Thursday, August 23, 2007
California Sunset

Santa Barbara (where we live) is beautiful in general, don't get me wrong. And, I have heard people try to extol the virtues of our south facing beach. But you just don't get a sunset like this off of a south facing beach! Which is probably one of the main reasons I like exploring the rest of California.

Saturday, August 18, 2007
Wispy Jelly

I was in the mood for something a little different today when I was looking through some older images. I realized that none of my jelly photos from our last trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium made it to the Photo of the Day so it is time to fix that.

Of course, as with most photos, the lighting makes all the difference. Without it this guy would be virtually invisible. However unlike most of the photos on my site that are artificially lit I can't take credit for the lighting on this one. The Aquarium has a wonderful display that is designed to perfectly light the critters so you can appreciate their delicate beauty.

Thursday, June 21, 2007
Storke Sunset

This is an older image, from the building I used to work in at UCSB. My office was on the first floor but in the winter I liked to watch the sunset from this spot.

Sunday, February 18, 2007
Mesa Sunset

There are few places in Santa Barbara where you can watch the sun set over the ocean. Most of the beaches face south. But if you look around you can find a few spots with a nice view.

We have to enjoy the sunsets while they last, this is about the time of year the show is over for about nine months. During the spring and summer there's not usually enough clouds to make a spectacle like this.

Saturday, February 17, 2007
Egret in Flight

This image was taken at the same time as the happy seals. The seals were just to the left of this guy. It was a fun day to be out with my camera!

Friday, January 26, 2007
On The Ocean Floor

This is another shot from our recent visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was a fun trip, but it is quite a crowded place. If you don't like pushy people you should probably prepare yourself for a rough day. Personally, I think it is time to take my camera SCUBA diving and leave the crowds behind!

Monday, January 15, 2007
Quiet Spot

This is a nice relaxing spot right along Highway 1 in Big Sur. I love the color of the water here. The beautiful blue-green makes me want to grab my Scuba gear. Of course, even though you can't really see it in this shot the waves this day would have made a dive more of an adventure than I'm lookin' for.

Monday, January 1, 2007
Egret in the Wind

The last couple of days have had some amazing winds. Wild weather always makes for great photo opportunities. The backdrop of this image looks almost like a painting, but the gusty wind made these beautiful ripples on top of the bigger waves near the beach. The timing of the heavy gust was perfect too, just at the right time when this beautiful Egret looked up from foraging in the tidal pools.

Saturday, December 30, 2006
Happy Seals

The guy in the center looks really happy! Nice whiskers too.

The swirls in the water at the left really make this photo interesting to me.

Sunday, October 8, 2006
Harbor Light

Another sunset shot from the harbor. The evenings have been really beautiful lately. This is a good time of year to be a photographer. In fact, the only bad thing is I did so much photography work last week I did not get other things done. I hope to have many more weeks like that. :-D

Friday, October 6, 2006
Starlight Harbor

It was a full moon tonight, a really full moon. My wife read online that the moon was going to look as much as 12% bigger than other times. (The reason for this is the fact that it is near the low point in it's slightly elliptical orbit.) So we thought it would be a good evening for some evening shots.

The sun was gone when I took this, just a faint glow behind me. The glow to the left of the photo is from the full moon. And the stars are clearly visible.

This is not a new type of shot for me. But it is just about a first with my digital camera. I can usually pull this off pretty well with film, but the digital was a little more temperamental. Actually, it is just what you get used to. Now that I know how it likes to be treated, I think I'll be using it a lot more this way.

Sunday, August 27, 2006
Butterfly Beach Sunset

It was a nice sunset this evening. No clouds, but still a nice glow in the sky.

Thursday, August 24, 2006
Sunset Exercise

I went to the doctor and, big surprise, I have to eat healthier and get more exercise! (should have seen that comin') On the plus side, walking is his recommended way to do that. And I figure, if you're gonna walk, you might as well do it someplace nice!

This is Butterfly Beach in Santa Barbara. It is one of the less traveled beaches around here. It is not in an area that you would normally stumble on. And it is our favorite beach. So after making one good pedometer out of two broken ones, we had a nice sunset walk. Oh, I mean... we went out and got some exercise!

Saturday, July 1, 2006
Catamaran Beach

Another Santa Barbara sunset shot taken a few minutes after yesterday's.

Friday, June 30, 2006
Stearns Sunset Panorama

(click to see a bigger version)

More shots from yesterday's wharf walk. Actually, it's a combination of 9 shots. It was a beautiful evening.

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.