Monday, June 3, 2019
Mission San Antonio de Padua IR

One of the beautiful California Missions, San Antonio de Pauda is a little off the beaten path compared to some of its peers. But it's well worth the 26 mile drive off the 101 just south of the Monterey peninsula. As with all of the missions, the architecture is beautiful and there are countless opportunities to learn about California's history. This particular day was beautiful and warm, a great day to get some infrared shots that nicely show off the architecture of the main archways, which are not covered in mud plaster. So you can appreciate the beautiful craftsmanship.

Friday, January 4, 2019
Carmel Mission Bell Tower

One of my favorie spots in California, the Carmel Mission, with Bougainvillea in full bloom. No matter how many times I vist these beautiful architecural gems I always find a new detail or angle on a familliar spot.

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!

Monday, May 5, 2014
Carmel Mission Twilight

Sometimes the show is just starting when the crowds leave. This weekend I saw some of the biggest crowds I've ever seen at the Carmel Mission ( Mission San Carlos Borroméo del río Carmelo ) in Carmel by the Sea. From weddings to tourists and even the occasional church service this beautiful gem of Spanish and Moorish architecture is well loved and often visited. But this evening after the sun set and the last people were leaving the parking lot, I stopped by with my camera. Only the faintest color of the sunset remained on the horizon, and the stars were clearly visible overhead. But a slightly longer than usual exposure revealed all the beauty of the misson at rest in its faint lights after a long day of festivities and worship.

Sunday, May 4, 2014
La Purisima Mission Bells

This week I visited La Purisima mission. If you havent been there in a while it's a great place to visit. They are always working on some creative example of how life must have been for the inhabitants of the mission. If you wander behind the main building of the mission, where this shot was taken you'll actually find some displays of the mission store, a spot where people working and visiting the mission could trade their goods. And a mill where you can get up close to a mill stone that looks like it's ready to grind flour. All it needs are the burros. Of course don't ask the guys out front, them and their beautiful Ox friend are retired. They just spend time entertaining the visitors and absorbing as much love as they can.

Friday, August 23, 2013
Greek Orthodox Dome Mountain View

View of the mountains in the distance from the Santa Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, in the foothills by Goleta. This beautiful church has some beautiful architectural details. And it's a great place to go if you're looking for a little refreshing change from red tile roofs.

Monday, August 19, 2013
Evening at Mount Carmel

One of my favorite local landmarks, Our Lady of Mount Carmel church in Montecito. There are many well known sights to see in Santa Barbara, but this is one of the little local gems that is more tucked away off the beaten path.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Carmel Mission Garden Sunset

The gardens at the Carmel Mission. The mission just underwent a major restoration and only recently shrugged off the massive scaffolding around the main sanctuary. It's looking even more beautiful than ever thanks to the dedicated people who are preserving this beautiful landmark!

Monday, May 20, 2013
Santa Barbara Mission Cross at Night

One evening when we were at the Santa Barbara Mission we noticed someone playing ball with their dog in the field by the mission rose garden. The really interesting thing for my camera is they were playing with a ball that had a light in it. It was a lot of fun watching the ball move back and forth, it was too dark to really see the dog, but it was obvious where he was. In the end, there were too many cars to get an interesting shot of the ball, although it is in there bouncing under the big tree at the left. The fun thing is the shot came out beautifully anyway.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Golden Hour at the Mission Cross

The wispy high clouds made the sun glow a beautiful golden color on the mountains and the side of the mission with a beautiful result.

Saturday, June 9, 2012
Santa Barbara Mission Cross Sunset

The Santa Barbara Mission is one of my favorite places to experiment with my camera. It is such a beautiful location it almost guarantees a wonderful evening of photography. This evening I started early when I saw the beautiful cloud formations, but the trick was to predict just where the interesting clouds would be once the sunset really warmed up. When the clouds really put on their show I was glad I went with the really wide angle.

Thursday, April 5, 2012
Mission San Miguel Bell Tower

View of the bells at the Mission San Miguel. The red tiles in the foreground are on the top of the low wall that surrounds the mission. As with many of the California Missions, this mission has had a troubled life. But the people who care for it now are doing an excellent job restoring it to the thing of beauty it deserves to be. The Mission San Miguel is California Historical Landmark No. 326.

Sunday, March 11, 2012
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Sanctuary

This is an iconic little church out in Montecito, California. It's image has popped up everywhere from album covers to advertising according to the nice people in the office. It is a wonderful example of south-western architecture. It seems like it would not be out of place in the middle of the desert, or southern Mexico somewhere.

Monday, February 13, 2012
Santa Barbara Mission Cross Sunset

The Santa Barbara Mission is one of my favorite places to experiment with my camera. It is such a beautiful location it almost guarantees a wonderful evening of photography. This evening I started early when I saw the beautiful cloud formations, but the trick was to predict just where the interesting clouds would be once the sunset really warmed up. When the clouds really put on their show I was glad I went with the really wide angle.

Friday, January 30, 2009
Lamp at the Church of the Wayfarer

Today we tried to stop at the Carmel Bakery after getting to Monterey for the weekend. But we got there ten minutes too late. Bummer!

While we were driving around looking for a parking space (which I'm thinking took just a bit over ten minutes!) my wife pointed out this beautiful lantern as we passed the Church of the Wayfarer. I just happen to carry my camera almost everywhere these days so we had a nice walk and got a few night shots of the Church and had a great time anyway.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005
La Purisima Room

I like this room, just simple and plain. This mission has been destroyed and rebuilt at least once in it's history. Fortunately it is in pretty good shape now. It's a beautiful place.

Friday, June 17, 2005
The First Mission

Statue of the founder of this and eight other California missions, Father Junipero Serra. This is the first of twenty-one missions.

• More informaion about Mission San Diego de Alcalá

Sunday, June 12, 2005
Cross Bird

Well... maybe a little agitated anyway. (Cross Bird... Mad Bird... get it? oh never mind! it's not funny if I have to explain it!)

Saturday, May 14, 2005
Church Lights

It's the little things I like about this photo. The church bell and the palm tree in silhouette and the green glow of the reader board all make the photo much more interesting.

• Grace Lutheran Church, Santa Barbara

Saturday, March 26, 2005
Mission Gate

This is a gate in a wall around La Purisima Mission in Lompoc California. You can see another of my images of this mission here and read more about the mission itself. I really like the archways and shapes of this Mission.