Three best shots

The Santa Barbara Arts Collective is looking for worthy photographs to hang in the Mayor’s office. And my friend Joe just called to suggest I submit some candidates.

In my Flickr collection I have 3,928 shots tagged “santabarbara”, and 1,017 with “Santa Barbara” in title or caption text. Tops on both lists is this one:

Gap Fire, behind the Mission

But it’s not my favorite, and it looks like the mission itself is on fire (which it wasn’t). I’m kinda partial to…

I could go on, but I’d rather leaving the chosing up to you. (If you think any of them are worthy.) Votes?

By the way, most of those shots were taken with a 5-megapixel Nikon CoolPix 5700. Not my newer (but now also old) Canon 30D or 5D cameras. None of my cameras or lenses are especially desirable, by Real Photographer standards. Someday I’ll get the gear I’d like, starting with lenses. Meanwhile, like they say, the best camera is the one you’ve got. And what you see in those collections is from what I had at the time.

Oh, and all are Creative Commons licensed just to require attribution. Feel free, because they pretty much are exactly that.



9 responses to “Three best shots”

  1. […] Turns out my friend Doc – is a hella photographer – as well…. […]

  2. Great shots, Doc!
    I’d suggest the last one of the kid in the pool. It’s the most fascinating pic. The second choice would be the sunset over the reflecting pool – however, I would recommend two changes. (If you’re an anti-photoshop purist, than I understand.) If you want to submit that one, you should remove the top of the chimney and the top of the electrical poll. They distract from the perfection of the line at the edge of the pool.

    What camera would you get, if you could get whatever you wanted? My preference would be for the Nikon D700. But I’ve always been a Nikon guy!

  3. Hey, Todd.

    I’m not against Photoshop, and use a number of tools these days to improve photographs. Most of the shots I highlighted predate that, though.

    As for cameras, i was a Nikon guy before a wedding in Santa Barbara we both went to, when rented D90 baffled me, and a briefly-borrowed Canon 5D sold me on the Canon UI. When I bought the 30D, it was better than the Nikon equivalent, especially in low light. Canon lenses were also cheaper.

    But I always liked Nikon’s colors better, and the D700 is better in low light today than the Canon 5D Mark II (though both are outstanding).

    But all the bodies are too expensive, and I have a good used 5D, which is still an outstanding camera. What I need are good lenses: two or three primes and a zoom. All my lenses are cheap, not very good, and made for less than a full-frame sensor. In other words, I don’t have a proper lens for the 5D, even though the ones I have do work, to some degree.

    One of these months…

  4. All personal taste
    Concur with Todd on the power line – breaks up the line
    Airport, oil rig – not as much a fan of structures in the view, unless they are a focal point or it’s an architectural shot.
    Oil rig – good shot, but PR?
    Fires – maybe not the best PR

    just happened to take a few shots this AM
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/37996599816@N01/5710952020/in/photostream

    Canon Powershot SD1400IS (pocket)

  5. Well, I like this one > 2005_12_21_sunrise_07.JPG or this one 2006jan31sunset_10.JPG. I really thought that the pic on top is catching fire 🙂

  6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/docsearls/75974710/

    Beautifull, where has been taken that pic!?

  7. Derecho, that was shot out the front door of a friend’s house. There is a little blurring vertically (it was hand held, in the evening), but not so in the two others like it in the series. Alas the colors and mood of those are not as good.

  8. Your sunrise / sunset sky shots are incredible. I particularly like the feel of 2005_01_17_sunrise02. Have you already made your decision?

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