Joseph Ramos
Workshop Member
I will be in Santa Barbara next weekend and I was wondering if anyone knows of some nice places to shoot.
Thanks
Thanks
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Santa Barbara
- Thread starter Joseph Ramos
- Start date
There are a couple of areas I might recommend. There is a city of Ojai that is about a 30 minute drive. You travel through some mountain passes that are very nice if the light is good. There is a state park that I went through with a small lake. I did not find the park to overly photogenic but there were some outstanding wildflowers when i was there earlier this year.
There is a very large national forest called Los Padres National forest for which one can drive for quite a long time. There are some beautiful mountain views from there. You can drive down the regular route where there will be a number of tourists. There are turn offs and some nice views. However, if you travel into the national forest there is much better scenes to shoot. The road gets very narrow and if anyone has any height issues be warned. As you go through the national forest, you can drive for several hours. I went about 20 miles into the forest and it took quite a while. I was time restricted and the light was harsh when i was there in the afternoon. Again it was spring time.
Finally, along the Santa Barbara coast near where the fishing boats come in and out-- there are lots of birds, pelicans, etc.
There is a very large national forest called Los Padres National forest for which one can drive for quite a long time. There are some beautiful mountain views from there. You can drive down the regular route where there will be a number of tourists. There are turn offs and some nice views. However, if you travel into the national forest there is much better scenes to shoot. The road gets very narrow and if anyone has any height issues be warned. As you go through the national forest, you can drive for several hours. I went about 20 miles into the forest and it took quite a while. I was time restricted and the light was harsh when i was there in the afternoon. Again it was spring time.
Finally, along the Santa Barbara coast near where the fishing boats come in and out-- there are lots of birds, pelicans, etc.
Stuart Richardson
Active member
I went to grad school in Santa Barbara and lived there about 5 years. I loved it! There are a lot of shooting opportunities, but it sort of depends on whether you have access to a car, and to what type of shooting you want to do.
If you have a car and are interested in some of the views of the landscape, I highly recommend traveling up the foothills and up Gibraltar Rd. You can find it on google maps, but basically you go past the mission and then turn onto foothill road. Turn left at Mountain Dr. and pass the reservoir...basically keep going up. Gibraltar Rd. is twisty, turny and goes right up the mountain. Eventually you will get to the top (about 3600 ft), and the road runs along the ridge for several miles in each direction. There are rarely many people up there, and there are stunning views of both the ocean, city and the national forest. It looks like this on the inland side:
And like this on the ocean side:
If you are interested more in people and places, there is the Mission:
The courthouse:
Stern's Wharf is very touristy, but is a good place to check out the main beach and get a good look back at the town. There are lots of people hanging about, fishing, making sand sculptures and so on:
Street photography is not really all that interesting or easy to do in Santa Barbara, but if you are going to do it, places like the Wharf, State St. and that main drag are your best bets. It is mostly touristy though. If you want to catch a more local flavor, try Milpas St. It is the more hispanic part of town, and it features the best taquerias and local Mexican places. No trip to Santa Barbara is complete without having a taco at Taqueria El Bajio on Milpas St. They are AMAZING...and super cheap. Perhaps the thing I miss most about Santa Barbara is the food at El Bajio. Nothing in New York comes close...
If you are interested in checking out a nice, mostly local beach/recreational area, try Shoreline Park. There are a lot of people walking dogs, just strolling, surfing and so on. It is not as touristy as East Beach and West Beach.
Of course, there is the university beach....Goleta Beach will have a lot of students, so if you gear towards college girls in bikinis (who doesn't?) head out that way. On the other side of town, there is Montecito...one of the richest areas in America...Oprah's 55 million dollar house etc. There are some nice beaches down there though...the Four Seasons Biltmore has a gorgeous beach (public) right in front of it, and if you are willing to pay a bit more, you can get a nice drink at the bar there. It is hard to imagine a prettier place.
There are a number of other places to go too. Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions...
Oh, and if you need gear or processing, Samy's Camera has a huge camera store right down town, there is a Calumet as well. Specialty/Color Services is an outstanding lab right next to Calumet. They are all sustained by the Brooks Institute of Photography, which is right in Montecito. It is a very photo friendly town.
If you have a car and are interested in some of the views of the landscape, I highly recommend traveling up the foothills and up Gibraltar Rd. You can find it on google maps, but basically you go past the mission and then turn onto foothill road. Turn left at Mountain Dr. and pass the reservoir...basically keep going up. Gibraltar Rd. is twisty, turny and goes right up the mountain. Eventually you will get to the top (about 3600 ft), and the road runs along the ridge for several miles in each direction. There are rarely many people up there, and there are stunning views of both the ocean, city and the national forest. It looks like this on the inland side:
And like this on the ocean side:
If you are interested more in people and places, there is the Mission:
The courthouse:
Stern's Wharf is very touristy, but is a good place to check out the main beach and get a good look back at the town. There are lots of people hanging about, fishing, making sand sculptures and so on:
Street photography is not really all that interesting or easy to do in Santa Barbara, but if you are going to do it, places like the Wharf, State St. and that main drag are your best bets. It is mostly touristy though. If you want to catch a more local flavor, try Milpas St. It is the more hispanic part of town, and it features the best taquerias and local Mexican places. No trip to Santa Barbara is complete without having a taco at Taqueria El Bajio on Milpas St. They are AMAZING...and super cheap. Perhaps the thing I miss most about Santa Barbara is the food at El Bajio. Nothing in New York comes close...
If you are interested in checking out a nice, mostly local beach/recreational area, try Shoreline Park. There are a lot of people walking dogs, just strolling, surfing and so on. It is not as touristy as East Beach and West Beach.
Of course, there is the university beach....Goleta Beach will have a lot of students, so if you gear towards college girls in bikinis (who doesn't?) head out that way. On the other side of town, there is Montecito...one of the richest areas in America...Oprah's 55 million dollar house etc. There are some nice beaches down there though...the Four Seasons Biltmore has a gorgeous beach (public) right in front of it, and if you are willing to pay a bit more, you can get a nice drink at the bar there. It is hard to imagine a prettier place.
There are a number of other places to go too. Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions...
Oh, and if you need gear or processing, Samy's Camera has a huge camera store right down town, there is a Calumet as well. Specialty/Color Services is an outstanding lab right next to Calumet. They are all sustained by the Brooks Institute of Photography, which is right in Montecito. It is a very photo friendly town.
Stuart Richardson
Active member
Damn, I just realized that this was posted June 2nd and you have already gone! I am sorry...I wish I had seen that before I spent all the time typing it up!
Joseph Ramos
Workshop Member
Thanks anyways I will remember these spots next time I go.
Thanks
Thanks
white.elephant
New member
Hey, as some whop's never been there, the images were worth your time to posat them.
Thank you.