Day Trip to Santa Barbara & The Old Mission

Two Palms, Old Mission Santa Barbara framed 20 x 24” lustre paper print

Visiting Santa Barbara last week was a trip down memory lane. I lived in Santa Barbara from 1990 - 1992, wow, thirty years ago! No wonder it felt like my time there was a lifetime ago.. it sort of was. I’d moved to Santa Barbara to attend Santa Barbara City College. At the time part of me wished I had enrolled at the Brooks Institute of Photography (also in SB) because my love of everything photography was already deep. Instead I went nose down in academia and pursued a liberal arts education.

They say it’s never too late to become what you might have been, so that’s what I’m going after now in mid-life by dedicating myself to fine art photography. If you’re familiar with my work you’ll know that I’m drawn to botanical subjects, to animals big and small, and to beautiful architecture… and as it turned out, the Old Mission Santa Barbara has all three elements! I was in heaven and it was one of those magical days where the weather was ideal, there were no crowds to navigate, and local birds were singing a kind of late morning concert. If you look closely you can see two small birdies on the trunk of the curving palm tree.

There’s a lovely tiered fountain at the mission where I made a few wishes as I tossed in coins. I couldn’t help but wonder how many wishes have been made at the very same spot over the course of the last 234 years. The Old Mission Santa Barbara certainly has a special appeal, it is considered to be the “chief cultural and historic landmark in the city of Santa Barbara” (Wikipedia).

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Two Palms, Old Mission Santa Barbara wood print

Two Palms, Old Mission Santa Barbara