The intimate portraits of Sunlight and Water celebrate the romance of wine country, the passion of the vintners, and the artistry of great wine. Sunlight and Water Today Following the wildly successful Los Olivos Meandering Gallery, many of the Sunlight and Water prints remain on exhibition throughout the Santa Barbara region, and into the Los Angeles area. A list of these venues is located on the exhibition page. Signed copies of the Sunlight and Water coffee table book are available for purchase on this website. The book can also be purchased on Amazon, at the prestigious Photo-Eye bookstore, at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art gift shop, and at wineries, bookstores and other locations in wine country. Mr. Halper also offers family portrait sessions on select dates in Santa Ynez, where he and his wife Jennifer are artists in residence at the Baehner Fournier Vineyards. Inquiries are welcome. The Los Olivos Meandering Gallery From August of 2010 to February of 2011 Sunlight and Water transformed eight tasting rooms, a restaurant, and a hotel in downtown Los Olivos into a Meandering Gallery experience showcasing Mark Robert Halper's portraits of Santa Barbara County winemakers. The six month photographic exhibition opened to coincide with the release of the book, Sunlight and Water: Celebrating the Winemakers of Santa Barbara County. There were better than twenty wine and art related events featuring Sunlight and Water that were part of the era of the Los Olivos Meandering Gallery. Many of these events raised money for local charities, including the opening event, benefiting the Valley Foundation, and the closing event, which was in support of Return to Freedom. Sunlight and Water in the press: Santa Barbara Magazine 805 Living The Santa Barbara News-Press The Santa Barbara Independent The Montecito Journal Broughton Quarterly         Stay informed about Sunlight and Water and receive special offers: Email Name We don't ever share or sell your contact information.               This website always evolving. Please return as we add additional content, events, and information.

SUNLIGHT AND WATER. IN AUGUST OF 2009 MARK ROBERT HALPER SET OUT ON A PERSONAL PROJECT TO CREATE A SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY WINEMAKERS. THE INTENT OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS WAS TO BUILD A BODY OF WORK THAT WOULD DEEPEN MR. HALPER'S PHOTOGRAPHIC ABILITIES, CHALLENGE HIM, AND PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CREATIVE GROWTH AS A FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER. IN ALL, SUNLIGHT AND WATER CONSISTS OF FOUR VISITS TO THE SANTA BARBARA AREA, INCLUDING SOLVANG, LOS OLIVOS, BUELLTON, SANTA YNEZ, BALLARD, LOMPOC, SANTA MARIA, SANTA BARBARA, AND THE OTHER AREAS IN THE SANTA BARBARA WINE COUNTRY. DURING THE PROCESS OF CREATING THE SUNLIGHT AND WATER IMAGERY, MR. HALPER BEGAN TO ENVISION TRANSFORMING THE SMALL WINE-CENTRIC DOWNTOWN OF LOS OLIVOS INTO A KIND OF MEANDERING GALLERY SHOWCASING MR. HALPER'S FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY. THE CONCEPT WAS TO SPREAD THE FULL SERIES OF WHAT WOULD BECOME ONE HUNDRED AND TEN WINEMAKER PORTRAITS AMOUNG TEN VENUES IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA TURNING SUNLIGHT AND WATER INTO AN EXPERIENCE OF GREAT WINE, OUTSTANDING FOOD, AND OF COURSE FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY. THIS WAS AN EXPANSION ON THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT WHICH WAS SIMPLY TO PUBLISH A BOOK - NOW ENTITLED SUNLIGHT AND WATER: CELEBRATING THE WINEMAKERS OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY - AND TO PERHAPS HAVE AN ART EXHIBITION OF SOME KIND. IN FACT, THE RESPONSE TO THE SUNLIGHT AND WATER PHOTOGRAPHY WAS SO STRONG, THAT AN EXHIBITION OF THE FIRST SERIES OF WORK FROM AUGUST OF 2009 WAS ARRANGED ONLY FIVE DAYS AFTER IT WAS COMPLETED WHEN MR. HALPER'S WIFE, JENNIFER HALPER, SHOWED THE WORK TO HER FRIEND AND THE OWNER OF CHEZ MELANGE RESTAURANT IN REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA. IN ALL, IMAGES FOR THE ART PROJECT WERE CREATED DURING FOUR FIVE DAY TRIPS TO THE AREA, IN AUGUST OF 2009, IN OCTOBER OF 2009, IN DECEMBER OF 2009, AND IN FEBRUARY OF 2010. AS THE SUNLIGHT AND WATER OPENING ON AUGUST 14, 2010 APPROACHES, ADDITIONAL EVENTS FEATURING THE WINEMAKERS DEPICTED IN THIS PORTRAIT SERIES ARE BEING SCHEDULED, THE BOOK IS BEING PRINTED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO COINCIDE WITH THE OPENING OF THE LOS OLIVOS MEANDERING GALLERY, FINE ART PRINTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON THE SUNLIGHT AND WATER WEBSITE AT SUNLIGHTANDWATER.COM, LISTS OF HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS TO RECOMMEND ARE BEING COMPILED AND PRESENTED ON THE WEBSITE. MARK ROBERT HALPER IS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR COMMERCIAL AND FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHIC PROJECTS, AND HAS BETTER THAN TWENTY YEARS EXPERIENCE AT WORKING WITH A VARIETY OF CLIENTS TO PRODUCE OUTSTANDING IMAGERY. IT WOULD BE AN HONOR FOR US TO WORK WITH YOUR FAMILY TO CREATE AN OUTSTANDING FAMILY PORTRAIT FOR YOUR FAMILY THAT WILL STAND THE TEST OF TIME AND LIVE IN YOUR HOME FOR YEARS TO COME AS A PIECE OF FINE ART. IF YOU ARE READING THIS THEN YOU OUGHT TO KNOW THAT THE REASON THIS TEXT EXISTS IS TO HELP INSURE THAT VARIOUS WEB DIRECTORIES ARE ABLE TO PROPERLY LOCATE THIS WEB PAGE WHEN THE TERM SUNLIGHT AND WATER IS USED IN A SEARCH. WHILE ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS TRUE, THE BEST WAY TO LEARN ABOUT SUNLIGHT AND WATER IS TO EXPLORE THE WEBSITE. SUNLIGHT AND WATER.