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.
Today we have our fourth, and final, entry in what I have come to think of as Bill’s Mission Series. At least for now. Look at the colors on that altar! I wonder what’s next? ~WaterGirl
?BillinGlendaleCA
This mission was the first in my quest to see three missions in one day. I’d been to Solvang, a town founded by Danish immigrants back in the early 1900’s, several times but was unaware that there was a mission at the edge of town. So, I made plans for a trip to hit 3 missions(Santa Ines, La Purisima, and Santa Barbara) as well as a shot re-visit to Solvang.
Mission Santa Ines was founded in 1804 as a mission to occupy the midpoint between Mission Santa Barbara and the La Purisima Mission(near Lompoc), in the furtile Santa Ynez Valley. It also hosted a seminary making it the first institution of higher learning in the State of California(then Alta California).
Front of the chapel and bell tower at Mission Santa Ines.
Front of Mission Santa Ines in infrared with a color overlay.
Narrow shot of the altar at Mission Santa Ines, this was shot using a high ISO with multiple shots taken and combined to reduce the camera noise.
Wide shot of the chapel at Mission Santa Ines from the back of the chapel looking towards the altar. I’ve never encountered the fabric hanging from the ceiling in the other missions.
This is the view after you pay your admission and walk though the door to the mission garden. The main street of the City of Solvang is just beyond the line of trees at the back of the shot.
This is the mission courtyard from the other direction. The wall of the chapel is on the left.
The mission courtyard looking towards Solvang in infrared.
This is looking east from the mission’s parking lot at the Santa Ynez Valley.
JPL
Bill, This mission is one of my favorites. The simplicity of the facade and the ornateness of the altar is such a contrast. Your pics are beautiful.
lexilis
Absolutely beautiful! I am not a photographer and I am curious when you say “multiple shots taken and combined to reduce camera noise”. How does this work? I presume it’s a purely digital process but it must be very difficult to overlay exactly without generating more “camera noise” than it removes. Small vibrations (from street noise or whatever) would seem to be difficult to account for. Can you (briefly) explain? Again, I am an utter neophyte here but I am interested and I do appreciate the mastery which you so clearly have. Many thanks from longtime lurker living in Thailand.
Amir Khalid
So the Mission series has concluded with more beautiful pictures. I wish there were more.
Baud
very nice.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JPL: Thanks, I liked it as well. It’s a hidden gem.
@lexilis: When you amplify the signal in the camera(higher ISO), you also increase the noise in the picture. This noise is random, so when you combine multiple images, and average the result, you increase the signal to noise ratio. I align the images in Photoshop and then take the average to produce a much cleaner result. I use a similar technique to process astrophotography images.
@Amir Khalid: There are two(and maybe a third) that are still within day trip range with the Prius, so when things reopen I’m going to try and visit those.
@Baud: Thanks.
Cheryl from Maryland
Beautiful images of a beautiful place. Seeing the altar makes me want to fresco a bathroom during the shutdown, other than I tried true fresco once in art class (like the Sistine Chapel), and not only was it hard, I sucked at it.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Cheryl from Maryland: It’s a nice altar, I really like the comparison between the altars in the various missions. When we went to Mission Santa Barbara for the group shoot my colleague was uninterested in the mission’s interior, I said that’s the best part!
Wag
A
As always, really nice shots. I especially like the photo of the altar, a striking contrast to the simple exterior.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Wag: Thanks, I really liked the altar at this mission. Most of the missions have pretty simple exteriors(Santa Barbara’s probably the exception) but ornate altars.
pacem appellant
I haven’t been to Solvang in almost a decade and now have one more place to visit when we make the road trip with the kids once again. We live in the SF Bay Area, and have relatives in SoCal. We used to make the trek south twice a year and would stop in SLO or Solvang for the night or a respite from a long drive. I have Danish heritage (if my surname is to be believed), but even without that, the town is adorable.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@pacem appellant: The mission is on the eastern edge of town and well worth the visit. I did take the opportunity to get some pics of Solvang while I was there. Maybe another OTR.