Friday, January 17, 2020
Santa Barbara Twilight Glow Sepia

A little different take on the view over Santa Barbara. The glow of the city lights through the fog lends itself nicely to a sepia effect.

Friday, December 20, 2019
Surf Butterfly Beach

I've never surfed at Butterfly Beach, but I can't think of a much more beautiful place to be waiting for a good wave to come in. Especially this time of day!

Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Waikiki Bolt

Another beautiful display over Waikiki. You hear a lot about the rain in Hawaii, but it's usually all in the context of rainbows and beautiful flowers with water droplets on them. This evening was a bit more energetic!

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.

Thursday, December 5, 2019
Shoreline Bluff Golden Hour

Just down from Shoreline Park in Santa Barbara is a beautiful beach. It's a fantastic spot for beach-combing, surfing or just relaxing in an area with less people. Of course, as with many spots around Santa Barbara it really shines as the day draws to a close. The golden light playing off the wet sand is just breathtaking especially this time of year when the sunset can line up so nicely with the beach.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Waikiki Fireworks Cityscape

Every Friday Night the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki puts on a fireworks show. It adds yet another layer of beauty to an already amazing view. The idea, of course, is to entertain the tourists, but there are quite a few locals who make an event out of the show too. A good reason to get together and enjoy the beauty all around us that is so easy to take for granted when you see it every day.

Monday, November 25, 2019
Waikiki Harbor Storm

It's no secret that Hawaii, Waikiki especially, is known for its breathtaking views. But one of the things I enjoy in a place like this is capturing something a little different. Now don't get me wrong, I love a beautiful sunset view and have shot my share of them, but to my eye this has to be one of the most interesting and beautiful images I've ever captured in Hawaii. This is a single image, captured in camera, and not a particularly long exposure since the movement of the boats in their slips would make them unpleasantly blurry over even a matter of seconds. I'm always amazed at the beauty and complexity of lightning bolts as they try to find their way through the atmosphere, and after staring at the structure of these for longer than I probably could accurately estimate I'm convinced that lower one on the left was generally coming straight for us emanating from the bright point in the center of it. An absolutely beautiful evening, and the sunset that preceded it was actually something to behold too, I'll probably share that at a later date.

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.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Oregon Garden Bench

The Oregon Garden in Silverton is a wonderful eighty acre botanical garden in Silverton Oregon. This beautiful stone bench is a favorite spot for me to explore with my camera. This particular day I was experimenting with my Infrared camera, which gave the garden a wonderful winter scene feel.

Friday, April 29, 2016
Stearns Wharf Twilight

Stearns Wharf just after sunset. I can't think of a better place to relax after a long hot day.

Sunday, January 24, 2016
Sunset Surf

My wife and I spent this evening walking on Butterfly Beach. The view was spectacular as always, but this particular sunset coincided nicely with an extremely low tide making for a large beach with lots of rocks to turn over and interesting things to see. And of course plenty of room for every imaginable kind of dog to race after balls stopping only for a second to get a scratch behind the ears from us. (I'm pretty sure they can sense dog people) Since our recent winter storms the surf has been higher than usual, so there was something for everyone tonight. The best part for me was enjoying it all with my best friend!

Monday, January 11, 2016
Walking on the Beach

The rain was amazing last week, but it left our beaches a little less soft and sandy. Still, an amazing place to spend the evening. Fortunately it won't be long before the sand finds it's way back to the beach, and the beautiful hills in the background will be much greener and more alive.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Cypress Twilight

Last night at Butterfly Beach. One of the nice tradeoffs this time of year for our extremely early evenings are the fantastic sunsets. Of course you have to make sure you get out to see them. But even later in the evening after the sun is gone, the show can last for a surprisingly long time. You just have to slow down and take it all in (and being away from bright lights helps too). As the evening gets darker, the colors in the sky sometimes get richer and more purple. The sky can take on a completely different look well after the actual sunset seems like it has faded and the show can be just amazing!

Sunday, October 4, 2015
Endless Wonder

Every day is a work of art! Although the weather conditions can be similar and there are things I look for to give me hints where to stand with my camera, I never cease to be in awe of the individual beauty of each day. I can return to the same spot over and over, but there is always something new to see. This is from one of my favorite perches in the foothills overlooking the Santa Barbara Harbor, Stearns Wharf and Santa Cruz Island in the distance. This is the direction I like to face on a clear evening with high beautiful clouds like this. On an evening like this it's tempting to go somewhere and watch the sun set over the hills or at the beach. But when the conditions are right, the glow cast by that spectacular sunset can bathe everything in a wonderful new light. If you take the time to look around and not be distracted by the obvious show, sometimes you'll find something even more amazing. And if you can manage it, don't ever loose that sense of wonder, It makes every day amazing!

Monday, August 17, 2015
Santa Barbara Courthouse Mountain Sunset

A beautiful evening at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. It's hard to match the beauty of the Santa Barbara Courthouse, but then again, from the right view on an evening like this it just fits right into its amazing surroundings.

Friday, August 14, 2015
Montecito Golden Hour

The perfect end to an absolutely beautiful day. Sometimes the mist in the air does such wonderful things with the light as the sun dips low it seems almost magical. This particular evening the clouds were looking beautiful, but the sun was a little hidden behind them. Still a nice day for a drive to the nurseries in Carpenteria. But as the sun started to peek below the clouds, the light passing through the low mist on the water turned the most amazing shades of yellow and orange. As vibrant and beautiful as any south pacific island sunset. It's subtle in the photo, but the crepuscular rays created by the shadows of the trees on the hills were a sight to see.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Evening Sentinel

I love this palm tree. He's one of a few who live up at the edge of the hills above Santa Barbara keeping watch, as the evening mist rolls in like a gentle fluffy blanket to tuck in the city below. From down there the fog is sometimes called "June Gloom" but from this angle gloom is just about the last word I would use to describe it.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Shoreline Vibrance

Yet another one of those evenings recently that had such vibrant colors from horizon to horizon that you could actually hold your hand out and see the color of the sunset light falling on it. Interestingly, although the moisture came from the same weather system as my recent photos, the clouds this evening were completely different. The thing that was the same though was the beautiful light that bathes everything in such richness. Add that to the natural beauty of Shoreline Park during a nice walk with your best friend and you have a truly memorable evening.

Sunday, August 9, 2015
Ice Cream Castles in the Air

This beautiful view is actually a little bit of nostalgia. This is Laguna Blanca in Hope Ranch. Or rather this was Laguna Blanca about a year and a half ago, back when we actually had so much water here it actually fell from the sky. But these days they are really doing their part there to help with the drought. The last time I was in the neighborhood it didn't quite look this lush at all. Still it's a great place to see the beautiful sunset colors on the mountains.

Saturday, August 8, 2015
Harbor Glow

Another view of one of the spectacular sunsets from this week. This is our reward for the hot humid days, usually we have to wait until winter to see sunsets like this. But every once in a while we get a nice surprise.

Friday, August 7, 2015
Butterfly Bluff

A beautiful evening walk on Butterfly Beach. I love the last glow of the sunset. After the main show is over, and there is just a hint of color in the sky, everthing takes on a completely different feel. The same scene in the middle of the day is still beautiful, but the steep angle of the remaining light brings out the textures in the cliff and bathes everything in an amazing glow.

Thursday, August 6, 2015
Thoughtful Dolphin

This evening was another unseasonable evening of beautiful clouds and moist air. In fact the clouds were so heavy it looked like there wouldn't be much of a sunset at all. The clouds had completely blocked the sun about an hour before sunset. But it was still a beautiful evening for a nice walk. As we were wandering along the breakwater, it became apparent that the sun had other ideas. Even though we never actually saw the sun itself, just after sunset it decided to make its presence known. The sky started to glow pink, and it just kept getting brighter until the whole sky from horizon to horizon was involved. It was truly a spectacular scene and as vibrant as the colors are in this image, it was even more amazing standing there. At the peak of the sunset we reached the end of the breakwater. We watched the show with this beautiful dolphin who seemed to be pondering the sunset as much as we were. He is actually part of a memorial sculpted by Bud Bottoms in memory of those lost at sea. You can't see it from this angle, but the plaque in front of him reads "IN MEMORY OF OUR LOVED ONES WHOSE LIVES AND DESTINIES HAVE BEEN CLAIMED BY THE SEA." I guess that's why he looks so thoughtful.

Sunday, July 19, 2015
Dolores Sunset

Yesterday the most amazing thing happened. We were out enjoying the beautiful day and water actually started falling from the sky. Unfortunately it came with lightning bolts, so we postponed the walk we were planning on the beach, but it was still a very welcomed change. And by the end of the day the sun streaming through the clouds was so beautiful we decided to try again. As you can see we were greatly rewarded!

Monday, February 16, 2015
Evening Blanket

Some evenings the fog is so thick in Santa Barbara it seems you would never get a good view of anything. But sometimes it only takes a small change of perspective to see what once blocked your view is actually something to behold itself. I love to watch for the evenings, more common this time of year, when the beautiful thick fog hugs the surface rolling in just at sunset leaving a clear view out above it's fluffy beauty. As the stars start to glow from above the city lights light the fog from below and the effect is something quite amazing that you would never expect from the surface.