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.

Sunday, October 3, 2010
Courthouse Twilight Garden Panorama

The architecture of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse offers no end of enjoyment for a photographer. This view looking over the sunken gardens just after sunset shows the amazing lighting that so perfectly accentuates the features of this wonderful local treasure.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Courthouse Twilight Garden

Santa Barbara County Courthouse at twilight from the sunken gardens.

Friday, August 27, 2010
Translucent Santa Ynez Grapes

It's getting to be just the right time of year to start to wander around Santa Ynez. The grapes have just got to the point where they are starting to look juicy and delicious. They change fast this time of year. It won't be long before the leaves get some amazing colors in them. The day I took this shot I was looking for a nicely backlit bunch. This was the last shot of the day, when I saw the three grapes on top with their seeds perfectly visible in the afternoon sun I knew I had what I was looking for.

Thursday, August 12, 2010
Starry Night Over Butterfly Beach

This is an extremely long exposure just after dark at Butterfly Beach. Even by moonlight our beaches are beautiful, but most of the details of the rocks and the sand were not even visible to the naked eye.

Friday, June 4, 2010
Romantic Santa Barbara

Sometimes you plan an image. Sometimes it takes months or even years to get exactly what you're looking for. Then there are the times that in the blink of an eye everything comes together. Just at this moment, the couple strolling on the beach turned to look at the spectacular clouds. A second earlier they were indistinguishable, walking so closely together. And a few short seconds later the waves had moved in, obscuring their silhouettes and hiding their reflections in the sand.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Natural Cafe Virtual Tour

A beautiful restaurant with great food! This is the Natural Cafe on Hitchcock in Santa Barbara. This tour was taken while I was there doing a shoot for a magazine article on the Natural Cafe. As long as I was shooting the interior I thought I would have some fun with it.

Click and drag to view in any direction and be sure to click on the arrows on the floor to navigate around the restaurant!

Controls from left to right:
+ Zoom in;
- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
toggle full screen

Monday, May 17, 2010
Vedanta Temple Sunset Panorama

One of the many beautiful images I can credt to feedback from kind people around Santa Barbara who read one of the various sites (Santa Barbara View) I contribute to. I found out about this spot about a year ago and I have been there several times, but the evening I took this shot was the best by far. In fact it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.

If you have a spot around Santa Barbara County you would love to see I would love to hear about it. Just post it here or the main contact page on my site.

Controls from left to right:
+ Zoom in;
- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
toggle full screen

Sunday, May 16, 2010
UCSB Evening Path

This is an out-take from a shoot for an annual report. The only reason it was left behind on the first pass is the client was specifically looking for a two page spread. Of course when you have a beautiful evening you shoot everything that catches your eye. Invariably the client comes back looking for a different angle or more images. Or, at the very least you can come back a few months later and find some hidden gems that were overlooked on the first pass.

Sunday, March 7, 2010
Santa Barbara Historical Museum Courtyard Portico

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is a wonderful treasure. As with so many of the local architectural jewels, the beauty is only amplified by the evening light. Many times I have gone out of my way to walk through their beautiful grounds. It is an amazing change of environment in the middle of down town Santa Barbara and it is one of the things that makes our city special. With just a small detour you are taken not only to another place and time.

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.