Fountain Photos
Sunday, March 10, 2013
El Paseo Fountain Courtyard
This beautiful spot is right off of State Street in Santa Barbara. winding back pathways in the appropriately named El Paseo building, you find yourself in an amazing garden-like courtyard in the middle of a busy city block.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Casa de la Guerra Panoramic View
A panoramic view from the top of Santa Barbara overlooking Casa de la Guerra.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Casa de la Guerra
Perched high above Santa Barbara gives a different perspective. The beautiful red tile rooves giving way to the amazing mountains and Pacific in the distance. In the foreground I was fortunate enough catch an event at Casa de la Guerra. the colored lights and people haveing a great time were the perfect foreground for this amazing view.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Candlelight Christmas Carols at the Santa Barbara Mission
The candlelight service on the Saturday before Christmas at the Santa Barbara Mission is one of the most beautiful events of the Christmas Season.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
The Santa Barbara Unitarian Society in VR
The courtyard behind the El Paseo restaurant in Santa Barbara is one of thoes little jewels just off
the beaten path in Santa Barbara that most people walk within 50 feet of without ever knowing it's there.
This is actually an older shot that was originally published as a still image
because the fountain itself was so beautiful. But sometimes it's fun to go back and play with the images
a little and make something new.
Controls from left to right:
+ Zoom in;
- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
El Paseo Fountain
The courtyard behind the El Paseo restaurant in Santa Barbara is one of thoes little jewels just off
the beaten path in Santa Barbara that most people walk within 50 feet of without ever knowing it's there.
This is actually an older shot that was originally published as a still image
because the fountain itself was so beautiful. But sometimes it's fun to go back and play with the images
a little and make something new.
Controls from left to right:
+ Zoom in;
- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
toggle full screen
Friday, June 29, 2012
Carmel Church of the Wayfarer
This is one of my favorite spots in Carmel by the Sea. Every time we get into town we stop at the Carmel Bakery then take a walk around the beautiful city. More often than not we end up at the benches in front of the church to watch people go by and enjoy our coffee and macaroons. Of course I always have to wander around their beautiful garden with my camera afterward.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The Getty Center Magical Sunset
The Getty Center is as beautiful as the art it contains. This was about twenty minutes after sunset with a nice glow in the western sky. This spot by the fountain in front of the West Pavillion is one of my favorites but there are many spectacular views to choose from.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The Getty Center Main Garden, Virtual Reality
Another hand-held virtual reality shot from The Getty Center in Los Angeles.
From a distance the main garden looks like a very cool topiary hedge maze,
and it is, but to find the Minotaur in the center of this labyrinth you need a gondola. Because it
is in the middle of an amazing fountain.
This, of course starts the discussion of how do you think they
trim the maze. Because it's really nicely groomed. It's not like they could drain the fountain
every time it needs a trim. Gondoliers with hedge trimmers? Hope they're not electric trimmers.
Oh well I guess we'll have to chalk that up to the mysteries of the ages.
If you'd like to see a great virtual reality shot of another fountain in The Getty Center at sunset take a look at February 6th
Controls from left to right:
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change the way the view moves when you drag;
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Sunday, March 11, 2012
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Sanctuary
This is an iconic little church out in Montecito, California. It's image has popped up everywhere from album covers to advertising according to the nice people in the office. It is a wonderful example of south-western architecture. It seems like it would not be out of place in the middle of the desert, or southern Mexico somewhere.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Spirit of the Ocean
A sunset view of the "Spirit of the Ocean" fountain at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. The fountain recently underwent a major restoration. The original sculpture (seen in this photo) now resides in the Courthouse basement. A new sculpture was lovingly carved from massive blocks of stone to match the weather worn original.
Monday, February 6, 2012
The Getty Center Fountain at Sunset, Virtual Reality
This is from a beautiful evening at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
It was a great day with lots of beautiful art, but I have to admit I liked
the architecture even more. And I don't think I'm the only one. There
are at least six other people in this photo taking a picture at this moment.
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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.
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.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Pacifica Graduate Institute - Campus Tour Guide by the Fountain
The other night I was at the Pacifica Graduate Institute taking some test shots for a project I'm working on. The light was not what I was looking for earlier in the evening, so I decided to shoot some other things and come back to see how things looked after dark. As soon as we got back, we met the campus tour guide. Not sure what his name is, but he showed us around the grounds pointing out his favorite spots. This spot in particular had a nice contemplative feel. Our feline guide was kind enough to pose and add some extra feeling to the scene. It was a very nice evening at a beautiful spot in Montecito.
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:
+ Zoom in;
- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
toggle full screen
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:
+ Zoom in;
- 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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Queen of the Missions Fountain Test Shot
Last evening I rented a lens to try out
for some upcoming panorama work. I was pretty
sure I knew what I wanted, but it was worth
taking it for a spin first. When I'm trying out
new equipment I like to go somewhere familiar.
I couldn't think of anywhere better to start than
the Santa Barbara Mission. This is only one part of
the image. The final image is a full 360° panorama.
But my computer is a little overworked at the moment, so
I thought I would get this much online.
As for the lens, I was so happy with the results
that I was ready to buy it before the rental was up
but it turns out I'm not the only one who likes it, it's
on backorder everywhere I called. Oh well, there is always
the rental! And whenever I have rental equipment it
motivates me to go out and get my money's worth.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
After an unseasonably hot day my intention was to go down to
Stearns Wharf to both take some evening pictures and enjoy the cool sea breeze.
Unfortunately, the day had been too much for the power grid
and there was a strange intermittent power outage down by the beach
including the wharf.
After cruising around for a while and enjoying the cool evening
we ended up at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Montecito.
There was just enough blue left in the sky to get
a few nice shots. And, in the end, it was an even nicer
place to spend the evening.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
High Speed Fountain
Today was a day of relaxation. Well, after the morning
of spring cleaning it was anyway. (Yeah, spring comes
early in California and it's not always a good thing.)
One of our stops today was at Terra Sol Nursery on Patterson
Avenue. We spend a LOT of time there for people who live in a
place with a 10' x 25' back yard. But there is always room
for one more plant. And there is always room for quite a few more
cool plant photos.
We were trying to think of something
nice to put in a newly cleaned space hoping it would discourage us from
collecting junk... er, I mean, important things that have yet to find
a permanent home. Today it was the fountains that caught our eyes.
But those are more of an outside thing so we left uncharacteristically
empty handed. Well other than for a few really cool shots of
the water flowing from the fountains. This one is particularly interesting
because just looking at the fountain the stream was a perfect column
of water. But at 1/640th of a second you can clearly see individual pulses of the
motor driving the pump. Usually the pumps pulse at 60hz (60 times per second)
same as the electricity that supplies them.
In the spirit of simplifying things, and since the photo of the day
has been a little behind lately, I have created a new category on the site:
"unretouched". This image is just as it came
out of the camera. Not to say that all the other images are heavily altered.
But I am far from a purist when it comes to either recreating the
scene as I remember it, or just having fun with a creative image.
And recently I have been working with some massive panoramas that
take days to get just right. So it will be nice to take some more
spontaneous shots.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Candelight Blessing of the Creche
About a week ago (the 20th) we were lucky enough to happen by the Mission at just the right time. My wife had reminded me to go check to see if the Creche (Nativity Scene) had been set up. When we got there we saw that the animals were there, but we also saw a large parade of unlit luminaries. (lanterns made of candles in a paper bag with a little sand to hold them in place.) So after a quick trip home for an unsuccessful scouring of the Internet to try to see what the occasion was and to get my camera (D'OH! Should always have that with me!) we headed back. We were lucky enough to get there just as the congregation of the Saint Barbara Parish (The church that calls the Mission home) were starting to sing christmas carols around the steps of the mission. It turns out it was the Blessing of the Creche ceremony. Ahhh, what perfect timing my wife has!!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Mission Rose Garden Sunset
Click the main image for a larger view
I really love the fountain by the
Santa Barbara Mission. But most people don't realize there is
another fountain across the street in the rose garden.
It is really worth the little walk, especially at sunset.
If you have been around the site for a while
you know that I really like the clouds in the winter
around Santa Barbara. Mainly because we don't normally get
much weather in the summer other than some very thick low fog
in the mornings. Well, this summer has been a little different.
Not much fog, I assume because it has not been very cool at night,
but lots of humidity. On the plus side we have had some
really nice winter-like sunsets. Of course there is one drawback.
The night before last was so warm and humid I almost could not breathe.
Fortunately it looks like we are starting to get a break from the heat.
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