f12b Sun Photos, by Bill Heller

Sun Photos

Point Pinos Sunset
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Point Pinos Sunset

This beautiful little lighthouse is on the northern most tip of the Monterey Peninsula. At night it's quite bright, but there's always someone around with a bigger light, and this time of day there's no comparison. Still it's quite a beautiful spot! The Point Pinos Lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places, Reference #77000312

Santa Barbara Sunset
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Santa Barbara Sunset

Sunset over Santa Barbara. This is the kind of sunset that perplexes people about Santa Barbara. On the west coast you'd probably expect the sun to set over the ocean. The thing is, we're along a stretch of the California coast that faces south. There are spots at the right time of year where you can see a beautiful ocean sunset. But in general the ocean is to the south, the mountains are to the north and the sun sets somehwere in between.

Sunset Leaves
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.

Sunset at Shoreline Bluff
Friday, March 15, 2013
Sunset at Shoreline Bluff

Yesterday we took a nice walk at Shoreline Park in the evening. We decided the best use of our daylight savings hour was to spend it on the beach, or at least overlooking it. It was a bit of a hazy evening, but I think most of it was sea spray, and it made for an amazing sunset!

Golden Shoreline Run
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Golden Shoreline Run

Girls running in the surf on the beach at Shoreline Park. I particularly like the gold water splashing up by their feet. They looked like two sisters enjoying the beach together. They stopped long enough to take in the sunset for a moment, then they were off again splashing in the breaking waves around their feet.

Shorline Reflection
Monday, January 21, 2013
Shorline Reflection

This evening was a great one to spend on the beach. A few wispy high clouds and a great view of the setting sun. We found ourselves at Shoreline park late in the afternoon and decided to take a walk down the long stairway to the beach where we wandered and watched the setting sun. This is about the time everyone on the beach seemed to just stop and watch the beautiful scene. It was a wonderful evening!

Temple Rays
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.

19th Hole Bar B Que
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!

La Arcada Palms
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
La Arcada Palms

Just off State Street, at La Arcada Plaza. This is one of those beautiful little spots that you might go right past if you're not paying attention. La Arcada is a nice shpping center on a little walking path back from state street that has some cute little shops and great restaurants. Definitely a great place to spend the afternoon on a beautiful Santa Barbara day.

Sandpiper Golden Autumn Light
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Sandpiper Golden Autumn Light

I don't claim to be an expert on Golf Courses. But this has to be one of the most beautiful golf courses around. This is Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta California. I might be a little partial beacuse I spend a lot of time there experimenting with new equipment and techniques. But that's mainly because the people are so welcoming and quite frankly it's hard to take a bad photo there.

Thenth Hole Golden Hour
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Thenth Hole Golden Hour

This is just past the clubhouse at Sandpiper. On the way down the path by the tenth fairway. I went out recently to get some sunset Sandpiper Golf Course shots for a project, this was one of the first shots of the evening, as you can see it was an amazing evening and a wonderful place to spend it!

Sandpiper Sunset
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Sandpiper Sunset

Summer Sunset from the clubhouse at the Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta California. The Sandpiper golf course in Goleta is one of my favorite locations when the sun looks like it is going to put on a show. And the last couple weeks have been quite spectacular, a fitting end to a beautiful summer!

Carmel by the Sea Cypress Sunset
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Carmel by the Sea Cypress Sunset

A veiw of the beach in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The Cypress trees are beautiful here, especially the ones that have extra character from decades of abuse by the sea. This is actually not far down the coast from the famous lone cypress at Pebble Beach golf course. This guy might not be as famous as his relative up the coast, but he is no less beautiful!

Sandpiper Winding Sunset Path
Monday, March 5, 2012
Sandpiper Winding Sunset Path

The path along the course at Sandpiper Golf course. Somwhere around the 15th hole at the Sandpiper Golf course, you'll find this curve in the path. As you are moving toward the setting sun in the distance over the Pacific Ocean you might wonder if this is the best place on earth to play golf, or even just enjoy the amazing scene.

Sandpiper Sunset Across the 15th Fairway
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Sandpiper Sunset Across the 15th Fairway

Just past the 15th tee on the Sandpiper Golf course is a wonderful spot to be this time of day. When the sun is casting a golden light on the landscape, and the shadows of the small trees on the bluff are reaching all the way across the fairway there is no more enjoyable place to spend time.

Cachuma Lake Sunset Reflections
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Cachuma Lake Sunset Reflections

The last time I was at Knapp's Castle I took a little time to focus on the reason the castle was built in the first place. This is the view from what I can only assume would have been the main living area of the castle. It was particularly good timing since the sunset was amazing. But this video starts as the sun is slipping below the horizon. The faint light pillar and all of the bright spots you see that look like the sun are actually reflections in the flat ice crystals of the clouds. In calm air they can float horizontally and act almost like a mirror, putting on a spectacular show. Even after the sun dips below the horizon. If ever there was a good reason for an encore performance, this was it!

Knapps Arch Golden Hour
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Knapps Arch Golden Hour

This is a shot from my recent trip to Knapps Castle. Although there is a lot of construction going on, it is still the most beautiful place I know to watch the sunset. This is about forty five minutes before sunset, but the sky was beautiful until late in the evening. If you decide to make the trip, take some warm clothing! As soon as the sun goes down it can get really chilly and windy, even this time of year.

Knapps Arch Sunset
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Knapps Arch Sunset

Time lapse of the clouds over Knapp's Castle at sunset. Santa Barbara, California. Recently I had the opportunity to visit Knapp's castle in the mountains above Santa Barbara. The day I was free to go, the mountain was completely socked in. We call it June Gloom in Santa Barbara. But it makes the sunsets anything but gloomy. By the time the golden hour rolled around, the fog had turned into beautiful clouds and just enough haze in the air to make the light beautiful and golden.

Montecito Sunset
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Montecito Sunset

Yesterday was a bit overcast during the day. We had some things to do around town and later in the day found ourselves in a beautiful little nursury in Carpenteria. As the sun was getting low it started to break through the clouds so we found a nice spot in the Montecito hills on the way home to watch the show. What followed was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. It was truly one of those times you wish you had your camera! Fortunately I did!

Storybook Castle Sunset
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Storybook Castle Sunset

Click on the main image for a larger view.

One more shot from the mountains. And, if I had to choose, I think this would be my favorite. I really like the way the wall frames the stairway.

Update: If you have Flash installed, the full 360° view virtual reality image of Knapp's Castle is now available online, here.

Sunset over Knapp's Castle
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunset over Knapp's Castle

This was one of the last shots as we were starting our walk back to the car from Knapp's Castle. I had put most of my camera gear away at this point and just looked back as I was walking away.

For a test shoot I ended up with quite a few images that I'm really happy with.

Knapp's Castle Sunset Panorama
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Knapp's Castle Sunset Panorama

Click main image for a larger view

This is another one of the "test" shots from the hike up the mountain the other day. Well, OK, actually more of a drive up the mountain followed by a half-mile hike on a nice trail. Regardless, it was a beautiful evening! These two shots were exactly what I had in mind before I got there. I still have some ideas for a later evening shot or two, but I'm going to have to find some warmer clothing before I go back up for that.

San Simeon Sunset
Saturday, April 26, 2008
San Simeon Sunset

This 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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