A Photo a Day by Bill Heller | ||
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Sun Photos |
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Saturday, April 26, 2008
San Simeon SunsetThis was taken the evening before my VR Highway 1 Sunset, just a little further up Highway 1. If you turned around from where we were standing you could almost see the top of Hearst Castle in the hills.Of course if you looked to the left... and I apologize in advance for ruining the tranquil California sunset day dream you're having right now... there were a bunch of Elephant Seals. And they were quite loud and very comical. I'm sure I have a few shots of them to get on-line soon. Now back to the regularly scheduled day dream... Right up the road, a little closer to the lighthouse is a scenic point that has less seals, and when we were there they were just laying enjoying the evening sea breeze. One had her flipper over her baby like she was hugging it. So if you'd rather picture yourself there that would work too. :-D |
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Sunday, March 2, 2008
Highway 1 VR SunsetIf you have Flash installed in your browser, click and drag on the image once it loads, you should get a pleasant surprise.This image has been quite a few days in the making. I had the good fortune to be in Cambria (north on the coast, 'bout half way to Monterey) last week around sunset and I just happened to have my new panoramic tripod head with me. Seeing as how I don't have a good fish-eye for my digital camera, I used my widest lens available. To get the whole image it took 36 shots. Of course, the difference shooting into the sun, and away was more than a single exposure setting could handle. So I had to take three separate exposures and combine them into a High Dynamic Range Image. From that point, I just had to see how far I could push my computer. Rather than scale the images down I wanted to see just how big I could make the image. In the end the 108 images combined into a two gigabyte, 240 megapixel image. I figure it would print nicely at around twelve feet wide. I spared your internet connection the full size image. But as I mentioned above, users with Flash should be able to experience a nice point of view. I can tell you the VR interface gives the closest experience to actually standing there taking the photo I can imagine. Enjoy, and please let me know if you experience any difficulties with the new interface. |
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Friday, January 18, 2008
Shorline Sunset PanoramaClick the main image for a larger viewAs I have mentioned before, there are very few places you can see the sunset over the water in Santa Barbara. Our coast faces the south for the most part. But there are a few small sections that give you a glimpse of the setting sun. This is a combination of thirteen shots covering more than 200°. My intention was to shoot an entire 360° image. In the end this particular set of images caught the best lighting to bring out the beautiful texture of the clouds. But it did not quite make the full circle. If you like the panoramas, you should check back. My wife got me a couple of nice tripods, and one will be perfect for a panoramic head I have been drooling over... er, I mean carefully considering investing in. :-D California 107 | Channel Islands 3 | Channel Islands National Park 2 | cloud 46 | coast 2 | evening 31 | island 2 | light 46 | ocean 61 | panorama 14 | panoramic 14 | Park 5 | path 5 | peace 2 | Peaceful 2 | rays 1 | Santa Barbara 119 | sun 19 | sunset 75 | walking 1 | water 53 |
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Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Two ThirtyI love sun dials. Hopefully someday soon we'll have space for a nice one. Of course I'll probably just fill the space up with more plants. But that's ok too. :-D |
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Thursday, March 15, 2007
Santa Barbara Sunset CloudsClick for a bigger imageWhat a wild evening. The clouds are absolutely amazing around here sometimes. cloud 46 | evening 31 | palm tree 31 | Santa Barbara 119 | silhouette 23 | sky 47 | sun 19 | sunset 75 |
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Monday, March 5, 2007
Pismo Beach SunsetClick for a bigger imageIt's not really the most popular time of year to go to the beach around here. But, then most people are not crazy photographers. (thank heavens!) Ya don't get sunsets like this in the summer around here. The flowers in the center are Japanese Irises, on the right is a bird of Paradise. |
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Friday, February 23, 2007
I Can FLY!I took several shots of this dog, but the thing I like about this one in particular is the fact that none of his feet are touching the ground. He was running far ahead of his friend, the guy to the left. Then he would run all the way back. Apparently the pace of the walk was not quite as fast as he would like.In my case, it could be me making multiple trips back and forth waiting for The Hound. Not because she is lazy, but because when she really gets into her walk she likes to inspect every inch along the way. I experience our walks with my eyes and camera. She is all about her nose. I don't think she even pays attention to her eyes unless something out of the ordinary happens. As evidenced by the orange traffic cone that snuck up on her tonight and made her jump straight up in the air when she realized it was there. |
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Sunday, February 18, 2007
Mesa SunsetThere 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. |
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Friday, January 12, 2007
SunbeamZoe loves to travel with us. But she is glad to be home from her adventure in Monterey. She was happy to see her sunbeam was right where she left it for her mid morning nap. All that travel takes a lot out of a hound!Basset 18 | Basset Hound 18 | friend 15 | hound dog 18 | muse 15 | shadow 17 | sun 19 | sunbeam 1 | sunlight 7 | The Hound 15 | whisker 5 |
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Saturday, October 21, 2006
Californian ForestThis is the image in the seagull's glasses from yesterday's photo of the day.Now before you go sending me hate mail, this is supposed to be FUNNY! The back of the card has information about our beautiful redwood forests... "Californian Forest - Of course, Californian forests also include some of the tallest trees in the world at Redwood National and State Parks. These trees can grow to over 300 feet tall and reach ages in excess of 2,000 years. Only about 4% of the Redwoods remain since logging became an industry in California in the mid 1800s. Fortunately, most of the remaining old growth Redwoods are protected in state parks or in public land reserves." card 8 | East Beach 6 | Greeting Card 8 | palm tree 31 | Santa Barbara 119 | sky 47 | sun 19 | tree 44 |
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Friday, May 19, 2006
Epiphyllum BlossomThis is one of our blooming Orchid Cacti that I mentioned the other day.If you have one and want to know what makes them happy, we have one in full sunlight and several in the shade. (this guy is actually hanging from our patio umbrella) The full sun one is HUGE, the others are still happy. One was inside for a while. It is much happier outside, although it grew very long thin pads looking for food while it was inside. Now that it is outside it is popping out all kinds of thick little pads along the lengths of the woody thin pads. Makes for a very interesting plant. One thing they all have in common is they love water. You may think since they are cacti, they like to be dry, but they are definitely jungle plants. More about their history, and one of the reasons I love them so much see this photo of the day. |
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Thursday, May 11, 2006
Santa Barbara Beach BumsWe have not been seeing the sun much lately. But, it is a beautiful day when we do!beach 51 | bird 51 | California 107 | ocean 61 | sand 15 | Santa Barbara 119 | sea gull 8 | sky 47 | sun 19 |
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Sunday, April 9, 2006
Palm SundayWe decorated our Church yesterday for Palm Sunday. It was no small task to find nice palm fronds with all the crazy weather we've been having. March was the wettest one on record in California. Fortunately, when something needs to be done at our church it just happens. Someone always comes through. |
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Thursday, November 24, 2005
Sunset ReflectionWell I tried to find a Turkey, but I guess a couple of sea gulls will have to do!Happy Thanksgiving anyway! |
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Friday, October 14, 2005
Laguna SunsetMy 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. California 107 | Laguna 3 | Laguna Beach 3 | needle 4 | ocean 61 | pine tree 3 | sun 19 | sunlight 7 | sunset 75 |
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Saturday, August 6, 2005
Sunset SilhouetteWe are having some unseasonably beautiful sunsets. Usually the real show is reserved for the wet winter season. |
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Thursday, June 30, 2005
Backlit AgapanthusLast week, when I was loading my Jeep for a show, I was fortunate enough to catch the sun at a great angle on our little front yard area. On a Saturday my Hound Dog and I would have still been quite unconscious at this time.This is a variety of Lily native to South Africa. It grows like wild around here, and it's beautiful when they really get going. |
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Friday, May 20, 2005
Blazing SunWhat strange weather! Santa Barbara is now doing it's "mid-summer" impression. Looking out at the thermometer I see about 95° F. I guess that should not be surprising considering the winter California has had. But the timing is a little unfortunate. This week they decided to repave our street, so we cannot have the windows open. And, Santa Barbara is one of those places that wants you to believe the weather is so consistent that they do not need Air Conditioning (or insulation for that matter). Someone once told us when I we were looking at his apartment to rent... "Air conditioning!? Well you must not have ever lived in Santa Barbara before, you don't need air conditioning here!". Well you don't need air conditioning in the Mojave Desert either, but it sure makes it a lot more livable!Still, I gotta think I am more comfortable than the guys out there running the asphalt spreading equipment! Perhaps I should go see if they need something to drink... |
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Thursday, January 27, 2005
Sunset GullHere are two different croppings of the same image.I love trying to catch birds in flight and this one was very cooperative! This was during a walk on Leadbetter Beach (one of the main tourist beaches in Santa Barbara, by the Harbor) at sunset right after feeding the seagulls a little bread. (Hey, I have to pay my models! And these guys are smart enough to get payment up front) The poles sticking up in the air are the masts of small rental catamarans on the beach. And, if your monitor is bright enough to see it, the rectangle on the pole at the right of the smaller image is an array of lights over the sports field at Santa Barbara City College. |
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