We had a bunch of assignments this spring that took us all over Santa Barbara County for the annual Visitors Guide. We shot everything from food to chefs and wineries. It’s always fun to explore Santa Barbara and all it has to offer, even learning about new gems. Here are some of the tearsheets to check out!
Sip & Savor Culinary Magazine
Paradise Burger
C'est Cheese
Full of Life Flatbread
Budi Kazali and Pilar Sanchez
Market Forays
Chopping Parsley for Market Forays
Tonic Nightclub
Foxen Winery
Bill Wathen and Dick Dore, "The Foxen Boys"
Alberto Morello & Brian Parks
Paddleboarder at sunset
Channel Islands Kayaking
Our stock library is constantly growing. It’s always fun to come across images and rework them. After processing this one and looking at it more, the sky is amazing. The dock leading out to the huge storm cell can be interpreted in so many ways… This huge storm supercell grew quickly on the horizon of the Laguna Madre when we were fishing for redfish a year or two back on the Texas Gulf Coast. As the storm approached rapidly, James kept telling the guide, “one more, one more shot” and within minutes the storm blanketed the skies and turned day into what felt like night. Our guide, Freddie Lynch (the best guide down there) jetted to the nearest fishing camp and we ran for cover while the storm passed. Not the photos we were thinking we would get, but definitely keepers!
Walking into Storm Cell, Laguna Madre, Texas
On a recent photo trip to Bodie State Historic Park, James took pictures along Highway 395. Stops included Owens Valley, Virginia Lakes, Mono Lake, the mountains above Bridgeport. Bodie is the largest ghost town in America with over 100 buildings that are in an ‘arrested decay.’ During the gold rush of 1879, it was once the second largest city in California behind San Francisco. James had special access to video and photograph the interior of many buildings as well! Check out the photos…
Sunset over the Owens Valley.
Mono Lake from the North
Mono Lake from the North
Inyo Mountains above Bridgeport, California.
Inyo Mountains above Bridgeport, California.
Bodie is a ghost town that resulted from the California Gold Rush.
The Standard Mine and Mill which yielded so much money, it caused the 1878 rush to Bodie.
The view north along Main Street including (L to R) the Dechambeau Hotel & Post Office, I.O.O.F. Hall, Miners Union Hall, and the Morgue which still has caskets inside.
The Campana House, Bodie
House of Lottie Johl, who begain her career as a 'lady of the night.'
Pearson Springs which may be the original site of the cabin of W.S. Bodey, one of the three prospectors who originally found gold here in 1859.
Mobula Ray trip of a life time.. I can’t wait to get these photos posted and tell you all more about it.
Cabo Pulmo provides us with a fantastic encounter with Mobula Rays. Photos and more coming..
Giant school of Mobula Rays just under the surface at Cabo Pulmo in the Sea of Cortez.
Giant school of Mobula Rays.
Often looking like Popcorn popping Mobula Ray will jump out of the water.
Often looking like Popcorn popping Mobula Ray will jump out of the water.
Blue whales feed and mate in the Sea of Cortez, Baja California every year. We spent some time this year in the Sea of Cortez photographing Blue Whales, Finback Whales, Humpback Whales and False Killer Whales.
The Blue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus, is the largest animal on the earth. Blue Whales from the North Pacific stock are often seen migrating north along the pacific coast in spring and summer and in Baja Ca in the winter months to spring. We have photos from Santa Barbara and Baja California’s’ Sea of Cortez.
We were fortunate enough to have the whales feeding in front of us on our recent trip to Loreto, Baja.
We will have many images posted to our stock site soon of the Blue whales in action.
Full body of an adult Blue Whale surfacing to breathe.
Fluke (tail) view of a Blue Whale on the surface.
Whale watching in Baja California is one of the greatest adventures anyone can do!
We visited San Ignacio Lagoon and stayed with Baja Ecotours. The Staff at Campo Cortez exceeded our expectations and made our trip great. During the months of December through April Gray Whales winter birthing and mating sanctuary is the San Ignacio Lagoon. Included are some of the many photographs we took above and below the water.
More photos will be posted on our stock site here soon.
Our group getting ready to pet a Gray Whale.
Gray whale approaching the boat for a rub on the nose.
Gray whale approaching the boat for a rub.
Close up picture of a Gray whale eye underwater.
Mother and calf Gray whale pair underwater.
Gray whale taking a look at us above the water, also called "spy hop"
We took a recent trip up the coast and had some epic weather! We were shooting Big Sur by full moon light and it was 60 degrees with a warm breeze. The elephant seals on the beaches at Piedras Blancas are in full action birthing new babies. A great trip!
Next time your at the bookstore or near a magazine rack, check out the current issue (January 2009) of Outside Magazine. James’ recent shot of a sea lion can be seen on the last page as their Parting Shot feature. This sea lion pup is playing in the shallow water so that it is protected from predators in deeper water. The shot is taken at Santa Barbara Island, the smallest of The Channel Islands and home to a large sea lion rookery. The sea lions create ‘chutes and ladders’ on a steep sandy cliff wall of the island. They rest on little outcroppings, then slide down into the water- an impressive multilevel sight. Enjoy!
Sea lion
National Geographic Image Collection, or National Geographic Stock, is highlighting one of James’ seastar images on their rotating homepage. Once there, you can also search his stock imagery in their collection by entering his name into the QuickExplore box. Enjoy!
Underside of a seastar
A recent adventure took us to the mountain streams and lakes of the Eastern Sierras, California. Our timing was right to see the trees exploding with brilliant yellows and oranges. Under the canopy of snow peak mountains and blue skies that city dwellers dream about, we fished for trout and alpers. Bishop Creek Canyon is only 15 minutes above Bishop, but a whole new world and season 8,500+ feet above the adventure town. This time of year the cold nights keep hoards of tourists away, so we had the campground to ourselves. The trip was an ideal get-away and probably would meet most anyone’s desire to escape to nature and to experience its refreshing qualities. Here is a small sample of the photos. Enjoy!
Eastern Sierras
