Light Photos
Monday, May 20, 2013
Santa Barbara Mission Cross at Night
One evening when we were at the Santa Barbara Mission we noticed someone playing ball with their dog in the field by the mission rose garden. The really interesting thing for my camera is they were playing with a ball that had a light in it. It was a lot of fun watching the ball move back and forth, it was too dark to really see the dog, but it was obvious where he was. In the end, there were too many cars to get an interesting shot of the ball, although it is in there bouncing under the big tree at the left. The fun thing is the shot came out beautifully anyway.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Last Rays of the Setting Sun
I was out for a beach walk the other evening. As the sun got closer to the horizon the waves kicked up some beautiful sea mist givng just a few moments of absolutely beautiful light.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Sunset Leaves
This is just being in the right place at the right time. As I was coming out of Starbucks in Montecito the other day I saw this beautiful backlit scene.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Santa Barbara Courthouse Anapamu Garden
A panoramic view of one of the most beautiful buildings in Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. The sunken garden in the center is used for a wide range of creative things throughout the year. It's an amazing spot right in the middle of the city.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Taxi Dancer in the Santa Barbara Harbor
The breakwater at the Santa Barbara Harbor is a great place for an evening walk. Of course you have to be willing to risk a rouge wave making you a little wet, but usually it's possible to navigate without getting too much of a shower. Last night it looked like there was potential for a nice sunset, initially the clouds didn't get as much color as I'd hoped for. But a little patience and some long exposures a little later paid off with some evening shots of the beautiful crafts wating for their next outing. Taxi Dancer (in the foreground) in particular looks like it would make for a fun (and fast) sail up the coast.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Santa Ynez Night Sky
This was a beautiful evening in the Santa Ynez Valley. The exposures were so long that I couldn't really tell how much the wispy clouds were affecting the shot. At one point it seemed like the clouds were too heavy to get anything interesting, but I kept at it. I was glad I did. The clouds only made things more beautiful. They gave a glow to the stars and Jupiter, and helped increase the glow of the lights in the distance. The light at the top (generally in the west) is the last glow of the setting sun. The light down the road is the glow of houses and cars moving around on the other side of the hill (the cars moving, not the houses.)
Friday, May 3, 2013
Windrose Sunset
Sunset on Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara is a wonderful experience. This day even more so than usual. This compass rose (or windrose) is out near the end of the wharf, past the buildings where there is nothing around you, not even railings to seperate you from the beautiful Pacific Ocean.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Sunset Cypress
The windswept trees along our coast are all works of art in their own right. This little Cypress is between two of its absolutely massive big brothers at Butterfly beach. Even though it's much younger than the others you can still see the beginnings of the windswept character that make them so beautiful. The amazing view of Santa Barbara in the background doesn't hurt either.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Mountain View Patio Evening
View of the Santa Ynez Mountains from the El Paseo building in Santa Barbara. A long exposure to bring out the evening lights of our beautiful city.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Courthouse Sunken Garden Clouds
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.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Jupiter over Santa Ynez
Last evening I found myself in Santa Ynez Valley. My plan was to look for some interesting wildlife to try out a borrowed lens to get comfortable with it before a shoot this week. But having arrived a little late in the day to find a good spot I decided to go after a different shot. As things got dark I found a perch on a back road overlooking several vinyards. The stars were really something to see this far away from the city lights. The amazingly bright one is actually not a star at all, it's Jupiter. The two large trails of light are planes, but in the upper right hand corner there is the small trail of a shooting star.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Amy Adams Arrives
Amy Adams arriving at The Arlington Theatre for the 2013 Cinema Vanguard Award Tribute in her honor.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Sandpiper Tempest Panorama
An absolutely breathtaking storm rolling in at Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta. The sun was still shining brightly around the edges of the storm, but as the rain rolled in that would not last long. The clouds were so close you could almost reach up and touch them.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Santa Barbara Evening Mist
This evening the fog was thick at the beach. But what looks like a thick overcast evening from one point of view can take on an amazing new light from another. Climbing to the hills of Santa Barbara lets you see the graceful beauty of the mist as it slowly rolls in over the city.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Gone Fishin'
This week was great for fishing, at least if you're a Brown Pelican in the Santa Barbara area. There are almost always pelicans feeding off the coast here, but there must have been some impressive schools of fish off of Butterfly Beach a few nights ago. The two Pelicans on the surface behind the dive bombers just surfaced from their dives and there must have been hundreds of attempts. If you look closely to the left of the photo you can see a nose sticking out of the water of what I believe must be a sea otter. But it's hard to say since I was paying so much attention to the Pelicans I did not actually see him until I looked at the photo.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Tropical Butterfly Sunset
Our sunsets are spectacular in Santa Barbara during the fall and winter. This is one of my favorite spots, under a beautiful Cypress tree at Butterfly Beach in Montecito. The lights across the water are in downtown Santa Barbara. When the tide is low you can walk all the way along the beach from this spot to Stearns Wharf, but the tide was definitely not low this evening.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Sandpiper Tempest
This winter has been a wonderful one for beautiful weather. This is one of my favorite spots to make a bee line to in Goleta when I see the sky doing something spectacular. Sandpiper golf course offers a variety of amazing views (and some great golf too). This is right by the clubhouse as the rain was rolling in. I was perfectly dry, but that wouldn't have lasted long.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Butterfly Beach Cypress Sunset
The evening I took this a few weeks ago, like many evenings, I took a walk along Butterfly Beach. But that night I was paying particular attention to this tree, one of my favorite spots along the walk. I had just spoken to someone who was looking for a special gift for someone who loves this tree as much as I do. Now I have quite a few shots already, but many of them use the amazing sweeping branches to frame other subjects, especially the sunset from the other side. Never one to shy away from the chance to look at a faviorite subject in a new light, I took it as a chance to spend some time wandering the beach with renewed inspiration for one of my favorite spots!
Monday, December 24, 2012
State Street Farmers Market
This is State Street in Santa Barbara on a Tuesday afternoon. One of our larger farmers markets, although they set up at one place or another around town almost every day of the week. I was looking for some nice shots of the people on state street, and this turned out to be one of my favorites mainly because of the little girl's expression in the lower left.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Sunset at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market Vertical Panorama
A couple of weeks ago I was wandering around the Santa Barbara Farmers' Market during a beautiful sunset. It was the perfect opportunity for a glimpse of downtown Santa Barbara life.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Temple Rays
Sunset from the front stairs of the Vednata Temple in Montecito. This little temple out in the hilss above Montecito has some of the best views anywhere. In the winter the sun sets in the area of the Santa Barbara Harbor and the wharf. But closer to the temple the beautiful grounds make for a very peaceful place to spend the evening.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Sunset at Butterfly
Another shot from a beautiful sunset a few days ago at Butterfly Beach. Recently there has been a great deal of interest in photos of the Butterfly Beach area so I thought I would post a few new images. Gives me a nice reason to go out and wander the beach too.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Cypress Sunset
An amazing sunset captured in one of the most perfect spots, under the Butterfly Beach Cypress Tree in Montecito.
Monday, November 19, 2012
La Arcada Christmas Panorama
Walking on State Street at Christmas time.
Monday, October 22, 2012
19th Hole Bar B Que
This is what you need after a long day of Golf. A great Bar-B-Que! This is from the Jordano's Fall Golf Classic from a few weeks ago. Sandpiper is one of the most beautiful golf courses I can imagine, but they have a lot more going than just amazing scenery. The people are friendly and the food is amazing!





