A Photo a Day by Bill Heller

Sunset Photos
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Sunday, July 17, 2005

Fire in the Sky

 Another sunset for the people at yesterday's show. The combination of beach fog and sunsets can do some amazing things for a camera.

This was a few days after yesterday's shot, at the same beach. You can see the flag in the other shot too, to give you an idea of the perspective.

 
Saturday, July 16, 2005

Seal Beach Sunset

 Some days it is easier to get up and go to a photography show than others. This is one of the days that was really hard. Not because I don't like the shows. It is just an amazing amount of work to set up a nice display, basically from scratch, each week.

Fortunately, the people always make it worth the effort. I am always interested in what people like, and this photo is for the several people today who asked for sunsets. This beach is known for it's seals.

I really enjoy watching peoples' reaction to my photos. And, I get very excited talking to them about photography and the subjects. I'm not just talking about people who are interested in purchasing prints either. Almost every time I go out I talk to someone who is sure I have spent thousands of dollars on my equipment. And, wishes they had the money to spend so they could experiment with photography. I am always happy to inform them they can get the same camera (and lens) I use for about $70 on eBay.

Actually, these conversations always remind me of a joke I like...

A Photographer was at a dinner party. The hostess, while admiring some of his work, told him how much she loved his photographs. As she looked through the images she said "Wow, you must have an amazing camera!" The evening went on and as the photographer was about to leave he thanked the hostess for her hospitality and the delicious dinner she had prepared. As he left, he added "You must have some amazing pots!"
 
Sunday, July 10, 2005

East Beach Sunset

 This is looking back at East beach from Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara. I like the single glowing cloud. It really makes the sky a lot more interesting.

 
Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Courthouse Sunset

 It was a great evening for taking pictures.

 
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.

 
Saturday, May 21, 2005

Mission Sunset

 This was an amazing sunset. I thought it would be at a good angle to get a shot of the mission. You can see the Mission's silhouette in the lower right. Of course, splitting the exposure between the front of the mission and the sky caused the much brighter sky to be washed out. I had been hoping the spotlights on the mission would be on, but they come on much later. I did my best and came up with some good shots of what I wanted. But, before I was done, I grabbed this shot metering just for the sky. Because I knew the combined shots couldn't do it justice.

If you are interested in seeing the comparison, there is a similar shot with the mission more in the picture from another evening of shooting here.

 
Monday, May 2, 2005

LA Sunset

 You will rarely find anyone espousing the virtues of something as terrible as smog. But, I can't help wonder if it doesn't contribute to the beautiful sunsets around L.A. like some natural disaster that only the cockroaches survive. Of course, if it was a really bad day I guess you wouldn't even see the sunset? :-D
 
Saturday, April 30, 2005

Sunset Run

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

 
Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Sunset Cloud Shadows

 More sky shadows. Like the shot from yesterday, this was a particularly interesting sky, and I was happy to have my camera with me. :-)

 
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.

 
Saturday, April 9, 2005

Autumn Sunset

 I was just flipping through some older scans when I found this image. It reminded me that I have about a thousand rolls of slides that I would like to poke through and see if there is anything else interesting lurking in the files. (I'll do that in all my spare time) :0)

 
Thursday, April 7, 2005

Sunset Reflection

 This was taken from East Beach in Santa Barbara. The strings of lights are Christmas decorations on Stearns Wharf.

 
Monday, April 4, 2005

Laguna Beach Sunset

 I was enjoying the sunset with a good friend, talking about cameras and snapping pictures. It was a really good day!

 
Saturday, April 2, 2005

Santa Barbara Harbor

 Sunsets and water are a great combination. This shot was from an evening walk by the Santa Barbara Harbor.

 
Friday, April 1, 2005

Sunset Palms

 I particularly like the texture of the clouds in this one.

 
Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Storke Sunset

 This is the view from the top of the building I used to work in at UCSB. There were some particularly beautiful sunsets last winter and I tried to make a habit of going up to watch.

 
Monday, March 28, 2005

Santa Barbara Sunset

 Like I said before, we don't get a lot of clouds around here, but when we do it is quite a show. And I'm very thankful to live in such a beautiful place.

 
Thursday, March 17, 2005

Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunset

 The Spanish Style of the Santa Barbara Courthouse makes a beautiful subject at any time. But in the evening the lighting makes it spectacular.

 
Friday, March 11, 2005

Sunset Palms

 I guess this is why they call it Palm Desert!

The bright thing in the sky is a sliver of the moon. It appears small in the photo because it was taken with a wide angle lens.

 
Thursday, March 3, 2005

Mission Sunset

 We don't get a lot of clouds around here. But when we do it's quite a show, the whole sky was lit up like this.

 
Sunday, February 20, 2005

Evening Surf

 I talked to a friend on instant messenger last night. He had just arrived in Europe for a week. It made me start to think it had been too long since I went on a nice trip. So I went to Sammy's today to stock up on film, my primary requirement for vacation supplies. ( Think... Hmmm, did I forget anything? nope, got film!... oh, I forgot to pack any shirts! )

In keeping with that thought, this is a shot from my first trip to La Jolla. Walking along the edge of the bluff by the beach gives you a great perspective on things happening at beach level.

Well Steve, I hope you are having a great time! Take lots of pictures!

 
Saturday, January 29, 2005

Ventura Sunset

 Before I lived in Santa Barbara when we visited here this was one of our favorite stops on the way home. It is a nice beach in Ventura about 30 minutes south of Santa Barbara. At the beach end of this pier is a great Seafood restaurant called Eric Ericsons.

 
Thursday, January 27, 2005

Sunset Gull

 Here 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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