Santa Barbara Photos

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Sunday, June 12, 2005

Cross Bird

Well... maybe a little agitated anyway. (Cross Bird... Mad Bird... get it? oh never mind! it's not funny if I have to explain it!)

Friday, June 10, 2005

Solstice Giraffes

Not too often you get to see giraffes walking down State Street. This is in honor of the upcoming Summer Solstice Celebration on the 25th. It is by far the best parade in Santa Barbara (or anywhere for that matter :) !

Sunday, May 22, 2005

Butterfly Beach Sunset

The weather around here in June is known as "June Gloom." The fog comes in over the water before dawn and we usually don't see the sun until about 4:00 in the afternoon. Sometimes the beach is totally covered all day. There can be a wall of fog right by the beach that looks thick enough to touch.

The fog in this image is not quite that crazy. It was an amazing evening. I had to wade pretty far out in the water to get the angle of the sun behind the trees. And, I was not really dressed for swimming at the time.

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Day at the Beach

This is actually from last summer, but it felt so much like summer around here yesterday I was feeling in the mood. That water is looking better and better at 90 degrees with no A/C!

Thursday, May 5, 2005

Mission Storm

I actually went out to get a shot of a really nice rainbow. But the scene of the clouds over the mission was the best opportunity of the day. The clouds were bunched around the mountain. As the sun set, it was shining under them through the heavy rain close the mountain. It made for some particularly dramatic lighting. As you can see from the streak of car headlights on the right of the photo, this was not a short exposure.

Tuesday, May 3, 2005

Leadbetter Catamarans

Leadbetter beach is a popular tourist beach in Santa Barbara. Usually these catamarans are just lined up on the beach waiting for someone to come along and rent them. You can see their masts in this photo taken very near that same spot.

Sunday, May 1, 2005

Mission Gardens

There are quite a few images of the front of the Santa Barbara Mission. And for good reason, it is a beautiful place. But it's beauty is much more than skin deep.

Saturday, April 30, 2005

Sunset Run

This was taken from above, on Stearns Wharf, which gave it the interesting perspective.

Monday, April 25, 2005

Moring Cloud Trails

This was a particularly interesting sunrise. One of the times I was really happy I was carrying my camera with me everywhere.

This photo made me think quite a bit about the position of the clouds in the atmosphere. If you take a look at the contrails, they appear to be casting shadows up on the clouds. This is a result of an optical illusion.

The contrails are at a higher level than the clouds. They appear closer because they are much denser than the high altitude Cirrus clouds. The clouds are made of ice crystals, blown in the wind like grains of sand. And, being thin and wispy, you see more blue sky through them which contributes to the illusion.

All other things equal, your brain is wired to see a bluer object as being further away. Like a mountain in the distance, when there is more atmosphere between you and the object you are viewing, the object appears bluer.

There are actually two layers of clouds, one right below the trails and another, much thinner and hazier one, quite a bit lower. This accounts for the double shadow.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Nighttime at the Mission

I almost lost this image. It was on a roll of film in a camera that I had not used in a few weeks. Assuming it was empty I opened the back of the camera. Luckily the best shots seemed to be early on the roll and deep enough in the camera to not be affected.

This was a long exposure from the edge of the fountain. the blurry area in the water is the affect of the water on the surface over the length of the exposure.

Thursday, April 7, 2005

Sunset Reflection

This was taken from East Beach in Santa Barbara. The strings of lights are Christmas decorations on Stearns Wharf.

Saturday, April 2, 2005

Santa Barbara Harbor

Sunsets and water are a great combination. This shot was from an evening walk by the Santa Barbara Harbor.

Monday, March 28, 2005

Santa Barbara Sunset

Like I said before, we don't get a lot of clouds around here, but when we do it is quite a show. And I'm very thankful to live in such a beautiful place.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Stearns Wharf Dolphin Fountain

I like the fact that this exposure was long enough to get the red, green and amber lights on the traffic signal. The people were waiting for an evening tour bus so they were there long enough to be visible in the photo.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunset

The Spanish Style of the Santa Barbara Courthouse makes a beautiful subject at any time. But in the evening the lighting makes it spectacular.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

State and Anapamu

A little rain and lights at night make for some nice pictures. This is a great spot on State Street in Santa Barbara. I was right in front of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Diagonally across the street is a great restaurant called the State & 'A'.

Monday, March 14, 2005

Stearns Wharf

This is another of my favorite local spots, Stearns Wharf. The Wharf actually has a section that branches off and points back to shore. That is why it looks like this is not connected to the shore. This was taken near sunset which gave it a nice evening feel that I really like. This print has been in several shows.

Wednesday, March 9, 2005

Eat at Joe's

This is about a two minute exposure while wandering on State Street one night. Joe's neon is kind of a land-mark in downtown Santa Barbara.

Monday, March 7, 2005

Moonlit Harbor

I am still experimenting with evening photography. It takes a longer exposure, but I use Fuji Velvia, which is primarily a daylight film. The saturation makes this film incredible.

Thursday, March 3, 2005

Mission Sunset

We don't get a lot of clouds around here. But when we do it's quite a show, the whole sky was lit up like this.

Sunday, February 27, 2005

Christmas Mission

Mission Santa Barbara “Queen of the Missions” was founded on December 4, 1786 by Father Fermin Lasuen. It was the tenth of 21 Franciscan missions in California. It holds the distinction of being the only one to remain in continuous use since the day it was founded. Named for Saint Barbara, and founded on the day of her annual memorial feast, it continues to operate as home of the Saint Barbara Parish.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Lantern

I walk past this building on my way to Starbucks on a regular basis. It would not be nearly as interesting if they didn't leave the light on.

lamp ₁₅ | lantern ₁₀ | Santa Barbara ₁₃₄

Friday, February 4, 2005

Pelican Peak

"You ate my fish!! I can smell it on your breath!!"

Pelicans are pretty comical, they are as fun to watch as they are to photograph.

Tuesday, February 1, 2005

Peaceful Spot

Another of my favorite spots at Lotusland.

Monday, January 31, 2005

Arcada Ficus

Another night picture in La Arcada Court. That is not the sun at the top of the picture, it's a light on the bottom of a foot bridge between the buildings.