach views, but the locals think of views like this when they think of home.

Sunday, January 29, 2012
Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens, Virtual Reality

The sunken gardens at the Santa Barbara County Court House is the location of many community events and festivals. There are few places more recognizable as a local Santa Barbara landmark.

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Saturday, January 28, 2012
Getty Sunset Perch

The Getty is a wonderful place full of beauty. And the art is amazing too! This was a beautiful evening. The light from the setting sun made the amazing architecture on the hill glow. This spot on a high balcony was the perfect place to watch the show. It was a great place to watch the people go by too.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Happy Holidays From Santa Barbara

Yes I know the Holidays are over, but the flag was still up when I took this (Look closely to the left of the light.) and we just took our tree down. ( I really like to make the most of the holidays ) So lets just say I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are having an amazing new year!

Monday, January 23, 2012
Stearns Wharf Sunset Flight

I was experimenting with some differnt shots out on Stearns Wharf last week. It was an absolutely beautiful evening!

Sunday, January 22, 2012
Laguna Blanca Mountain Panorama

About a week ago, I was looking for a good spot to enjoy the sunset. After driving around for a while, I noticed how beautiful the colors were on the mountains so I changed my focus a bit. With the sun setting behind me, I found the view was much more interesting in the other direction. This beautiful spot is Laguna Blanca, on the Golf Course in Hope Ranch.

Monday, January 16, 2012
Santa Barbara Channel Islands View

This winter has been unseasonably dry, but this weekend we had some beautiful clouds. I had been planning a trip to this spot in the hills for some time. But to get what I wanted (a view of the islands and a clear shot of the wharf and harbor with a beautiful sky) I needed the perfect combination of clouds and clear air. I finally got it!

Sunday, January 8, 2012
Winter Sunset over Santa Barbara

There are many beautiful things about our city any time of year. But the winter sunsets are a spectacular backdrop for an already gorgeous scene.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Silvergreens Sunset

Our winter sunsets are absolutely amazing. Yesterday I was down town running some errands. I had plans to try to catch the sunset, but I knew it was going to be tight so I just brought my camera along for the ride. I was really glad I did. Fortunately there are an abundance of great perches in town to find new angles.

Sunday, January 1, 2012
Alice Keck New Years Day

Ahh winter in Santa Barbara! This is from an evening walk on New Years day through Alice Keck Parks' Park (Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens).

Friday, December 30, 2011
Evening at the Getty

This was from my first trip to the Getty Center in Los Angeles a few days ago. Although I enjoyed the art, the architecture was the most amazing thing. This spot near the West Pavillion overlooks the Central Garden, it is an amazing spot to watch the sun set.

Sunday, December 18, 2011
Christmas Carols At The Old Mission

Every year on the Saturday a week before Christmas, Saint Barbara's Parish has candle-light Christmas carols on the steps of the mission. At the end of the carols they bless the creche (nativity scene). This is one of the few times that the mission is even more beautiful than usual.

Sunday, December 11, 2011
Santa Barbara Sunset from Butterfly Beach

The end of a beautiful Santa Barbara day as seen from the west end of Butterfly Beach in Montecito. The lights across the water are at the beach in Santa Barbara.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011
La Purisima Kitchen Panorama

I recently spent some more time at the La Purisima mission and this time I actually brought my tripod. It's a little dark in the rooms to get the detials without it. I particularly like the rooms where they have furnished and set up "day in the life" type scenes like this. You can't actually walk around in this room, but it is still an interesting glimpse.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Cachuma Lake Sunset Reflections

The last time I was at Knapp's Castle I took a little time to focus on the reason the castle was built in the first place. This is the view from what I can only assume would have been the main living area of the castle. It was particularly good timing since the sunset was amazing. But this video starts as the sun is slipping below the horizon. The faint light pillar and all of the bright spots you see that look like the sun are actually reflections in the flat ice crystals of the clouds. In calm air they can float horizontally and act almost like a mirror, putting on a spectacular show. Even after the sun dips below the horizon. If ever there was a good reason for an encore performance, this was it!

Sunday, August 14, 2011
Knapps Arch Golden Hour

This is a shot from my recent trip to Knapps Castle. Although there is a lot of construction going on, it is still the most beautiful place I know to watch the sunset. This is about forty five minutes before sunset, but the sky was beautiful until late in the evening. If you decide to make the trip, take some warm clothing! As soon as the sun goes down it can get really chilly and windy, even this time of year.

Thursday, August 4, 2011
Mission San Miguel Fountain

On a recent trip home from Monterey we stopped along the 101 at the San Miguel Mission. It was a pretty hot day, but I was able to explore a bit. It was well worth the stop, and I will definitely be back again.

Friday, July 8, 2011
Mission Sunset Time Lapse

Time lapse of the sunset over the Santa Barbara Mission from the Mission rose garden. The Mission is my favorite place to try out a new technique, so after an evening of driving around trying to find an interesting spot that might have some interesting clouds I ended up here. And I wasn't disappointed.

Sunday, June 26, 2011
Knapps Arch Sunset

Time lapse of the clouds over Knapp's Castle at sunset. Santa Barbara, California. Recently I had the opportunity to visit Knapp's castle in the mountains above Santa Barbara. The day I was free to go, the mountain was completely socked in. We call it June Gloom in Santa Barbara. But it makes the sunsets anything but gloomy. By the time the golden hour rolled around, the fog had turned into beautiful clouds and just enough haze in the air to make the light beautiful and golden.

Sunday, June 19, 2011
Cachuma Lake Sunset

Yesterday I had the good fortune to have the combination of a client who needed a good shot of Knapp's Castle and a wonderful "June Gloom" sunset. Our june fog always makes for the most amazing displays if you look for them. The fog itself is very beautiful especially when it is rolling in and out. But the sunsets can be spectacular. I actually thought I might not get much of an opp

Sunday, May 1, 2011
Poppies and Dasies Playing in the Sprinklers

I didn't intentionally put the water drops on these flowers when I was taking care of a friend's yard. But I did have my camera along for just such an occasion. I loved the way the light caught the huge drops of water. The beautiful curves of the drops complement the small ridges of the poppy petals nicely. And then the daisy decided he wanted to be in the picture and leaned in from the right and said CHEEEEESE. Ok, maybe I spend a little too much time in the garden, but I'm making up for a very busy year that saw my plants too neglected.

Monday, March 14, 2011
Storke Twilight Vertical Panorama

UCSB offers no end of beautiful scenes, but one of its most immediately recognizable features is Storke Tower. Not just a simple bell tower, the bells in Storke Tower actually make up an instrument called a Carillon. It is played with closed fists on pegs in an arrangement similar to a piano or organ keyboard. Each peg rings a different bell.

Saturday, December 25, 2010
Santa Barbara Mission Nativity

The nativity scene at the Santa Barbara Mission early in the morning.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Mission Sunset Glow

The Santa Barbara Mission is an amazing local gem. It is one of the places I go just to play with my camera. The evening I took this however, I was on a mission to get a nice long exposure, evening shot of the mission. I almost turned around when I saw how thick the fog was getting, but the light coming through the fog can do some interesting things. Once I got to the mission I could see that the fog was cooperating nicely rolling in behind the mission but still giving me a clear view, with the beautiful sunset colors filtering through in the background.