LAGUNA HILLS : Stadiums Are a Hit With Photographer

Barry Howe has been to the steep slopes of Mt. Everest, the bluffs of the Grand Canyon, and the Egyptian desert in search of the most breathtaking photograph.

But after traveling around the globe for 20 years, the 54-yera-old photographer said he’s found the best place for photos is right here in the United States at the country’s major league baseball stadiums.

It took him two years, but he eventually got his 1950s-era Deardorff camera to every stadium. For $45, he’ll frame a stadium photo with a brief history of the ballpark. For $3,000 to $4,000, he’ll blow up the best photos--such as the wide-angle view of a packed Dodger Stadium from high above home plate--into a 6-by-10-foot wall photograph.

His photomurals grace the walls of the homes of famous clients from the Hollywood Hills to high-society New England. His Dodger Stadium shot was chosen as the cover of the 1988 World Series program.

“Not only do I have fun shooting the photos, but it’s exciting each time driving to the lab to find out exactly what I got,” said Howe as he tinkered with photo transparencies while he prepared photos to sell at the Nov. 11-13 Harvest Festival at Anaheim Convention Center. “I’m like an amateur going to the store to pick up vacation pictures.”

After shooting stadiums--full and empty, inside and out--the lifelong baseball fan has an opinion of every one. But he said he can’t decide where he feels the most at home.

“Dodger Stadium is the most beautiful, with the mountains and city behind it,” Howe said. “But the Skydome in Toronto is definitely 21st Century.

“But the best baseball experience? That’s Fenway Park in Boston.”