http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/ Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:52:13 -0800 http://www.BillHeller.com/images/logo.gif http://www.BillHeller.com/ (c) Copyright 2005-2010 Bill Heller, BillHeller.com http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/February_6_2010/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for February 6, 2010
Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara

There is no shortage of beautiful architecture in Santa Barbara. The Trinity Episcopal Church (giant stone) church on State Street is something particularly interesting. Unlike the mission with its wide open spaces and rose garden, the Episcopal church right in the middle of things takes a little creativity to get a good angle for a shot. This particular shot was the result of driving by at the right time of day and realizing that the beautiful clouds in the evening sky would make a great background for an up shot close to the church. I only stopped for a couple of minutes, but I was very happy with the timing.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Sat, 06 Feb 2010 08:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/February_6_2010/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/January_31_2010/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for January 31, 2010
Santa Barbara County Courthouse Clocktower in the golden sunrise light

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse has been called the most beautiful government building in the country and it's easy to see why. Overall the grounds and the building are absolutely breathtaking, and when you focus on the details both well known like the clock tower and the lesser known architectural aspects you can really see how much thought and care went into its design.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/January_31_2010/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/January_13_2010/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for January 13, 2010
UCSB view across the water just after sunset

Walking at sunset around the campus of UCSB during a holiday break I thought I might find everything too quiet to get the photos I was looking for. But like any small city, there is always something going on there. I was happy to see some lights in the windows and the beautiful landscape lighting still on. This image was the last of the evening and one of my favorites.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/January_13_2010/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/January_12_2010/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for January 12, 2010
Sunset over Santa Barbara from Butterfly Beach in Montecito, CA

We're having a wonderful run of beautiful sunsets right now. But this is actually from a beautiful evening walk along Butterfly Beach back in October. I had a request to use the image, but they needed a horizontal layout. Fortunately I usually shoot both horizontal and vertical if I can frame a nice composition both ways for just this reason.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/January_12_2010/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/January_10_2010/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for January 10, 2010
Sunset over the Pacific from the Montecito Hills

Yesterday was a bit overcast during the day. We had some things to do around town and later in the day found ourselves in a beautiful little nursury in Carpenteria. As the sun was getting low it started to break through the clouds so we found a nice spot in the Montecito hills on the way home to watch the show. What followed was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. It was truly one of those times you wish you had your camera! Fortunately I did!
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Sun, 10 Jan 2010 08:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/January_10_2010/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/November_8_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for November 8, 2009
Natural Cafe on Hitchcock, Santa Barbara

The Natural Cafe is a great place to get some excellent food in a wonderful atmosphere. This is the Hitchcock location in Santa Barbara. This is from a recent shoot for an article in a magazine featuring the restaurant, and their wondeful yet healthy food.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/November_8_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_31_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for October 31, 2009
Leafy Sea Dragon at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Secret Lives of Seahorses exhibit

This guy is one of my favorite sea creatures. He's called a Leafy Sea Dragon. He's related to seahorses and pipe fish, and is from the waters of Australia. This one is living at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in their cool Seahorse exhibit. As I'm sure you can guess he is less of a sea monster than his name suggests. His beautiful fins camouflage him in the sea weed as he floats with the ocean surge like a plant.

This was the second time we tried to get to the exhibit, right after it opened in April it was almost too crowded to see anything, but this weekend was much less crowded.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_31_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_28_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for October 28, 2009
Clouds just after sunset at Butterfly Beach, Montecito

The clouds were beautiful the other evening at Butterfly beach. Just after sunset they looked almost like an aurora. This was an extremely long exposure, the last of a particularly beautiful day.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_28_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_27_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for October 27, 2009
Sunset view from Butterfly Beach in Montecito

If you've looked around my sites much you probably already know that Butterfly Beach is my favorite beach in Santa Barbara. It's a beautiful place to wander and relax. Sunset is my favorite time, it's always beautiful, but Sunday (the day this was taken) was something truly special!
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_27_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_26_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for October 26, 2009
High wispy clouds over the Santa Barbara County Courthouse just before sunset

This is a little bit different angle on the Courthouse from the sunken gardens. Of course the main star of the show was the amazing sunset clouds. They were moving very quickly and the light was changing fast. In only a few minutes they were gone. But I'm very happy with the results!
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_26_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_25_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for October 25, 2009
Sunset over Cachuma Lake in Santa Ynez Valley, CA

Sunset is one of the most beautiful things that happens every day. It's so hard to take the time to enjoy it. Most people think of the sun setting over the surf in California, and that is the case in most parts of the state. Our little section of the coast is a little different. We look south when we watch the waves break and this is the view from a trail at the top of our mountains. Just in front and to the right of the sun you can see Lake Cachuma, a man made lake which is a beautiful home to all sorts of amazing wild life including bald eagles. Somday soon I'm going to go catch one of them with my camera.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Sun, 25 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_25_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_24_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for October 24, 2009
Our Lady of Mount Carmel church in Montecito, California

This is a beautiful little church out in Montecito. It's one of my favorite places to wander in the evenings with my camera. The architecture is really something special and the people are really nice too! This was actually taken the same night as a previous photo of the day which is now part of my Santa Barbara Calendar.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_24_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_23_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for October 23, 2009
Nojoqui Falls at Nojoqui Falls County Park

This little cave-like formation is common at the bottom of a waterfall. The churning of the water easily erodes the rock more quickly than the falling water down the face of the waterfall. I would imagine it would be a much more violent and dangerous place in the middle of a rain storm. But I'll bet it's a spectacular sight!
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/October_23_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/September_27_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for September 27, 2009
Lotus [Nelumbo nucifera] Blossoms, Seaside Gardens, Carpinteria, CA

Ahh it's a beautiful flower. Makes me wish I had enough room for a Koi pond. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to keep visiting the ponds at Lotusland and Seaside gardens.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/September_27_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/September_26_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for September 26, 2009
Anna's Hummingbird [Calypte anna]

The hummingbirds are quite active around here these days. They seem to like to taunt me any time I'm outside without my camera. I have not had time to chase them down, this guy was from a walk at Seaside Gardens. Hopefully I'll get out with my camera to chase the hummers tomorrow.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Sat, 26 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/September_26_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/September_24_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for September 24, 2009
Knapp's Castle 360 degree view of Sunset over Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara, California

Some days you look for a nice lighting for the subject you are interested in. Then there are the days that the lighting itself is the real star of the show. Actually, most great shots are more about the lighting than the subject but not usually this literally or obviously.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/September_24_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/September_18_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for September 18, 2009
Grapes on the vine in Santa Ynez Valley, California

I've been working on trying to get an image that captures the feel of the Santa Ynez Valley. Of course, vineyards are a big part of that area of California these days. Especially after a rather popular movie about the area a few years ago. But wine is not the only thing they are known for. This weekend Solvang is having their Danish Days festival. If you've never eaten an Aebleskiver that alone could be worth the trip. Of course, I prefer just making my own and avoiding the crowds. Then again, maybe I'll brave the sand castle festival in Santa Barbara this weekend. Could be a busy weekend!
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Fri, 18 Sep 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/September_18_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/August_18_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for August 18, 2009
Panoramic photo of the Mission Santa Barbara (Queen of the Missions) Santa Barbara, California

Click on the main image for a larger view.

Once again we are having a fire in the area. Fortunately for us here in the city it's a little further away this time. Of course that's not much consolation to the over-worked firefighters on the front lines.

As always, the fire is making for some nice sunsets. And I had a project specifically looking for a nice wide straight shot of the mission. This looked like my opportunity, but I thought the fog was going to roll in too thick to get the photo. In the end the fog swirled right behind the mission with the beautiful colors of the sunset making for an amazing backdrop.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/August_18_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/August_14_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for August 14, 2009
Knapp's Castle 360 degree view of Sunset over Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara, California

This is one of the most beautiful spots I can think of in the Santa Barbara area. Knapp's Castle was a beautiful mansion in the early 1900's. But even the impressive construction from those days could not stand up to the wild fires we have in the mountains here. A few arches and stone walls are all that remains of the mansion. Fortunately the panoramic view of the Santa Ynez Valley is as breathtaking as ever.

Part of this image was on the photo of the day before, Storybook Castle Sunset. But I recently had a chance to work on the high resolution image again when I was working on my 2010 Santa Barbara Calendar. This is the September image. In the process I was also able to finish the whole 360° view.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Fri, 14 Aug 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/August_14_2009/ http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/August_13_2009/
Bill Heller's Photo of the Day for August 13, 2009
360 degree view of Sunset at Butterfly Beach, Montecito, California

Like I mentioned on yesterday's Photo of the Day, the sky was beautiful in every direction. Which of course is a perfect opportunity to take a 360° VR photo. The only problem is I did not have any kind of tripod or my normal tools. But the sky was too good to pass up so I gave it a try hand-held and I'm pretty happy with the results.
]]> Bill Heller RSS@GlobalStudios.com Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:00:00 -0800 http://www.BillsPhotoOfTheDay.com/August_13_2009/