Foto by Messina - Fine Art Photography

07/20/2022

This just in on a photo competition I had entered...

Find more inspiring images at ViewBug - the world’s most rewarding photo community.

06/14/2021

Friends Along the Way of Creativity

I have had such a great run over the years in my journey of photography. I have encountered and worked with such a variety of friends during my adventure in creativity while in the studio...most of these friends who were real and on some occasion, not so much.

05/30/2021

This just posted on my Instagram. Photo is from a recent photo shoot of a couple recently engaged. Shot with a single glass Lensbaby optic.

04/30/2021

George Pacheco - October 7, 2007

One of the joys of life is getting to know -- and in this case work with -- bigger than life and one-of-a-kind people during our human experience. Such a person for me was the late George Pacheco, a native of the Hollister Ranch/Santa Ynez Valley. I had the privilege to get to know George many years ago through my brother Dan, and later on, had the chance to work with him responding to various USFS fire camps to provide mobile showers through my dad's business. Anyone who has ever hung around with George and/or worked with him have a hundred stories to tell. I just recently ran across this photo of George that I shot when attending the annual Pow Wow in 2007. Worked it up to become a portrait.

04/24/2021

What an honor it is when asked to photograph the miracle of a pregnancy...even more precious when the fruit of the pregnancy manifest itself in the arrival of a brand new and unique life into the world. Thank you for that honor Amaris — and welcome to the planet little Zion!

04/23/2021

“Within Reach”
Image shot on the Oceano Dunes using a Lensbaby shift-tilt lens.

04/17/2021

Old Photos — Old Memories

When I was growing up in 1960 and living on a farm located on the Lompoc-Buellton Road/Hwy 246, my parents made good friends with two “neighbors” — Mac and Bessie Williams (bear in mind that a neighbor for us back them was anyone who lived within several miles from you). Mac and Bessie had a small farm and were the hardworking and standup folks so common at the time in the American fabric back when I was growing up (perhaps not so common now). When I was a teenager, these wonderful folks let me do handiwork around their house and farm (wash windows, w**d around walnut trees, etc.) so I could earn enough money in high school to finance my way to Guatemala with the Amigos de Las Americas program to vaccinate folks. Sometime right after my trip to Guatemala, I returned to do some more more work for Mac and ended up taking some photos with my old twin-lens medium format camera. These scanned images are from some old film negatives I took of Mac and Bessie attempting to capture their normal activities during a typical day in their lives. I am so thankful to have known adults and role models like Mac and Bessie during my growing and formative years. These old photos bring back old memories.

03/16/2021

Always an honor to share my art...

Find more inspiring images at ViewBug - the world’s most rewarding photo community.

02/09/2021

A Glimpse Into Their Kingdom

It all started the other day when we were all going stir crazy at the house from the lockdown, so with a phone call to one of my students, who along with her husband, volunteer to assist the Elephant Seal population here on the Central California Coast, we were off for an adventure and escape from the doldrums of staying home to see the elephant seals who are in the midst of having pups during their migratory visit to the area. As we stood before these magnificent creatures of creation, I became acutely aware that we were only mere visitors granted the privilege of getting a glimpse into their kingdom. These photos reflect the sights and sounds of what we witnessed. What a blessing!