El Paseo Courtyard Fountain in 3D

A Santa Barbara Photo to Start the Week… by local photographer Bill Heller.

June gloom can be a little, well, gloomy sometimes. But when it starts to break up the edge of the fog can put on an amazing display. Combine that with the setting sun and you can get some amazing effects. The purple sky in this shot is from the wispy bits of the “gloom” reflecting the last rays.

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- Bill Heller

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5 Responses to El Paseo Courtyard Fountain in 3D

  1. sbseashells June 14, 2010 at 9:55 am #

    that purple sky is amazing and the fountain looks like its from antiquity.

  2. Goleta Jim June 14, 2010 at 1:11 pm #

    So darn cool. These never get old. In fact, they seem to get better and better.

  3. Lynda June 15, 2010 at 9:33 am #

    I feel like I can step through that picture right into el Paseo. Great work!

  4. Bill Heller June 15, 2010 at 5:31 pm #

    Thanks everyone!

    Yes, I love the purple skies. I really look forward to the June Gloom as much as the beautiful Winter sunsets. The proximity of the clouds/fog, like you could almost reach up and touch them, is what really contributes to the effect. I enjoy experimenting with all kinds of photography, but there is no doubt this is a special time of year to capture the beauty of our architecture.

    Thanks Jim! I have been constantly trying to hone all aspects of my vr work, from the shoot to the display technology. It’s good to know it shows! Just this weekend I added a tool that lets you view the panoramas on Apple mobile devices iPhones/iPads/iPods since they don’t support flash. They are really fun to play with on a touch screen!

    And as for the fountain from antiquity. It is one of my favorite fountains. The base is actually a very classic shape called a Quatrefoil, basically meaning “Four-Leaf” used extensively in Moorish and Gothic architecture especially for windows. As you can probably guess by the name, it was thought to be a symbol of good luck. If you look at last week’s panorama (http://www.santabarbaraview.com/index.php/2010/06/state-street-spiral/) turn toward the street side and look up, you’ll see a small Quatrefoil above the arch. Of course the best example around is below the Courthouse clock tower on the garden side… http://www.billsphotooftheday.com/February_5_2009/

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  1. Santa Barbara News, Events, Restaurants & More! • Santa Barbara View - June 27, 2010

    [...] are a great subject. After studying the El-Paseo fountain a couple of weeks ago I noticed how many of my favorite shots have fountains somewhere in them. I [...]

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