High School Senior Photos

It’s a milestone, it’s a right of passage and to be honest, after senior year at high school it could be YEARS until your kid is photographed professionally. Think wedding photos, corporate head shots…this is a big deal. Mason is a senior at Santa Barbara High School and we booked a quick mini photo session and were also able to fit in a few family photos and head shots for mom too! We met up at the rose gardens at the Old Mission Santa Barbara, early in the morning to drink up all that gorgeous California light!

Personal Portrait Session

Stephanie contacted me a few months ago inquiring about a professional head shot photography session. As we conversed a bit about location, wardrobe, lighting and style preferences I realized this was going to be more than just a photography session for work and a LinkedIn bio pic. She shared that she hasn’t really every had a photography session just for herself and wanted to celebrate and document this time in her life. I usually enter into a portrait session as a collaboration and am more than thrilled when a client is ready to do the same. We met up at the Californian Hotel in Santa Barbara late in the day on a hot Sunday afternoon this summer. We walked to different areas in the Funk Zone and the resulting photographs are the product of our collaboration.

* * * * * * * * * * * If you are interested in a personal portrait session I am booking on the weekends through the end of 2024 in Santa Barbara County. You can start the conversation about your individualized photography session through my contact page in the menu or by email denarobles@gmail.com * * * * * * * * * * *

Santa Barbara Family Photographs

This Santa Barbara family hired me to do a High School Senior Session for their youngest son and we rolled in a quick family session too before the eldest son took off across the country to return to college. Time is fleeting folks…it all goes so quickly. What are YOU waiting for?

I met up with the Martz family at the Rose Gardens by the Historic Mission Santa Barbara at 8 AM in order to take advantage of that famous and beautiful ‘California Light.’ If you are a photographer and not from California, you know what I am talking about, magical light like this does not exist elsewhere!

12 Months, 12 Cameras-- Rolleiflex

What is it about vintage film cameras? Is it the build, the artistry (some of them are literal works of art!) the nostalgia, the tactical handling with that unique shutter sound and and the crank of the winder, is it the the aesthetic of the photographs or the fact that they are the ultimate conversation starter? When it comes to the Rolleiflex 2.8…It is yes. YES. All of the above. This is a roll of Kodak Gold 200 I shot as I spent a weekend visiting many of the coffee shops we have at our disposal here in Santa Barbara CA. I love every single one of them. <3

These photographs were captured in Santa Barbara CA in April 2024. I was using a Rolleiflex TLR with Kodak Gold 200. The film was processed and scanned by Indie Film Lab in Montgomery AL, my go to for the best quality film development and scanning!

If you are a photographer visiting or residing in Santa Barbara, I would love to go on a photo walk with you. Send me an email at denarobles@gmail.com

Jack Keough-Santa Barbara & Ventura Musician

I first met Jack Keough early this year when he was playing in Ventura at Twisted on Main. I was immediately pulled in by his voice and mesmerized by his guitar playing. This guy is TALENTED, and so down to earth and sweet on top of it all. I saw him again and found out he plays almost nightly, sometimes even double headers all over Ventura, Camarillo and Santa Barbara. I’m generally pretty in tune with the bands and talent in the 805 and wondered why I hadn’t seen him before. We arranged for a quick 30 minute promotional photo session when he was playing MarMonte Hotel in Santa Barbara at the lovely Costa Bar & Kitchen. Hopefully more and more people will know him by name (and sound!) very soon!

High School Senior & Grad Photos in Santa Barbara

Hey hey hey class of 2025! It’s that time of year again and you’ve probably had your standard yearbook photograph taken. The one where everyone looks the same with just the same lighting and 3/4 turn to the camera. Great.

Let’s talk about capturing the REAL photographs of the REAL you documenting this huge milestone in your life. Chances are, this will be the last professional photograph you will have taken for years, until you get your post university professional head shot or perhaps your wedding photos…

A photography session with me is a simple collaboration between you and I. You choose the locations, the look and the length of session and I will work to put you at ease and make it a fun, painless experience. Come as you are and I will document exactly who you are at this stage of life. No boring fake suit and tie or black ‘dress.’

Sessions range from $150 for a mini session to $350 for full session with set of 20 edited full res digital files. Send me an email to set up your individualized photo session denarobles@gmail.com or inquire through my Contact link.

Maternity Photos in Santa Barbara

Kyra contacted me near the end of her first pregnancy, with a few weeks still to go, we both felt the urge to book a photo session as soon as possible. Her wedding photographs had been captured beautifully on film and so she searched for Santa Barbara based film photographers and found me! It was just the 2 of us and her loyal furry friend for a relaxed, empowering photo session in her home. Her sweet baby arrived only a few days later. I think we both left feeling a little more connected to the inherent power of women and the beauty of motherhood.

Kyra was photographed on film in her Santa Barbara home by Dena Robles using a Contax 645, a Canon 1D using Kodak Portra 400 film and Kodak Tri-x 400 film. Film processed and scanned by Indiefilmlab.com

12 Months 12 Cameras 12 Films

My February roll of film for the 12 Months Challenge was actually not a ‘roll’ of film, but a pack of Instax film shot through my Lomo Instant Square. As far as Instant Cameras go, this has been one of my favorite ones. It prints out a square which is a nice size compared to the mini Instax film and it slots in perfectly with the way we now see everything in squares since the beginning of Instagram. This camera also gives me the best multiple exposure results and the most successful exposure and color outputs of any of the instant film cameras. So for this pack of film I enlisted my ever-ready son to a little trip to Santa Barbara Funk Zone and just let things fall where they may!

12 Months on Film

Over the years, in my professional as well as my personal and creative life I am resigned to the fact that I need to be pushed, motivated, inspired and competitive to DO THE WORK. And that’s okay. It’s also probably why I don’t live on an isolated sparsely populated island. It’s also probably why I will some day seek out that island. :)

Enter a new photography challenge for me. I have bags and shelves and a closet full of vintage film cameras and I need a reason to go through each one and shoot it and decide if it is worth keeping. I also have a freezer and refrigerator full of film. I am psyched to have the framework of shooting a different analog camera and different film every month. For January I chose one of my Holgas and Ilford HP5 b/w film. I took my camera on a walk in my neighborhood and I am happy to share the results here!

Over the last few months, the google algorithms have been working some magic for me. I’ve suddenly been getting new inquiries for photo sessions, weddings and photography classes as well, right here in Santa Barbara. My weekends have been getting booked with all these opportunities and I am so excited to be back in the game after taking an extended break after moving to California. SO. Take a peek at my Classes tab and or my People Gallery and send me a message! Right now I am teaching in-person hands-on camera and photography classes on the weekends in Santa Barbara and I have loved seeing the ‘a-ha’ moments with the people I am teaching and they are producing some great work too!

Newborn Photography in Santa Barbara

Meet baby Finn with his rock star mom and new big brother Sebastian. We decided to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather here in Santa Barbara as well as all the gorgeous California sunshine and landscape. Finn was photographed on the grounds of the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. Finn agreed it was a wonderful place with so much to see…as per usual, normally sleepy babies like to be wide awake during my sessions to take in all the world around them.

Santa Barbara Pregnancy Photos

Clara and I arranged our schedules at the last minute to squeeze in a maternity photo session just before the arrival of her second child. With a 14 year age difference between her first and second babies, this was a very important moment for both her and her teen son. This is an amazing experience for both of them and I was thrilled to help them record it.

---

Clara and Sebastian were photographed at Ellwood Bluffs in Goleta California by Dena Robles. The photographs were captured with Contax 645 on Portra 400 and Hp5 films, processed and scanned by IndieFilmLab.

March Film Project-Lights

Photography is all about the light and sometimes it is hard to break away from relying on the sun to provide my light, glorious light. I don’t own any flash units or light kits right now and the only cameras I have with a built in flash are the Fuji and Lomo Instant cameras. I decided to use those for on-board flash but also play around with neon shop light and available artificial lights on the street. It was fun to take the two teen boys, let them help brainstorm ideas, do some double, triple, splitzer exposures and then hear them exclaim “oh yeah! THAT’S the album cover!”

Before you dive into the funky fujifilm retro goodness ….

This is part of a small blog circle of film-shooting friends and I would love you to click through to Utah family photographer Cami Turpin here. She makes magic every time :)

---

Cameron and Sebastian were photographed on State St. in Santa Barbara California using the Lomo Instant Square camera and Fujifilm Instax Square film.

Ellwood Bluffs Experimental Portraits

Fellow artist Anna Dulaney contacted me about collaborating on a black & white film shoot after seeing the last session I did at Ellwood Bluffs. Even though we brainstormed several different locations, this one felt perfect to explore again. I was in love with the freeing approach we took and I am in love with the results. I am currently scheduling more collaborative sessions on the California central coast. If you are interested, please send me an email! denarobles@gmail.com Let’s see what kind of magic we can create. :)

---

Anna was photographed on Ilford Hp5 on a Holga 120N by Dena Robles at Ellwood Bluffs. These photographs were double and sometimes triple exposed. IndieFilmLab processed the film, pushing one stop and delivered these beautiful scans.

February Film Project-Minimalism

I’ve photographed a lot of color stories in the past, look at my Instagram story highlights ( here ) to see my attention to every color imaginable. Every few years I get on a path of photographing the color white. Since moving to Santa Barbara, with all its white washed stucco and Andalusian style I have wanted to try photographing Black & White, but with color film. So this is my nod to Minimalism. Black and White with a bit of Glorious Green tossed in all on color film. Enjoy!

Amy Berge is a magician in the photography world with her golden Midas Touch. Please see her work ( here ) as we both tried to capture Minimalism this month.

---

These photographs were created with my Hasselblad 500C, using Fuji Reala 100 film and Kodak Ektar film. Processing and scanning by Indiefilmlab. Empty sidewalks courtesy of Covid-19, sigh.

BW Portraits Ellwood Bluffs

India at Ellwood Bluffs, Santa Barbara California. Holga, Ilford HP5 +1 IndieFilmLab

January Film Project-Framed

As we draw close to a full year of pandemic and quarantine I can’t help but feel like I am no longer breathing OR seeing reality. I am breathing through a filter and mask, the air is not free. I am seeing life through windows and imagining life outside the frame of my house. Living in California is both a dream and a nightmare this year. I decided to take on this month’s project of FRAMED to share a little of my life through the viewfinder of my Hasselblad 500c/m. This is the walk from my home to the beach with my son to pick up some surf wax for his skim board, with TWO taco stops sandwiched in the journey. The views are almost tangible, but separate from actual reality. The streets are empty, the shops are shuttered. When I am able to venture outside my home, these views are what I am typically doing…or wishing I was experiencing, more often and with more people. The little twist here is all these views are flipped, feeling just as backward as I do.

Thanks for walking with me. Jolene Redfern is another California photographer who also took on the FRAMED challenge this month-click here to see her work!

Pause

There comes a time of the requirement of re-centering, reevaluating and renewing. Pushing the Pause button, catching my breath. See you again soon.

one person one roll of film-pismo beach

The calendar tells me it the first week of autumn, the warm sun outside tells me it still feels like summer, and by the magic of film that was shot a few months ago and is finally being published today, it is only JUNE. June, I’ll take it any day. Here is my girl India hanging out under the pier at Pismo Beach California. When the calendar said summer, but the cool breezes had her wrapped up in a Turkish towel like it was only spring. :)

---

India was photographed by me at Pismo Beach with a Canon 1V and on Fujifilm. The film was processed and scanned at home…which is why it is 3 months late! haha. PLEASE, go see Washington photographer Charlene Hardy, who is a mastermind at photographing her own children monthly AND processing and scanning her own work in just a few short hours. GOALS.

one person one roll of film summer

I have a little travel-everywhere Pentax K1000 which was loaded with Ilford HP5 film. Sometimes, especially in the summer when the film is black and white, that roll can stay in the camera for ages. I have a 2nd Pentax K1000 loaded with color film too and that one gets used more often. This roll of Hp5 was used up at the beach, but over several different visits, mostly with my beach loving boy. Black and white film grain, sandy skin, wave splashes and ocean misty skies are a delicious combo. I’ll do this summertime black and white more often! Processed by ProPhotoIrvine, scanned (with loads of dust) by me.

---

---

My friend Juliet Schwab has also posted her One Roll One Kid this month and you can see it here : https://www.julietschwab.com/blog/2019/7/29/one-roll-one-kid-july-2019

Downtown Senior Portrait Sessions

This is a session I am very excited about. Even though I have photographed this family many many times over the years, this was the first time I really got to focus alone on Ashton and (hopefully!) photograph him the way he wants to be seen. I love when a person can relax and bring their true self in front of my camera and when that person is also a very talented artist with killer style and great attitude it is even better. Love you!

---

Ashton was photographed in Eastown and downtown Grand Rapids in June 2019 by Dena Robles. The session was captured on Kodak Portra 400 film with a Contax 645 and processed by IndieFilmLab.