santa barbara film photographer

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

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 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!

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.

One Person One Roll of Film January

My story goes like this, I learned to shoot film in my college Commercial Art program. I shot film for ten years, dropped and broke my beloved camera and bought a new-fangled digital camera. Canon 10D was the groundbreaking diggity-bomb at the time. So I shot digital for 10 years. Not much to say on that…it is what it is, always. Lacking the joy and artistry that I experienced when shooting analog I picked up film again just before my youngest was born. He’s almost 12. As a result, he has grown up in front of my too-many-to-count film cameras. I’ve been shooting One Roll, One Person with him since he was born. I love the compact snippet of 12 or so frames at a time to mark his childhood. No pressure, no planning, come as you are, show me who you are at THIS MOMENT. So here he is, 11 and a half, desperate to be taller than me, anxious to get on with Junior High, all about the friend group, memes, the skater style and no cheese ever (at least in my photographs, he is a well-trained little portrait machine.) On this day he was helping me test my ancient rusty Yashica Mat 124G, and this was the first roll I had run through this camera. Kodak Tri-x400. Always a winner for me.

As I have moved through my different photography journeys, first college, then online forums, to Facebook groups and Instagram pods, coffee shops and gallery shows, I have continued to build communities and relationships with other artists.

Charlene Hardy is a gorgeous example of One Roll, One Person with her own children. Click here to enjoy this Washington based portrait artist.

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Santa Barbara CA film portrait photography
Santa Barbara black and white film portrait photography

One Person, One Roll of Film is one of my favorite sessions to offer. You can find more information on these fun and fast sessions on my Info tab on my website here.

My Favorite November Person

My favorite part of November is celebrating this girl of mine. India is turning 17 later this week and is off on a solo trip to Michigan to spend the week with dearly missed friends! I love her so. I don’t want to let her go. anywhere. ever. But let’s be honest…we’d probably strangle each other at some point. So there will always be those steps of ‘letting her go.’ Having a daughter is one of the greatest gifts in life. Happy Birthday India! No, you still can’t get a cat.

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