View from the Tower. Santa Barbara, July 2008.

Court's tower in Santa Barbara is accessible every day until 5 p.m. From there one can get a better perspective over the town's setting on a thin strech of land between the Pacific and Santa Ynez Mountains. It's too bad they close before the sunstet!

Friday Night. Santa Barbara, July 2008.

Shiny cars, music, crowded sidewalks, people going to and from bars, clubs, discos, restaurants, I barely can set up the tripod. It's friday night in Santa Barbara.

Santa Barbara Harbour. July 2008.

The sun sets behind the Santa Ynez Mountains overlooking Santa Barbara harbour.

Beach at Night. Santa Barbara, USA. July 2008.

Lit by the low pressure sodium lamps, beach sand looks much like the Sahara Desert seen from the plane: vast landscape of dunes, ergs and rocks.

Specimen #3. Santa Barbara, CA. July 2008.

Tangled seaweed, deserted algan body, left in the sun to dry out and die. This plant had no luck. I was, on the other hand, lucky enough to be walking by just to take a picture of it. Lying on the sand as it is, it reminds me of a meal, like a sophisticated pasta or an exotic salad.

Santa Barbara Mission, Santa Barbara, CA. July 2008.

Evening walk with the white wine in a super-sized McDonald's beverage cup. Sun is setting. Colors get faint. The cup gets emptier. The mission was founded in 1786, to evangelize the local tribe of Native American Chumash people. Nowadays: place of worship, gift shop and the museum.

Specimen #2. Santa Barbara, CA. July 2008.

The ocean is full of things man wandering along the shore will never see. This is not one of those: sponge-like, orange tangle from another world, thrown out from it's natural environment.

Palm Trees. Santa Barbara, CA. July 2008.

What is it about the palm trees? Wherever I go, they catch my attention. As if they were from another world. We don't have palm trees in Poland. A few in Europe. I've seen some. Palm trees in the desert. Palm trees by the beach. There's no place where the palm trees grow that I don't like. What it's all about?

Specimen #1. Santa Barbara, CA. July 2008.

As I wander, I find this specimen. It reminds me of a picture in a dinosaur book. One of the earliest creatures, fossilized, so similar to a bird. Seagull with no luck.

View from the balcony. Santa Barbara, USA. July 2008.

My search for the long gone tribe of the Hippies brought me here, to the land of palm trees, yuccas, aloes, agaves and organic food. Preparing to present this land's culture to you, I spend a lot of time sitting on the balcony, reading books, searching for a job and enjoying the view.

Chicago as seen from the Sears Tower. USA, June 2008.

Constructed in the early 70's and measuring 442 meters (increased to 520 meters by two TV antennas mounted on the roof in 1982) the Sears Tower was one of the tallest buildings on Earth. Recently it was outran by the Dubai Tower, which is still under construction.

From the Sky Deck, one can see as far as 25 miles in each direction (depending on the weather). Unfortunatly, the only way to capture those breathtaking views is through the window. It's not that bad on the other hand - after all Chicago is called The Windy City for a reason.