A Photowalk in Carpinteria, CA
A few shots I made while taking a walk in a beautiful little town.
Phoenix is hot in the summer. Even we natives begin to get a bit cooked as we get toward September.
Put a fork in me, I am done, baby.
So my wife and I like to find little places to get away to that are, well, less than 115 degrees in the shade.
We love the Utah Mountains above Cedar City, and if we have time, we head up to Idaho or Wyoming.
And occasionally over to California.
I am not a fan of California trips. The traffic is to the point now that it makes even a short road trip into a major undertaking with far more congestion than should be allowed on planet earff.
San Diego used to be like a second home for us in the summer, but now it is so much less enjoyable than it was, that we will opt for a cabin in Williams, and no beach.
But then there is Carpinteria.
A tiny town just below Santa Barbra, with a beach that is unmatched on that area of the coast, Carpinteria is practically our sole destination when we cross the Colorado going west.
A small-town feel, lots of natural beauty, and temps in the low 80s, even on the warmest September days.
I love the quaint beach town feel, and the small, perfectly manicured homes and buildings that make up the town.
Picturesque, they call it.
What catches my eye?
Symmetry.
Color.
Light.
Texture.
Design.
And it doesn’t have to be the big shots. In fact it can be as simple as a shadow playing on a texture, or the way the light fills the space.
For me, the wonderful thing about photographing things is the magical way a frame can take something seemingly random and put it into a new context. One that I create.
I simply love this tree. It is massive.
Caught in the warm late light of evening, it dwarfs the bungalow-style home below its canopy. In fact, the tree covers 75% of the property with its magnificent foliage.
In September, there is a hint of Fall, but with the bright colors of the coastal area. This image was inspired by the texture of the shadows, and the chaos of the leaves. The bike added a very nice touch, but I would have shot it regardless of the bicycle’s presence.
Color and light turn the back porch of this beach cottage into a play of interesting lines.
I could spend a year there photographing the many little vignettes that appear around every corner.
Levels of interest.
Layers of color and angles and texture.
Details that make perusing the image more fun because they appear as you look closer at it.
Notice the cut branches of the tree are the same color as the wooden door, for instance.
A mixture of southwest, Hispanic, and old California design is everywhere. From the elegant use of tile to the design of entryways, the feel of a time nearly past is everywhere you look.
And I love the use of plants to bring a soft edge to many of the architectural details.
Tiny homes are all the rage in some parts of the country.
This little place could not be larger than 700 sq ft, and yet with the greenery all around it, it looks to be as spacious as anyone would need.\
(You mean anyone who wasn’t a photographer with two sets of drums, and 2400 vinyl jazz albums, right? — ed.)
Symmetry, color, and texture. There is so much detail to be found in this facade, and that makes it fun to look at again and again.
This entrance just looks like coming home to me. The worn paint, the flowers, and the welcoming porch. A life lived slower, and with a higher sense of harmony with the environment.
There are charming photographs everywhere you look. I love the pattern of the fence, the angles of the house, and the overall design of the image, with a tiny row of decorative palm trees adding a nice line across the background.
Next time I will show you some images of the rarely seen Carpinteria, the images that you must search hard to see, but are in plain sight.
I write about photography, art, and design. And occasionally, the intersection of all three.
Find me at www.dongiannatti.com, or get more content at my Substack page.
