Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Sandpiper Lenticular Sunset Path

A little bit different view of an amazing evening at Sandpiper Golf Course. I never tire of the view from here, probably because every day is a new work of art.

Saturday, August 15, 2015
Sandpiper Glow

I've never been much of a golfer, but I do love spending my time on the beautiful courses around Santa Barbara. This is Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta, where some good friends hold a golf tournament just about every year. Although I wouldn't be much help to them with a club, I take great pleasure in wandering the course with my camera trying to do the amazing views justice. If you've ever tried to make a business out of something you love to do, you know it can have its challenges. But days in a spot like this are definitely the reward.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Winter Sunset Cruise

This week has been a beautiful week here in Santa Barbara. And the skies have been glowing more each evening. But tonight they put on a show that will not soon be forgotten! I'm not sure if that is a working fishing boat or someone just out for a cruise, but either way it looks like a great vantage point for the amazing light show.

Sunday, August 31, 2014
Heaven and Earth

Every evening as we go about our lives there is an amazing ballet going on above our heads. Most of us are too busy to think about it. But if you take some time to get away from the brighter lights of the city you can see some spectacular things just by looking up. This is the the beautiful Santa Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, under the equally beautiful Milky Way Galaxy. The Galaxy we call home. If you think of all those stars at night that you usually see from any location, they are in general just our local neighbors in a small part of the Milky Way. All the visible stars you can make out with your naked eye in every direction from the earth (anywhere between five to ten thousand stars give or take) only comprise a tiny fraction of the stars in the Milky Way. That glowing band however, is made up of individual stars so numerous that they appear to be a continuous cloud of light to the unaided eye. Estimates put it from one to four hundred billion stars. There are absolutely wondrous and beautiful things all around us!

Sunday, June 15, 2014
Terra Sol Customer

Yesterday I had intended to vist the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. I just got my macro lens back from being serviced, and what better place could there be to put it through it's paces than wandering through the Butterflies Alive exhibit? As so often happens, Saturday flew by too quickly. Fortunately, Terra Sol Garden Center is open until six these days. We stopped there to get some peppers for the garden and I thought I would snap a few shots just to test the lens.

When we arrived we found our peppers, and a great display of various flowers grouped into sections based upon what they will attract to your garden. Sure enough, in the butterfly section right next to the Milkweeds was another Terra Sol customer and my butterfly photo opportunity. This beautiful Monarch was a very patient model too, posing on several different flowers and waiting just long enough for me to catch up and snap a few shots before finding a new perch.

I'll still find time to make it over to the Butterflies Alive exhibit sometime soon, and maybe I'll get some great hummingbird photos with my new flowers too.

Saturday, March 29, 2014
Sandpiper Sunset

The rain isn't the only thing we've been missing this year. The lack of moisture has made it a more timid than usual sunset season. But if there is one place you can count on to get every bit of breathtaking beauty out of a sunset it's Sandpiper Golf Course. Evenings like this make me want to take up golfing just to have an excuse to spend more time there.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Sandpiper Sunset Reflections

One of my favorite spots to watch the sunset, the 18th hole at the Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta. If you want to chase a little white ball around this is the place to do it. Even if you don't know what you're doing you would have to admit this is a great place to spend the day.

Sunday, January 26, 2014
Backlit Monarchs

It's a wonderful time of year for a trip to the Coronado Butterfly Preserve. This was last weekend about two-thirty in the afternoon when the light was coming around behind them. But the light moves fast in their little gorge, only a few moments later the sun was gone from this cluster.

Saturday, October 5, 2013
Sandpiper Sunset Clouds

Sandpiper Golf Course is one of the best places I can imagine to spend a few hours, especially this time of year when the sunsets are really getting spectacular. This evening I was actually on the course to get some timelapse shots.

Sunday, August 4, 2013
Moonlit Island Fog

On the surface near the beach they call it June Gloom. In Santa Barbara the fog that rolls in the late spring and early summer can be very thick right at the surface. But if you take a step back and get a better view you can appreciate its beauty more. This evening the fog was hugging the surface in the marine layer, a cool layer of air just above the water. As it met the resistance of the islands, at first it was not thick enough so it went around, but as the evening progressed it started to pour over the island like running water.

Monday, June 3, 2013
Sandpiper Lenticular Sunset

On any day Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta is an amazing spot to chase a little white ball around or to just enjoy some of the most beautiful views the Santa Barbara area has to offer. Then there are the really spectacular days, the ones with clouds that have so much texture in the clear air that you're sure you could reach out and touch them. The days with sunsets that stretch color from horizon to horizon. This was absolutely one of those days.

Sunday, May 26, 2013
Fog Over The Good Land

This angle is from the foothills just outside Santa Barbara. Overlooking the city of Goleta (our next-door neighbors, AKA "The Good Land"). The fog was rolling in quickly the night I took this. About ten minutes after this shot there were no discernible points of light. Well not on the ground anyway. The stars were still amazing! In fact you can just make aout some of the Milky Way in the left side of the photo.

Monday, January 28, 2013
Sandpiper Tempest Panorama

An absolutely breathtaking storm rolling in at Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta. The sun was still shining brightly around the edges of the storm, but as the rain rolled in that would not last long. The clouds were so close you could almost reach up and touch them.

Sunday, January 6, 2013
Sandpiper Tempest

This winter has been a wonderful one for beautiful weather. This is one of my favorite spots to make a bee line to in Goleta when I see the sky doing something spectacular. Sandpiper golf course offers a variety of amazing views (and some great golf too). This is right by the clubhouse as the rain was rolling in. I was perfectly dry, but that wouldn't have lasted long.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Koi Pond

I love Koi. These beautiful fish are in a small Koi pond in Goleta. From the road all you see are office buildings, but when you explore a bit more you find an amazing peaceful spot with a small bridge over a Koi pomd. They were very cooperative, but I did have to promise them some snacks the next time I'm in the neighborhood.

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!

Thursday, October 11, 2012
Sandpiper Sunset Over Haskells

A beautiful sunset over Haskell's beach from Sandpiper golf Course.

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.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Great Blue Heron Silhouette

This little lake on the eighteenth hole of the Sandpiper golf course is one of my favorite sunset spots. The birds seem to like it too. This particular evening I was coming back after getting some sunset shots of the rest of the course when I noticed this beautiful Heron resting at the near edge of the island. But try as I might, I could not get a good shot. After he watched me pace back and forth a few times he must have decided I looked too much like a hungry cat. So he decided to go get some dinner of his own. I watched him slowly cruise across the island moving as elegantly and stealthfully as possible hoping he would move into the remaining glow of the setting sun. After a few minutes you can see that my patience was rewarded.

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!

Saturday, September 29, 2012
Putting on the 18th Green

Final shots of the game, putting on the 18th hole at Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta.

Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tenth Hole Tee Off

A shot from the tee at the tenth hole of Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta, California. In the distance is the green and water hazard of the 18th hole, with the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Barbara Channel islands in the background. And amzing spot for a great shot (and a nice picture too).

Monday, September 24, 2012
On the Fairway

A beautiful day on the fairway at Sandpiper Golf Course.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Preparing for the Jordanos Fall Golf Classic

This is a shot of the preparations for the 20th annual Jordano's Fall Golf Classic. It was a beautiful day out at Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta.