Jerry Roberts
By Jerry Roberts of Newsmakers
“I don’t have the patience to fish,” says Mike Eliason, “but I can sit for 90 minutes waiting for the light to be right.”
Eliason, one of Santa Barbara’s most storied photojournalists, dropped by “Newsmakers TV” on Friday to preview his just-published new book (Shoreline Publishing Group) of engaging, remarkable and spectacular images.
“Santa Barbara and Beyond: The Photography of Mike Eliason” is now available in local bookstores and other shops, packed with 160-pages of pictures featuring Mike’s iconic style, most of them captured in and around the county.
A native of Carpinteria, Eliason began shooting the Central Coast while still in high school, and spent 25 years as a newspaper photojournalist before being hired as the Public Information Officer for the county Fire Department, where his images of local disasters, including the Thomas Fire and the Montecito Debris Flow, travel around the world and have been published by countless national and global news organizations from the social media feeds he fills during news events.
In our interview, Mike shows about a dozen of the best images from the book, talks about his long professional career and offers some insights into both the technique and personal values that make him such an extraordinary lensman,
Check out our interview with Mike Eliason via YouTube below or by clicking through this link. The audio version is here.
