Stratford Christmas Lights

Happy New Year, everyone! To celebrate the start of 2014, I have one last Christmas-related post for this winter. I had hoped to get this posted before the first of the year, but with my trip at the beginning of this week I wasn't able to get to these photos before last night. So, please bear with me through one more Christmas post, and then it's on to other topics! I've got at least 8 posts queued up already, and more coming!

Last Friday night I headed out around our neighborhood to take photos of my neighbor's Christmas lights. I brought a tripod to do some long exposure shots (although these first three were not taken on a tripod), and brought my daughter along to teach her about long exposure using my Powershot on a smaller tripod (you can see her best photos here). While they didn't all come out as hoped, and we got pretty cold by the end, it was a lot of fun to do! Can't wait to see what my neighbors come up with next year.

Christmas Light Bokeh: Let's make shapes!

 One of my photography-related Christmas presents this year is a Bokeh kit. I've wanted one of these for a while now, but didn't really have any reason for it - that's what Christmas is for! I've posted previously some shots I took using Christmas lights to get that nice bokeh effect, but there's only so much you can do about the shape of the bokeh, as it's based a lot on the sensor for your camera. In order to alter the shape of the lights, you need to place something over the front of the camera lens. You can create your own cut outs in different shapes to alter the light, but I've never really had the patience to do that. So, bring on the kit! It comes with over 20 differently shaped cut outs that I can place over the lens and change the shape of the light. It was then just a matter of finding a subject and the right cut out...and here's what I came up with!

Christmas Light Bokeh

This year is the first time that I've had the physical space, equipment, and time to truly try to capture Christmas light bokeh. For those of you who may not know, "bokeh" is a Japanese term for how the lens renders the out of focus part of a photo - for example, the light in the background. By positioning objects in different locations in the foreground, you can make some very interesting effects! I've had a lot of fun this week experimenting with bokeh, and will have more to share! For now, here are the Christmas-y subjects I used earlier in the week.

All Dressed Up

 About two months ago, we had a neighborhood yard sale and picked up a dress for my daughter. She jumped at the chance to put it on with some makeup for an impromptu photo shoot. I jumped at the chance to have a willing model on which to practice using my external flashes and lights. I love the different looks that I can get just by moving around the lights.

Headshot Practice

Late last spring, I purchased a new studio lighting set. Previously, I had purchased a very basic lighting setup comprised of two lights with umbrellas for shooting through. I've done a couple of boudoir and child shoots with these and I've been happy with how they worked. However, after talking to some photographer friends, reading online, and learning more how to shoot indoors, I felt that the best way to move forward with studio lighting would be with off-camera flash. So, I purchased two higher-power off-camera flashes than the one that I had (a simple Canon Speedlite; the new ones are Yongnuo, and came highly recommended by a couple of photographers I know), and a wireless trigger/sync system to get them off camera. Then it was just a matter of practice! Luckily, my sister was visiting and was willing to sit for me while I figured out the triggering and light placement. For a first try, I think they came out quite well, and I love the effects that I can create with the flashes.

4th of July fireworks

We didn't watch any town-run fireworks this year, choosing instead to set off our own small ones and sparklers. 

The Eiffel Tower After Dark

My girlfriend and I went on a photography expedition (with husband in tow) to get photos of the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. We spent about two hours out in the bitter cold, but it was completely worth it to get these beautiful images.

Portrait idea a la Pinterest

For anyone who has spent any time on Pinterest, you know how easy it is to get sucked down into the ridiculous amount of amazing ideas that abound there, whether it be ideas for craft projects, home decorating, art, photography, recipes...there's just so much. Often when I go there, it's to look for something in specific and then I quickly close the window, as I just don't have the hours and hours to spend there! This post is my take on an idea I saw floating around on both Pinterest and other websites over the holiday season (this photo is just one of many examples that exist of creating the "bokeh" effect, as it's called, with Christmas lights). I thought that with a relatively simple set up (a solid backdrop and some white Christmas lights), I should be able to replicate this idea fairly easily.

Reindeer in Richmond

A week before Christmas, my husband and I spent the night in Richmond so that he could cast his Electoral College vote. While having dinner downtown, we stumbled upon a town light display and I wanted to grab a few pics. Lit deer everywhere!