Saturday, October 22, 2011

Rancho del Eliseo-a Very Unique Residence in Bonny Doon

























I recently had the opportunity to shoot a very unusual real estate listing: a lovely house located in the mountains near Santa Cruz, CA. The house is situated in the middle of approximately 150 acres, about half forest and half ranch land. In addition to the house, there were llamas and barns, 2 guest houses, and a small lumber mill, as well as hiking trails through the forest. I shot the property over 4.5 days. One of the challenges of this shoot was fog, which is common on the California coast from around Santa Barbara on up. While the fog tends to recede out to sea during the middle of the day, it can remain within view out over the ocean, and even over the shoreline, throughout the day. For this property, views of the shoreline and the ocean were essential, and the fog can be unpredictable, which necessitated more trips to the property than might otherwise have been necessary. I was never able to get a completely fog-free view when the light was right for a westward looking shot, but fortunately the property owner had a nice shot which met this criteria (taken from the ranch portion of the property above the house, showing open fields and grazing llamas, with the ocean in the background). Also, the fog provided some nice atmospheric views as it rolled in or receded. Here is the website for the listing: www.ranchodeleliseo.com. Wouldn't it be nice if all shoots could be like this? I wish I had more time to enjoy just being there, but I was shooting pretty constantly. My clients wanted a large number of shots to cover the breadth of the property's features, as well as to convey the ambiance of the location, which included showing the nearby beach.

The listing is a group effort of the Zane MacGregor brokerage in Palo Alto, CA.

1 comment:

  1. Very nice images and property. You captured the feel of the modern home and the beauty of the nature.

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