Monday Horse Blogging

Horses - Santa Barbara County  2019

Nice photo op outside of Solvang just off a two-lane rural road.

Santa Barbara County

Rain (Nojoqui Falls Park) - Santa Barbara County  2019

Field - Santa Barbara County  2019

Top photo taken as I was having lunch in Nojoqui Falls park, just as it started to rain. Then, overcast skies driving north on 101.

Monday Cow Blogging

Cows - Santa Barbara County  2019

Taken after visiting Nojoqui Falls park, then continuing on the narrow rural road through Solvang back to 101.

I had stopped for some landscape photos when I noticed these three individuals being very interested in my photo taking. I used an Olympus E-M1II and a 14-150mm zoom lens.

Nojoqui Falls Park

Country Road - Santa Barbara County  2018

Oak (Nojoqui Park) - Santa  Barbara County  2018

Mike has stopped at this park before, but neglected to name it. He's postponed actually visiting the falls, however . . . saving it for later, perhaps.

Santa Barbara Botanical Garden

View from Botanical Garden - Santa Barbara  2015

After the insipid mall experience we drove past the Santa Barbara Mission to the botanical garden located there. Much nicer . . . we hiked a little, then ate lunch at a picnic table.

Santa Barbara

Mall #1 - Santa Barbara  2015

Mall #2 - Santa Barbara  2015

Driving north from Los Angeles we got off in Santa Barbara at the central exit off Highway 101 and parked at random. Alas, we found ourselves at a downtown mall experience. But still, the light was nice.

Note to self: next time do some research.

Highway 101 North

Red Car, Highway 101 - Santa Barbara County  2014

The drive from Hollywood to Monterey takes slightly over 5 hours, or so says Google.

Of course, I take much longer. Photo stop at the mission, lunch, and . . . I'm not really driving that fast. By the time I pull into the motel (on Munras) I've pretty much had it for the day.

Santa Barbara Mission - 4

Agaves - Santa Barbara  2014

Courtyard Plants - Santa Barbara  2014

Last Santa Barbara Mission post this year.

Also, please check out this earlier Santa Barbara shot taken in the rain which I rather like.

Santa Barbara Mission - 3

Roses - Santa Barbara  2014

Plants on Steps - Santa Barbara  2014

Of course, the mission courtyard in October didn't have that many colorful plants. Some roses, though.

Santa Barbara Mission - 2

Santa Barbara Mission - Santa Barbara  2014

Front view of the mission, converted to black and white and perspective corrected in Photoshop. Don't know if I like it . . . original image below:

Santa Barbara Mission - Santa Barbara  2014

Santa Barbara Mission - 1

Santa Barbara Mission, Fountain - Santa Barbara  2014

So, instead of traveling through the Mojave Desert, I was headed up highway 101. As usual, I took the opportunity to stop off at the famous Santa Barbara Mission.

For interesting comparative purposes, here's a link to some earlier Santa Barbara photos.

Santa Barbara Mission 2

Agaves - Santa Barbara County  2013

Agave, Road, Palm - Santa Barbara County  2013

. . . some more agaves seen just off the main road.

Santa Barbara Mission 1

Agave, Fence - Santa Barbara County  2013

Recently I've been making a routine stop at the Santa Barbara Mission whenever I drive 101 up the coast. This time, however, I opted not to visit the interior courtyard (too many tour buses), wandering around outside instead. High clouds provided nice even light.

Santa Barbara Flowers 2

Red Flowers - Santa Barbara  2013

Plants on Steps - Santa Barbara  2013

Don't know what kind of flowers these are. Yes, yes, I should use Google Image Search.

The steps, although having a handrail, don't appear to go anywhere, but they certainly serve as a nice backdrop for the succulents.

Santa Barbara Flowers 1

Agave & Sage - Santa Barbara 2013

Spanish Lavender - Santa Barbara  2013

I've made stopping off at the Santa Barbara Mission a regular feature of my return trips from L.A. heading up highway 101.

The interior of the mission (entrance fee required) is actually quite nice, although you can only visit a portion of the grounds. On this particular day, there was still enough of an overcast to give me some nice diffused light.

Leaves, Trees

Trees - Santa Barbara County  2012

Leaves in Creek Bed - Santa Barbara County  2012

Leaving Santa Barbara the rain gradually diminished, but the wind kept up. Mike stopped at a Santa Barbara county park to check out the winter landscape. No water in the creek beds due to the overall dry year.

Mission Agaves

Agaves in Rain - Santa Barbara  2012

Agaves & Ferns - Santa Barbara  2012

These extremely photogenic agaves are located right in front of the mission, over to the left; no need to visit the interior garden at all, just roll on up and snap. The Olympus E-PL1 seemed to handle the subject matter quite well!

Mission Plants

Succulent - Santa Barbara  2012

Succulents - Santa Barbara  2012

Found in pots about the interior garden.

Mission Statues

Mission Statue #1 - Santa Barbara  2012

Mission Statue #2 - Santa Barbara  2012

Very nice non-contrasty light. Of course, Mike had to keep tucking the camera underneath his Gore-Tex parka, then pulling it out again.

Santa Barbara Rain

Mission & Palms - Santa Barbara  2012

By the time Mike reached Santa Barbara rain was coming down pretty heavily. Very nice atmospheric conditions.