Friday, June 19, 2015
Evening Walk at the Mission

It's been a few weeks since I Madonnari, but the faint images of the beautiful artwork still persists on the ground in front of the mission. It's a perfet time for a cool evening walk around the mission grounds.

Friday, June 6, 2014
Santa Barbara Evening View

I love trying to get a different perspective on our beautiful corner of the world. And I've always enjoyed experimenting with my cameras after dark. No surprise then that I would always be on the lookout for a wonderful nighttime perch like this.

We have a wonderful opportunity to go from a beautiful cityscape like this, to an absoulte dark sky allowing great views of the stars in Santa Ynez Valley with only a short drive. And you can see that on some interesting maps online that can help you find dark skies for stargazing, or even bright cityscapes if you're a crazy owl-like photographer who likes that sort of thing. This is one of my favorites... http://darksitefinder.com/maps.html

(By the way, access to this particular view was thanks to a friend, client and regular Santa Barbara View reader!)

Friday, June 14, 2013
Dolphin Family Fountain

This beautiful fountain is at the base of Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara. The Dolphins were sculpted by local artist Bud Bottoms, who is also the creator of the very cool whale tail benches you might see around Santa Barbara from the Harbor to La Arcada Plaza. This evening the sunset was a perfect backdrop for the beautiful Santa Barbara landmark.

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!

Saturday, June 8, 2013
Harrys Plaza Cafe

Harry's Plaza Cafe, just off of upper State Street is a local's spot not on the beaten path. But it has a warm spot in the hearts of many long time patrons!

Sunday, March 10, 2013
El Paseo Fountain Courtyard

This beautiful spot is right off of State Street in Santa Barbara. winding back pathways in the appropriately named El Paseo building, you find yourself in an amazing garden-like courtyard in the middle of a busy city block.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Casa de la Guerra Panoramic View

A panoramic view from the top of Santa Barbara overlooking Casa de la Guerra.

Thursday, February 21, 2013
Casa de la Guerra

Perched high above Santa Barbara gives a different perspective. The beautiful red tile rooves giving way to the amazing mountains and Pacific in the distance. In the foreground I was fortunate enough catch an event at Casa de la Guerra. the colored lights and people haveing a great time were the perfect foreground for this amazing view.

Sunday, December 16, 2012
Candlelight Christmas Carols at the Santa Barbara Mission

The candlelight service on the Saturday before Christmas at the Santa Barbara Mission is one of the most beautiful events of the Christmas Season.

Sunday, July 29, 2012
The Santa Barbara Unitarian Society in VR

The courtyard behind the El Paseo restaurant in Santa Barbara is one of thoes little jewels just off the beaten path in Santa Barbara that most people walk within 50 feet of without ever knowing it's there. This is actually an older shot that was originally published as a still image because the fountain itself was so beautiful. But sometimes it's fun to go back and play with the images a little and make something new.

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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
El Paseo Fountain

The courtyard behind the El Paseo restaurant in Santa Barbara is one of thoes little jewels just off the beaten path in Santa Barbara that most people walk within 50 feet of without ever knowing it's there. This is actually an older shot that was originally published as a still image because the fountain itself was so beautiful. But sometimes it's fun to go back and play with the images a little and make something new.

Controls from left to right:
+ Zoom in;
- Zoom out;
change the way the view moves when you drag;
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Friday, June 29, 2012
Carmel Church of the Wayfarer

This is one of my favorite spots in Carmel by the Sea. Every time we get into town we stop at the Carmel Bakery then take a walk around the beautiful city. More often than not we end up at the benches in front of the church to watch people go by and enjoy our coffee and macaroons. Of course I always have to wander around their beautiful garden with my camera afterward.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The Getty Center Magical Sunset

The Getty Center is as beautiful as the art it contains. This was about twenty minutes after sunset with a nice glow in the western sky. This spot by the fountain in front of the West Pavillion is one of my favorites but there are many spectacular views to choose from.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The Getty Center Main Garden, Virtual Reality

Another hand-held virtual reality shot from The Getty Center in Los Angeles. From a distance the main garden looks like a very cool topiary hedge maze, and it is, but to find the Minotaur in the center of this labyrinth you need a gondola. Because it is in the middle of an amazing fountain.

This, of course starts the discussion of how do you think they trim the maze. Because it's really nicely groomed. It's not like they could drain the fountain every time it needs a trim. Gondoliers with hedge trimmers? Hope they're not electric trimmers. Oh well I guess we'll have to chalk that up to the mysteries of the ages.

If you'd like to see a great virtual reality shot of another fountain in The Getty Center at sunset take a look at February 6th

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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.

Saturday, March 10, 2012
Spirit of the Ocean

A sunset view of the "Spirit of the Ocean" fountain at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. The fountain recently underwent a major restoration. The original sculpture (seen in this photo) now resides in the Courthouse basement. A new sculpture was lovingly carved from massive blocks of stone to match the weather worn original.

Monday, February 6, 2012
The Getty Center Fountain at Sunset, Virtual Reality

This is from a beautiful evening at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. It was a great day with lots of beautiful art, but I have to admit I liked the architecture even more. And I don't think I'm the only one. There are at least six other people in this photo taking a picture at this moment.

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Sunday, December 18, 2011
Christmas Carols At The Old Mission

Every year on the Saturday a week before Christmas, Saint Barbara's Parish has candle-light Christmas carols on the steps of the mission. At the end of the carols they bless the creche (nativity scene). This is one of the few times that the mission is even more beautiful than usual.

Thursday, August 4, 2011
Mission San Miguel Fountain

On a recent trip home from Monterey we stopped along the 101 at the San Miguel Mission. It was a pretty hot day, but I was able to explore a bit. It was well worth the stop, and I will definitely be back again.

Saturday, September 25, 2010
Pacifica Graduate Institute - Campus Tour Guide by the Fountain

The other night I was at the Pacifica Graduate Institute taking some test shots for a project I'm working on. The light was not what I was looking for earlier in the evening, so I decided to shoot some other things and come back to see how things looked after dark. As soon as we got back, we met the campus tour guide. Not sure what his name is, but he showed us around the grounds pointing out his favorite spots. This spot in particular had a nice contemplative feel. Our feline guide was kind enough to pose and add some extra feeling to the scene. It was a very nice evening at a beautiful spot in Montecito.

Friday, July 2, 2010
Pepper Tree Inn Virtual Tour

A beautiful spot on upper State Street in Santa Barbara, this is the Best Western Pepper Tree Inn. It was a great spot to do a tour. Be sure to look around closely for the arrows to move around and see the rest of the beautiful grounds.

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Thursday, June 17, 2010
Santa Barbara Historical Museum Virtual Tour

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is a wonderful bit of history right in the middle of town. Just waling through their courtyard is like stepping back in time. And if you ever have the opportunity to be there in the evening the experience is even more magical.

This is a tour of their courtyard. Not a tour in the way you would systematically tour a commercial space for an online marketing campaign. But this is just me wandering around looking for the angles that interest me. If you click on the arrows on the ground you can wander aroud the beautiful courtyard with me.

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Sunday, March 7, 2010
Santa Barbara Historical Museum Courtyard Portico

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is a wonderful treasure. As with so many of the local architectural jewels, the beauty is only amplified by the evening light. Many times I have gone out of my way to walk through their beautiful grounds. It is an amazing change of environment in the middle of down town Santa Barbara and it is one of the things that makes our city special. With just a small detour you are taken not only to another place and time.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Queen of the Missions Fountain Test VR

This is the rest of the image from my lens test at the Mission Santa Barbara the other day. Actually, most of the recent photos of the day have full 360° panorams to go with them that I will get online soon. Usually the panoramas start out based around one nice shot. Of course the challenge is to find a point of view on that nice shot that also looks good in all directions.