On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
It’s Wednesday, otherwise known as Billin-Day, at least for awhile! We have mission #3 today, if I’m not mistaken. Did you guys know that Bill
gets up at 2 a.m.stays up until 2 a.m. on the days when he is featured, so he can be here to interact with all of us? We knew he was a dedicated photographer, but that’s dedication of a different sort! Thank you, Bill. ~WaterGirl
BillinGlendaleCA
I’d been to Mission Santa Barbara before, about 25 years ago with Madame, but I didn’t have any really good pictures. So when the local photography meetup group scheduled a trip (I did have a bit of input into the planning), I signed right up. When we arrived, we found that the interior of the Mission was not open due to maintenance on the power lines in the area. I got some good shots of the mission’s exterior, but really wanted some shots of the interior. A few weeks ago, I decided to see 3 missions in one day, with Santa Barbara being on the way home.
Mission Santa Barbara is known as the “Queen of the Missions”, was the 10th of the 21 Spanish mission founded in 1786. It is the only mission with 2 bell towers in the chapel whose construction began in 1812 and was completed in 1820 (the earlier chapels were destroyed in the 1812 earthquake). The interior of the chapel looks much the same as it did when it was completed in 1820. The bell towers suffered significant damage in the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake, but were repaired.
Mission Santa Barbara reflected in the fountain in front of the mission.
The chapel at Mission Santa Barbara taken with a fisheye lens.
Mission Santa Barbara in IR.
Once you’ve paid for your admission (the self guided tour), you end up in the inner courtyard of the mission.
Unlike most of the missions, they have the courtyard fenced off as shown in this fisheye shot.
The inner courtyard in IR.
OK, this altar is stunning, not as much gold as San Juan Capistrano, but worth the price of admission ($10, I think).
When I saw the baptismal font I knew that I should try a picture of the chapel and see if I could get a reflection, it worked except I ended up baptizing the lens hood on my camera.
?BillinGlendaleCA
Actually to correct WaterGirl; I don’t wake up at 2am, I stay up until 2am. I’m not sure if it’s dedication or insanity.
Brachiator
Great photos. It’s been a long time since I last visited the mission.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Brachiator: Thanks, I’ve hit all of them south of Lompoc. I’ve been thinking of doing a star trail with Mission Santa Barbara as the foreground. It’s a bit bright up there, but not nearly as bad as it is in the basin.
Eric NNY
Beautiful as always, thanks Bill.
p.a.
??????
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Eric NNY:
@p.a.: Thanks much.
Amir Khalid
Awesome.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Amir Khalid: Thanks Amir.
satby
I love the missions! These pictures are beautiful, as always.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@satby: Got one more on tap for next week, I should be able to see at least 2 more via driving my Prius(possibly one additional one). Anything further north would require spending the night up there(can’t afford it and my girls require care and feeding). I’ve seen all the missions from San Diego in the south to Lompoc in the north.
Baud
I like that you can feel how there places were in their heyday.
HinTN
The shot with the sky and mission reflected its excellent.
Now, about that blue…?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: They have historical exhibits in addition to the religious stuff.
@HinTN: Thanks, I’m happy that it turned out. I reduce the highlights when I bring all my photos into Lightroom so the skies get darker(adds definition to clouds, if there are any).
JPL
Lovely!
I imagine you are anxious to get out with your photog equipment.
Barbara
I’ve only seen a few missions but I thought Santa Barbara was the nicest and most informative. Love the pictures of the sanctuary.
West of the Cascades
Thanks for the lovely photos and for burning the midnight oil to share them!
Laura Too
Beautiful! Thanks!
Scuffletuffle
Gorgeous photos of a profoundly beautiful place. I especially love the shot from the font. Small nit, it’s altar, not alter. Sorry!
Soprano2
That’s the mission I visited with my mother and sister in October 2009. I’ve got a picture of them sitting on a bench in the courtyard at a distance from me. I’m not sure they even knew I took the picture. It is a beautiful place. In fact, the whole of Santa Barbara was beautiful.
Are you still accepting pictures for On the Road?
WaterGirl
@Scuffletuffle: That’s on me! I always correct that in Bill’s posts, but I missed that one. :-)
WaterGirl
@Soprano2: Are we still accepting submissions for On the Road?
Absolutely!
Scuffletuffle
@WaterGirl: no worries and I felt bad calling it out, but it has definitely been bothering me…lol!
Wag
Great photos. I love the Santa Barbara mission. A very peaceful place. The garden is lively, as well. Another nearby gem that is well worth a visit is the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, tucked in the canyon immediately behind the mission. Interesting displays of the regional flora and fauna, as well as a xeriscape botanic garden in the canyon between the museum and the mission. Well worth the visit
Bonus, they employ my daughter as a curator!
SkyBluePink
A sense of tranquility shines through the lovely photos
JustRuss
@Wag: My grandmother lived in Santa Barbara, when we visited her our parents would often take us to the Museum of Natural History. Loved that place.
Origuy
Great pictures, Bill. I dug out my pictures of the Carmel Mission. I’m no great photographer, but I’ll be submitting those soon. The missions up here are closed, of course, but I’ve been meaning to visit some of them. Particularly San Antonio de Padua, which is on an Army base near Big Sur.
I didn’t grow up in California, and I don’t have kids, but I found out that a rite of passage here has been to build a model of one of the missions in fourth grade. It’s dying out as the role of the missions in subjugating the natives has been re-examined, but you can still buy kits for each of the missions.
Elizabelle
Love the photos, particularly the view from the baptismal font, and the blue, blue sky.
Bluebird
Wonderful photos. Have been to this mission many times as I live in Southern California and Santa Barbara is a favorite getaway. One of my trips there happened to be a chalk art contest in the area in front of the mission. It was wonderful to see and there were turtles in the fountain in front. Special place that feels more accessible than many of the other missions–like it is actually part of the community. Maybe it is the huge rose garden in front that gets a lot of use. If you are there it is worth the trip to go further up the canyon and visit the Botanical Gardens. Great walking paths and they have preserved some of the very old constructed waterways that were used to bring the water down to the town and probably the mission itself.
J R in WV
OK, as usual I’m late getting to this thread today, but wanted to say how much I enjoyed these photos. A beautiful old historic mission, and well photographed. Makes me wish we could do a west coast tour of So CA.
Thanks for the hard work, Bill. Another great job!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JPL: Thanks, I’ve got a number of things I’ve been itching to shoot.
@Barbara: Considering your nym, you might be biased. //
The way I’ve stared shooting indoor shots is shoot multiple shots at a high ISO and then combine them in post to reduce noise. It’s actually how a lot of cameras(including cell phones) shoot “night mode”.
@West of the Cascades: Glad you like them. I’m a night person anyway, but last night about 4am I had to crash.
@Laura Too: Thanks.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Scuffletuffle: Thanks, it’s really pretty.
@Scuffletuffle: @WaterGirl: I’m a firm believer in creative spelling, now I’m feeling oppressed(again). //
@Soprano2: They have railings now to keep you out of the courtyard. Due to the popularity of this mission they keep you on a pre-determined path.
@Wag: I’ll keep that on the list for the next time I go up, the first trip I was with another photographer and the second I didn’t get there until 3pm and was in a bit of a rush to get home. There were hungry mouths to feed(my girls).
?BillinGlendaleCA
@SkyBluePink: Thanks, the power being off for the first trip up there meant less folk to shoot around, so it looks a lot less crowded. It’s probably(along with San Juan Capistrano) the most popular of the missions in Southern California.
@JustRuss: Another place that pretty nice is the Santa Barbara Courthouse. It’s got a really pretty park and is good for IR. It’s also got an observation deck with a great view of the city.
@Origuy: I’m a Southern CA native and we did study the missions as part of CA history in the 3rd or 4th grade. I thought that this might have changed for the reasons you noted, but the first mission on this trip, there was a 4th grader who was doing a report on missions. So I guess it’s still taught, though I’m guess with a more balanced perspective. Thanks.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Uh oh. No good deed goes unpunished! :-)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Elizabelle: I liked the photo with the baptismal font too, even though my camera almost got baptized.
@Bluebird: Thanks for the kind comments. My understanding is that those waterways were originally constructed for the mission and the city used them until the 1920’s or so.
@Origuy: The guy I was shooting with the first trip up, went to Carmel last year, it’s like to go someday but the logistics(and cost) of an overnight trip are difficult. All the missions are closed down here as well. I was thinking of doing another 3 missions in a day trip(San Luis Obispo, San Miguel, and San Antonio) but San Antonio is a bit of a a stretch for a day trip.
@J R in WV: It’s OK, I just got up and finished breakfast. Thanks, the missions are really worth a visit.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: I’ve been oppressed by the spelling nazis since elementary school. They even made me take a special course in college, bastids. //
Wag
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Have you been to any missions outside of CA? If you haven’t the Missions south of Tucson are well worth a visit.
Sandia Blanca
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Thanks, Bill, for highlighting the missions. As you and Origuy noted, today we acknowledge the harm they did, but the architecture is still beautiful. I also grew up in SoCal, and we made our mission models from sugar cubes! I’ve visited many of them over the years, and so love to see your lovely photos of them. Thank you.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: You missed your calling, then. None of the deans I’ve ever worked with at the university level can spell worth a damn. :-)
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: I was in a PhD program in my lost youth.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Wag: No, but I did see one from a distance off of I-40 in my youth. As I noted, right now I’m pretty limited to day trips in the old Prius.
@Sandia Blanca: I really do like historical buildings and the missions are as old as they get in California. I favorite so far has been Mission San Luis Rey near Oceanside.
JustRuss
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I’ve been to the courthouse, but did not know about the observation deck. Will check that out the next time I get down there, which is every 2-3 years now. Just went in January.
Wag
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I would highly recommend San Xavier del Bac. Stunning.
http://www.sanxaviermission.org
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JustRuss: The observation deck is at the top of the clock tower, I’ll to an OTR on the courthouse, it’s a pretty interesting building and park.
@Wag: I’ll put it on the bucket list, but I’m pretty sure I’ll kick the bucket first. About 4 1/2 hours outside of here in Glendale is my range right now; financially and logistically.