After weeks of slowly working on pitches and work-related stuff, I found myself in a creative rut due to the lack of time outdoors. I found myself uninspired and unwilling to do the part of photography that I always loved: the picture-taking part. Instead forcing myself to finding new leads to work on. Something promising had been in the works that my friend Jason (@jsn.s) and I planned to work on so on this particular day, we had a meeting in Santa Barbara to further discuss details with the client. After that concluded we decide to make the most of our long drive by going on a hike to shoot. I reached out to my friend, Jenna, who I've shot with on multiple occasions in the last few months. Fortunately, she was free and came along as the model we would shoot.
This spot has been close and dear to my heart ever since I found out about it almost four years ago. With help from a fellow photographer to narrow the spot down to a general area in the mountains, I then took to Google Earth to find the overlook which was even unknown to locals. I scouted a route that seemed to work but there was only so much I could see from the software's resolution. A few days later, my friend and I decided to check it out in person to see if the route actually worked. To my surprise, it did and we were greeted by the most unreal view at the top. It's not the highest point in SB like La Cumbre Peak, but the nice and strenuous hike made it that much more rewarding. Combined with the fact that it's still unknown to the majority of the city instantly made this spot my favorite in Southern California. I just hope that this gem doesn't lose its charm the way flocking crowds have overrun a multitude of places across the country for that one Instagrammable picture.
Jason, Jenna, and I continued to hiked up the barely-visible trail up to the top that afternoon, taking time to shoot some stuff along the way. Golden hour was especially good which brought out the incredible layers of the Santa Ynez Mountains. I've seen the view more times than I can count at this point but it's impossible to get over.
After shooting blue hour, we were led by our headlamps down the mountain. It's always a surreal experience hiking down in the dark knowing that in that moment you're probably the only three people on the entire mountain overlooking Santa Barbara. The lack of infrastructure development up there is appreciated such that it allows wilderness to be easily accessible in a place where the city often takes center-focus.
Finally, it's reassuring that the barely-noticeable trail to the top will continue to be devoid of signs of human presence for months and years to come.