Santa Barbara Engagement Session
I had such a great time shooting this Santa Barbara CA engagement session with Baird and Valerie. I met Baird in college at SUNY Albany in upstate New York. He’d moved out to Santa Barbara after college and was having the time of his life. I flew out to photograph a small family wedding and met up with Baird and his German girlfriend Valerie. She was in Santa Barbara studying at UC Santa Barbara. After the wedding I stayed out there for a few days and was able to catch up with Baird and become really friends with Valerie. They took me to all the coolest spots in town and believe me, there’s a bunch. Baird is really into hiking and the outdoors so naturally we road tripped it one day. We drove out into wine country where Sideways was filmed and did some hiking/wine tasting. On the way back we stopped at Cold Spring Tavern and had one of the best brisket sandwiches I’d ever had.
Marine Layer and Sunshine
For this Santa Barbara Ca engagement session we only had about an 45 minutes which is super tight to work with. We started right at the coast line which is beautifully lined by rocky cliffs and on the water side filled with large kelp beds that float offshore. The light in California is absolutely stunning. It’s totally different than the East coast and much better in my opinion. It’s almost like a fine mist that just hangs in the air setting everything aglow. After a short time shooting at the beach we headed up to the top of a mountain to catch the last bit of light before sunset. Everything was on fire, metaphorically speaking. It was one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen because of all of the fog that was moving in. Everything was just covered in this warm orange glow. Once the last of the light faded we walked back down the mountain and straight to the bar for a nice ice cold California beer.
They both just recently packed their bags and moved to Germany so she could pursue higher education over there. I secretly hope they move back in a few years so we can all have bonfires on the beach again. Santa Barbara is such a lovely little city. I miss it already.
If you’re wanting to elope or destination wedding please get in touch. I know all of the great spots and I’m happy to share the beauty of Oregon with you.
Wow I love the mood of these! The sunlight is so perfect
Good stuff Sean! You captured that west coast glow.
What a beautiful session!!