Architecture Photos
Friday, July 2, 2010
Pepper Tree Inn Virtual Tour
A beautiful spot on upper State Street in Santa Barbara,
this is the Best Western Pepper Tree Inn.
It was a great spot to do a tour. Be sure to look
around closely for the arrows to move around and see the rest of the
beautiful grounds.
Controls from left to right:
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- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
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Monday, June 21, 2010
Newburyport Massachusetts Sunset
Another hand-held shot from our
trip to Massachusetts. It was a beautiful
evening. So many brick buildings! Of course
that kind of architecture works in a place
where the ground doesn't shake under
your feet all the time.
Controls from left to right:
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change the way the view moves when you drag;
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Thursday, June 17, 2010
Santa Barbara Historical Museum Virtual Tour
The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is a wonderful bit of history
right in the middle of town. Just waling through their courtyard is like stepping back in time.
And if you ever have the opportunity to be there in the evening the
experience is even more magical.
This is a tour of their courtyard. Not a tour in the way you would systematically
tour a commercial space for an online marketing campaign. But
this is just me wandering around looking for the angles that interest me.
If you click on the arrows on the ground you can wander aroud
the beautiful courtyard with me.
Controls from left to right:
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change the way the view moves when you drag;
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Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Moonlit Massachusetts Town Square
Recently we had the opportunity to spend a
few quick days touring New England.
This was a cute little town in Massachusetts
we stopped in long enough to have dinner
and snap a few photos. In an attempt to travel
light I did not take a tripod, so this was shot
totally hand-held. I was actually surprised
at how well it came out for as late as it was.
Hopefully we'll get back in the fall one year when the
leaves are doing their show.
Controls from left to right:
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change the way the view moves when you drag;
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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:
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- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
toggle full screen
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.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
View from the Mission Steps
The Santa Barbara Mission is an amazing place. But every once in a while when I'm there I try to tear myself away from the beautiful architecture. There is a reason they built the mission where they did, the view is spectacular!
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
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Carmel Mission Bell Tower From The Courtyard
The Carmel Mission is an absolute treasure, it has so many beautiful architectural details I always find new and interesting angles every time I return. This is the main bell tower, the one you can see from the street, but this angle is from the inside courtyard. California Historical Landmark NO. 135 Mission San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo
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.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Natural Cafe Hitchcock Twilight
The Natural Cafe is a great place to get some excellent food in a wonderful atmosphere. This is the Hitchcock location in Santa Barbara. This is from a recent shoot for an article in a magazine featuring the restaurant, and their wondeful yet healthy food.
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!
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.
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.
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, 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.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunset over Knapp's Castle
This was one of the last shots as we were starting
our walk back to the car from Knapp's Castle. I had put most of my camera gear away
at this point and just looked back as I was walking away.
For a test shoot I ended up with quite a few images
that I'm really happy with.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Knapp's Castle Sunset Panorama
Click main image for a larger view
This is another one of the "test" shots
from the hike up the mountain the other
day. Well, OK, actually more of a drive up
the mountain followed by a half-mile hike on a nice trail.
Regardless, it was a beautiful evening!
These two shots were exactly what I had in mind
before I got there. I still have some ideas
for a later evening shot or two, but I'm going
to have to find some warmer clothing before
I go back up for that.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Sanctuary at the Mission Santa Barbara
Another image from the new lens I was trying out the other day. This is another one that is just a slice of a 360° image. I'll get the whole thing online when time permits, but I really liked the colors I was able to pick up especially in this part of the image. So I thought a tighter crop would be nice too.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
El Paseo Courtyard
So after the Mission the other day I was pretty happy with the new lens I was considering. But I like to get my money's worth out of a rental. I had it for two evenings, and when I went out last night I was a little disappointed by the overcast sky. It looked like it was going to be a very grey evening with low fog. But I figured it was worth a try. Fortunatly, my art director (my wonderful wife) suggested going to the El Paseo restaurant. As the sky got a darker blue there were a few minutes where the sunset colors mixed with the blue sky and the reflected city lights on the low fog to creat a wonderful purple color.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Santa Barbara Historical Museum
I was looking through some old shots for some photos
that I remembered taking, but did not remember how they
turned out. (Sometimes I take more photos than I have time
to process.) This was one of the ones I was looking for.
It's always a nice surprise to wander back through
my photos and try to find cool things that fell through the cracks.
This was just after a particularly beautiful winter sunset.
The wispy clouds are still reflecting the glow of the sunset
and the lights of the city making the beautiful colors in the sky.





