Santa Barbara.
The name of that California coastal town usually brings visions of blue Pacific ocean, green palm trees, the Mission, and Oprah. Right now, the thoughts and visuals, coming from the beach area anyway, are not so pleasing.
I don't have a lot of experience in Santa Barbara except for several brief drive-throughs over the years. But it just so happened that I made a brief stop in Santa Barbara two weeks prior to the burst oil pipeline that has done so much damage to the ocean and it's inhabitants.
Because I was just there and spent several peaceful hours at a small beach just south, I have found myself paying particular attention to the news from the oil spill. I feel such sadness about the life lost and habitats ruined. I wish we were not so oil dependent...I wish there was some other way.
One thing that is frequently on my mind is Sea World. Say what you will about the dolphins and orcas that are kept in too small pens and made to perform under stressful positions...I agree with that while disagreeing with the position that they should be "free". There is just no way they can be returned to the ocean at this point.
I wish they could build bigger and more habitat-correct pens for them to live in. And I definitely agree that there shouldn't be any more orcas or dolphins captured and imprisoned ANYWHERE! I am definitely looking at you Taiji!!
But Sea World does do conservation work and has treated 28 mammals injured by the spill. Five of those have died. In total, 22 oil-stricken birds and 14 mammals have died due to this disaster.
Below are the photos I took on a small, rocky, and beautiful beach near Mussel Shoals south of Santa Barbara on May 2nd. I don't know how affected this beach was, but given it's location, I'm sure there was some damage.
The walk from the parking area to the beach was filled with gorgeous flowers.
A little note about these photos...I was experimenting with using my 18-55 mm lens with a cheap macro extension. I prefer as a general rule to use my 70-300 lens because you get such lovely bokeh and depth of field with it. Not to mention the zoom factor. But this trip kind of showed me that I need to learn more and use my smaller lens more. I'll try to note which photos were taken with which lens. If I don't, it means I didn't note and and can't remember. :-)
This branch with gorgeous pink leaf-like flowers was taken using the regular 18-55 mm lens.
This was taken with the macro extended about halfway.
Regular lens.
There was a very touching memorial to a surfer on the path. (macro)
Regular lens
Macro extension
How is this even possible?? I think this is the macro extension.
Gorgeous complete shell. I do not think that pink/red stuff is an organic material.
The shells were so colorful! Loved this little blue and orange one. Macro extension...pretty sure...
Loved, loved, loved the colorful sea grass with all it's fascinating debris.
This shot of this crazy rock with shells in its many holes is with the macro extension.
This one is with the regular lens.
I found another awesome rock with a hole burrowed all the way through. You can tell by the shadow that this is with the macro extension. One of the problems with it.
Regular lens. Notice the difference in the depth of field.
This is one of the pictures that makes me really sad. I watched this pelican hunt for a good, long, peaceful time. It was so beautiful. Now? Who knows if it's wings are able to stretch...who knows if he can take flight or hung...who knows if he's even alive?
My pelican friend wasn't the only bird hanging around. I love tiny, little finches.
More sea grass with a mussel shell.
He was working so hard...he needed a rest.
Ironic. Picture of the beautiful pelican with the intriguing looking Rincon Island in the background.
Or, "Oil Island" as I like to call it.
I love this photo. Love the sea grass, as I've already stated. For some weird reason, I love the plastic flower caught in it. I love the slightly fisheye look from the macro lens extension. Love that you can see the beach, ocean, and sky.
One last shot of my pelican friend.
Note: Pelican and finch photos taken with my zoom lens.
xoxo
