A Photo a Day by Bill Heller

Ocean Photos
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Thursday, May 11, 2006

Santa Barbara Beach Bums

 We have not been seeing the sun much lately. But, it is a beautiful day when we do!

 
Saturday, December 24, 2005

Santa Barbara Beach Panorama

 (click to see a bigger version)

Ok I got a new toy! This is actually seven images stitched together in a panorama by a cool little tool named PTGui. Actually it is quite powerful. I am a bit fanatical about image quality and size. I usually work with 16 bit originals from my scanner and the this tool can work with them which is rare.

To truly appreciate this image you have to realize the full resolution version is over 500 megabytes and could easily be printed almost nine feet wide.

 
Wednesday, December 7, 2005

Carmel Beach Fire

 The people on the beach look almost insignificant under this awesome display. And, believe me that is how it made you feel! And, at the same time, it filled you with awe.

Some days I see things that make me wanna kick myself for leaving my camera at home. The days like this one make up for them many times over!

 
Saturday, December 3, 2005

Sunset Beach Walk

 Carmel beach is a beautiful place to watch the sun set. I took a lot of shots that evening, but this is my favorite. I wonder what they were talking about.

 
Sunday, November 27, 2005

Monterey Bay Sunrise

 The morning fog on the other side of the bay really made this image interesting. This is another image that I have to credit to the hound. I would normally have been sound asleep while this opportunity was passing me by right outside! And, as I post this now she is rolling over on the couch behind me and sighing, reminding me that at 4:30am it is waaaaay past time to hit the sack.

 
Thursday, November 24, 2005

Sunset Reflection

 Well I tried to find a Turkey, but I guess a couple of sea gulls will have to do!

Happy Thanksgiving anyway!

 
Friday, November 4, 2005

Stearns Sunset

 Fall has finally arrived. Last week still felt like summer. During the summer there is not usually enough moisture in the air to make an interesting sunset so I always enjoy this time of year.

 
Monday, October 31, 2005

Santa Barbara Sunset

 We live in an odd little spot on the coast. If you look at a map of the California coastline there is a small area that runs from east to west. That is where Santa Barbara is. As a result, the sun does not set over the water as you would expect it to on the west coast. Moving straight out from the coast, once you pass the channel islands about 25 miles out, the closet land is Antarctica.

 
Thursday, October 20, 2005

Old Sea Center

 Just went to the new Sea Center recently, it is very cool. This one burned down but they had been planning on remodeling anyway. If you are ever in the Santa Barbara area this is a great place to learn about the Ocean, especially if you bring kids!

This shot was taken the same evening as this one.

 
Monday, October 17, 2005

Bounding Beach Vizsla

 Dogs are wonderful creatures. And, it's hard to take a bad picture of one of them. This is a Vizsla doing what they do best. They are a tracker, retriever, pointer kind of huntin' dog and they are extremely high energy.

Of course you would never see my hound dog doing something like this. She would explain that she is far too dignified for that. She would continue to explain that she is a scent hound. So once she leads you to where the tennis ball is, it is YOUR job to go and get it. Besides, she has not been excited about the water at the beach since she realized someone ruined the recipe with too much salt. We have been known to have some high energy romps on the beach though.

 
Friday, October 14, 2005

Laguna Sunset

 My friend has taken up Sumi-e Ink painting and she is quite good at it. (I'll add some links once she has her images online.)

I think this image has a bit of Japanese art feel to it. Although, it would probably have to have fewer branches to qualify. Perhaps this one is a little closer.

 
Friday, October 7, 2005

Happy Cows

 You can't really make them out at this size but there is a heard of cows in the distance on the left side of the image. If you are not familiar with it, the California Cheese industry runs a cool ad campaign about their happy cows. You see, they are much happier because they live in beautiful rolling fields in sunny California so they make good cheese. Those commercials always make me think of this photo and the beautiful day I took it.

I think it's time for another vacation, then again, when isn't it?

 
Sunday, August 28, 2005

Stearns Sunset

 Ahhh, the end of summer. I don't have to go to school tomorrow, but I can't believe it's over already.
 
Monday, August 15, 2005

Basking Seals

 More "Sea Bassets!

 
Monday, August 8, 2005

La Jolla Evening

 We were just marveling at an unseasonably beautiful sunset here in Santa Barbara tonight. Usually this time of year the air is too dry to make an interesting show. But, even with the beautiful show, we still didn't get anything quite like La Jolla in the winter. Partially because we have a south facing beach here and the sun sets over the mountains rather than the water.

 
Thursday, June 2, 2005

Lighthouse Point Sunset

 This was a great drive at sunset along PCH. The wind was amazing that day.

 
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!

 
Saturday, May 7, 2005

Santa Barbara Sandpiper

 These guys are fun to watch on the beach, sometimes they seem to forget they can fly as they run from the waves. I particularly like the perspecive of this shot. I got down more at his (her?) level and it made for a much more interesting photo.

 
Wednesday, May 4, 2005

Sunsite Kite

 Since Monterey lies on the North East side of the Monterey Peninsula you have to go around to the Carmel side to see the sunset over the ocean.

Of course, I did get some nice sunrises from the Monterey side :-)

 
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.

 
Saturday, April 30, 2005

Sunset Run

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

 
Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Beach House

 If you look near the bottom of this image you will see a house tucked away at the bottom of the hill. There is a long winding road leading down to the house that starts just to the left of where I was standing. It curves around to the right far out of the image, before reaching the house. What a driveway.

 
Monday, April 18, 2005

Pacific Coast Sunset

 One day while we were in Monterey we took a drive down Highway 1. It was a hazy day, but that made for a nice sunset. As we got higher on the side of the mountain it looked like we were above a layer of clouds that was hugging the water. With a little luck I will have some photos of that... as soon as I get the other 23 rolls of film developed. :-D

The bright spot at the left of the photo that initially looks like the sun is actually a lens flare. The sun is out of the frame. Because of the haze, including the sun in the shot made a large fuzzy bright area rather than a nice sunset shot.

 
Thursday, April 14, 2005

Gold Coast Sunset

 I just got back from a trip to Carmel and Monterey. It was a much needed vacation, it's been over two years since my last one. I had a great time, although I did find out that my Hound Dog's idea of a vacation is a long morning walk at about 6:30am (we normally try to sleep in.)

Those morning walks did give me a great opportunity to explore with my camera though. I shot over 38 rolls of photos while I was there, it was very relaxing. Of course, quantity by no means equals quality, but I hope to have a few nice shots for the site anyway! :-D You be the judge!

This shot is from a drive down Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) in the late afternoon on a hazy day. The haze and low sun made a beautiful golden glow. And, it was a particularly windy day, a few rain showers had just passed through which made for some nice waves.

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