Curtishots: Santa Barbara Wedding Photographers' PhotoBlog » Random Photo Excursions

Austin’s Trip to Chicago

Austin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:08:43 +0000

Alright, so if you haven’t figured it out by now, I do also have a “real” job that keeps me busy from 8-5 every weekday. I guess it’s cause I’m young, but this working from 8-to-5 and then 5-to-1 seems to work fine for me for the time being.

Anyway, the aforementioned employer sent Kenny and I off to Chicago last week to present on a top secret website.

While we were waiting at LAX, Kenny inspired me to pull out my dusty “Lens Baby” - here’s a look at her children:

I know I’ve said this before, but I really like shooting in airports. This is the first time Security didn’t confront me.

The meetings went great, but we couldn’t wait to get out of there. Downtown here we come…

On the train, we met this random dude. He was cool. Oh well, “See you never!”

Kenny knew of a great pizza place - mmm. Then we went up to the 96th - a bar with a great view.

If you think this next shot is good… you have got to see Kenny’s one. He nailed it. Btw, the reflection is intented

Come to think of it, I think we spent more time in airports then we did in Chicago, cause here we are again

This post has been sponsored by Nikon

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Austin’s Trip to San Francisco

Austin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:37:30 +0000

So, as some of you may know, I am in love with this program called Flash - it’s what got me involved in mutltimedia back in 2001. Almost every year, I get to go to a conference called Flash Forward. I decided to try the goatee out for the week.

My favorite place to shoot is at the airport… hands down. Why? Great window light, lots of extra time, and people who don’t notice much!

I got to stay with my Dad (#2) for the week. I learned a lot about myself staying with him - good times.

Flashforward 2008 turned out to be a disappointment overall, but I did make a goal: to have designs in a gallery 1 day.

I got to cruise the town with my camera a few times, and came back with a few solids:

and of course, I had to get some photos of birds! They are among my favorite things to shoot! (click click, not bang bang)

oh by the way, the goat wasn’t working out… and the mustache didn’t make it out of the house either.. haha.

And that was the trip pretty much! It was a good break from weddings (we shot a wedding the day before the trip and the day after), but even better was coming home to Dara and Aliyah (the baby)! With distance, the heart doth grow fonder!

Mesa Beach Park

Austin — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 05:29:22 +0000

Dara & I went up to the Mesa recently to see the sunset. No photo opportunity is ever missed - we had a camera in the backseat for this exact reason.

Shoreline park is a great location around this time - the light coming through the trees was incredible!

Sunset in Carpinteria

Austin — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:43:35 +0000

When Dara & I were first dating, we used to walk along Carpinteria beach and talk until it was pitch black and freezing. Since we’ve been married, we go back to the same spot once in a while to see the sunset. This time we brought a camera with us.

Birds, Rice, & Photos

Austin — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 09:59:19 +0000

Birds sure are photogenic when you have a handful of left over rice from your burrito! Good Times!

Skate Photos in LA

Austin — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:53:49 +0000

I went down to visit Garret, and basically followed him and Sterling around LA for a few days. Enjoy!

above: Austin took the photos, Garret did the skating and the compositing.

Thanks to Sterling for the awesome photoshop and skating skills. Photos: Austin Curtis

Night Shooting

Austin — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 22:11:00 +0000

Here is a few photos I took the other night with the fog.

Campus Point & Portraits

Dara — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:59:00 +0000

Kristen and I took advantage of the beautiful day and headed out to the beach to take some photos. The light was perfect, and there was so much going on all over the place. I love how the world never stops, and there is beauty all over the place!

Knapp’s Castle - Men’s Trip

Austin — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:24:00 +0000

I got to drive out to Knapp’s Castle with a few photo buddies last weekend! We all brought our cameras and had a blast… That is until the wind picked up and threatened to blow all of our stuff away! Haha. It was pitch black up there, so we had to shoot everything with a flash or really long exposures.

From left to right: me, Jimmy Prola, Stephen Tamiesie, Alan Dowling

Knapp’s Castle (if you don’t know) is the ruins of an ancient castle built in the dark ages. King Knapp was the king of the castle and all his servants were called ‘dirty rascals.’ One day, King Knapp encountered an magical sword which gave him great power. So much power in fact, that one day, he got angry that he swung his sword at the beams which held up most of the castle’s weight. The entire castle crumbled and King Knapp was buried under the rubble. Until this day, his ghost haunts the ruins - making loud whistling noises. Some might call this wind, but it isn’t wind I tell you! Run for your lives if you hear the whistling!

Yes, yes, I made up that story. Haha.. I hope you were amused at least! I think Knapp’s Castle is just a big house that was torn down in the 70’s and hasn’t been rebuilt yet. I assume Mr. Knapp is a great guy because he lets everyone camp on his land and enjoy the beautiful view.

Jimmy found the praying mantis, and borrowed my camera to take a few shots. I took some also, so I’m not sure who took these ones!

I wanted Dara to know that I was thinking about her - I did this with a long exposure and a cell phone. Look closely and you can see my legs faintly!