phototgraphy fun with holiday lights...

Don’t you love the lights of the holidays? They give a lovely glow and set the mood for the festivities. I am pretty much a white lights kind of girl. I don’t especially like them to flicker or race. I just like the quiet, peaceful look. That is not to say that I don’t appreciate seeing all other kinds at other people’s houses, because I do. We have what our kids call “old school” lights across our roof – the big bulbed multi-colored lights. I would rather have a peaceful white there too but I bow to tradition.

Starry lights
It is possible to get a star effect on holiday lights without using a filter. Set a very small aperture (higher number, I know, I know, SO confusing!). For these photos, I used an aperture of f/22. Because you are using such a narrow aperture, you will need to have a long shutter speed which will mean a long exposure. Your pictures will be blurred if you handhold these shots, so use a tripod or some other steady surface. A table, a chair, a stack of books, a step stool, anything that is flat and steady will do. Obviously, tripods are easier because of the mobility but don’t let the lack of a tripod stop you. Set your camera to aperture priority and set the number to f/22. The camera will figure out how fast to make the shutter speed. Be sure not to use a flash. That will spoil the whole effect. Bracket your exposures, trying different settings. You may have click to make these photos larger to see the star effect.

Even the traffic lights are a lovely Christmas red and green.

Look at the star effect on the lights on top of the armoire. These are just ordinary small white lights.


Crazy lights
The holidays give us lights that we don’t normally have available the rest of the year. It gives us a lot of opportunity to play.
This first image is a shot of the tree in front of our downtown library, taken in a standard way.




















This image uses the zoom technique. For this shot, I had my camera on a tripod and zoomed in and out with my lens while the shutter remained open, again for four seconds. To get your shutter speed slow enough, set a small aperture (remember, larger numbers) and keep a low ISO number (which will also help prevent a lot of grain). I was using a 24-78 zoom on this but any zoom lens would work.




















This is a shot of a front entry. The zoom light effect is from color lights across the roof line and little white lights around the arch and on a small tree.

For this one I twirled the camera while my shutter remained open for 4 seconds. You can see the streaks from the big bulb kind of lights and the smaller white ones.





















Hope you have a chance to play around with holiday lights. You'll never know what you will get.

don't forget...

I know it is a busy, busy time but take those pictures. You will never, ever regret it. Pick up your camera and catch that twinkle, that tradition, that smile, that treat, that candle. Capture it.

a simple Christmas table...

Thanksgiving was wonderful and here it is the first of December. I love this season. I want to enjoy every moment.

I could not resist these plates. They had birds AND music. They called my name for weeks and I ended up buying the last they had in the store. I pictured them on an elegant table but decided to try a more simple approach first.


Canning jar candles, burlap, twine and of course, a few jingle bells.







Lists are made. Some presents have been bought. Others are being made. The weather is colder. The music is playing.

Bring on the season!

For more tablescapes, join Susan and everyone else at Between Naps on the Porch.

shoot the moon...

There is a full moon tonight. Did you know it is a "blue moon"? There are actually two definitions of a blue moon. The more modern definition is the second full moon that occurs during a month. The Farmers' Almanac definition is an extra full moon that occurs during a season. One season normally has three full moons. If a season has four, the third full moon of that season is considered a blue moon. For 2010, the time between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice, will have four full moons. Tonight's is the third so it is called a blue moon.

If you are interested in learning more about photographing the moon, I was a guest writer with the Mortal Muses. You can find my article here.

Even if you don't plan to photograph the moon, take a step outside tonight to enjoy the view. It never gets old.

thinking about Thanksgiving...

Just a quick post tonight. I am playing around with tables, planning for Thanksgiving. It is hard to pick a favorite holiday but Thanksgiving is right up there. It is such a pure holiday for me. It is all about being grateful, spending time with family and the food. Oh, how I love Thanksgiving food!
The pumpkins are resting on slices of a fallen aspen limb.

Playing around with placecards. I don't think this will make the final cut but it got me thinking.

Thank you to Sherry for reminding me last week that I had these plates. I bought them when it was a gazillion degrees out, thinking they would be perfect for fall and maybe Thanksgiving. Apparently, the heat got to me because I had forgotten all about them until I saw Sherry's post.





Our plan is to have Thanksgiving outside. The weather has been perfect so far this month but who knows what next Thursday will bring.

Whatever the weather, we have much to be thankful for.


Join Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for many other tablescapes.

an unexpected visitor for dinner...

We are so happy to be eating outdoors again. The weather is perfect and we enjoy the visitors that join us. My first step was to cut some sage to use on the table. I was completely influenced by this lovely table that Jain shared. I have had this sage but for some reason have never cut some to enjoy on the table. As I was cutting it, there were others who were enjoying it even more.


I just took a little bit to enjoy on the table.



I wasn’t very happy with the light when I first photographed this table. When I decided to try again, I was surprised to see that we had an unexpected visitor. Can you spot her? (hint: look at the top of the flowers in the vase.)





We enjoyed this table after dark.

And during the blue hour.



And you would think this is the end of the story. It isn’t.

I brought in everything off the table except the vase of sage. I decided to leave it outside. Because we sometimes have bobcats that visit, I decided to put the vase on the table that was under the patio roof so it wouldn’t get bothered. Imagine my surprise the next morning to see a hummingbird at the vase enjoying her breakfast. I startled her a bit when I went outside with my camera but soon she was back allowing me to shoot as much as I wanted.
It was as if I set up a photo shoot with a hummingbird; perfect light, perfect distance and even a comfy place to sit. If I had only known it was this easy…


The sage was gathered on Saturday. It is still on the table four days later and the hummingbirds are still enjoying it. I can't get over their tiny little feet!

Please join Susan and the other tablescapers for some lovely tables at Between Naps on the Porch.