Christmas lights are so beautiful... but, as you will see, they can be notoriously tricky to shoot - even for a photographer with over 12 years of experience under her belt!
The image on the left is one that I felt at the time that I'd stuffed up because of the fact that I required my flash to shoot the shot - and if you glance at the lights on the tree in the background, they do look slightly blurred at first glance - however, I saved the shot and bought it home with me.
I soon found out that the shot actually looks much better with a little stretch applied to it than it did at the point that it was actually shot from.
The image on the left is one that I felt at the time that I'd stuffed up because of the fact that I required my flash to shoot the shot - and if you glance at the lights on the tree in the background, they do look slightly blurred at first glance - however, I saved the shot and bought it home with me.
I soon found out that the shot actually looks much better with a little stretch applied to it than it did at the point that it was actually shot from.
It was so cold that even the sheep were blue!
The downside of winter photography is that it is so cold... as the face of these poor sheep demonstrates!
a rare find!
Looking at Christmas lights has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. Sadly, as the years wore on, the numbers of us going gradually diminished as some people passed away and others decided that they were "too grown up" to carry on looking at lights - so, it's just me and mum now, though I'm not sure how much longer that will be for.
The traditional nativity is something of a rare find in light displays over here and I found this one while looking round a display that someone had set up to raise funds for a charity.
The traditional nativity is something of a rare find in light displays over here and I found this one while looking round a display that someone had set up to raise funds for a charity.
They really pushed the boat out!
This is just a rough idea of the scale that this household went to... though even that isn't accurate because there are more lights behind the hedge that can't be seen from this angle
Honey, i froze the kid!
"Frosty" here, was strategically placed so that his outstretched arm pointed to the letterbox where visitors were requested to insert their donations to the charity that the household were raising funds for.
From a distance (and without flash), this snowman really did look like a young child - especially in the gloom of the overhang that it was positioned in.
From a distance (and without flash), this snowman really did look like a young child - especially in the gloom of the overhang that it was positioned in.
The 3 not so wise men...
Considering that I was cold wearing several layers of clothing, I'm going to guess that it would have been even colder for these wise men!
A trip to the zoo... At Christmas!
Showing my pictures off after the event, this giraffe attracted many comments since it's not something that would typically be associated with Christmas or even the festive period as a whole.
The reason why this shot looks rather dark is because the lights within the ornament weren't all that bright themselves... and when I attempted the same shot with my flash enabled, it looked like the ornament wasn't even switched on
The reason why this shot looks rather dark is because the lights within the ornament weren't all that bright themselves... and when I attempted the same shot with my flash enabled, it looked like the ornament wasn't even switched on
The reason for the season!
No good nativity is complete without the all important couple and their baby son!
Jack Frost
This snowman attracted my interest because of the design of it more than anything else.
I loved the way that it looks like it has been weaved together out of wicker.
I loved the way that it looks like it has been weaved together out of wicker.
Rudolph
If there was one thing that didn't really do it for me when it came to this light display, it had to be this reindeer. As much as I hate saying anything negative about something where so much work has clearly gone into building a great light display, I felt that the thing that let this one down was the scaling of the sleigh in comparison to the scaling of the reindeer.
Another shot of the scale...
Initially, this is a shot that I had planned on scrapping at first glance... but, on looking at it again, I got to thinking about what it could be?
Obviously, looking at it with the mind of an adult, we can tell that it is a poorly shot image of a Christmas light display... but, in the mind of a child, it could just as equally be Hansel and Gretel's house deep in the woods
Obviously, looking at it with the mind of an adult, we can tell that it is a poorly shot image of a Christmas light display... but, in the mind of a child, it could just as equally be Hansel and Gretel's house deep in the woods
Grazing deer
This grazing deer was one of my favourite pieces of the light display... not because there is something remarkable about it, after all, it's a pretty basic deer ornament. To understand why I liked it so much, you have to know a little about the local area.
A few miles away from me is a stately home, and in the grounds of this home, a herd of deer are kept. Growing up as a child, we were often taken to see the deer... but I know that not many children were as fortunate as we were.
To me, this deer ornament symbolises a chance for children to see a deer in as close to it's natural environment as it's possible to get on a small housing estate.
A few miles away from me is a stately home, and in the grounds of this home, a herd of deer are kept. Growing up as a child, we were often taken to see the deer... but I know that not many children were as fortunate as we were.
To me, this deer ornament symbolises a chance for children to see a deer in as close to it's natural environment as it's possible to get on a small housing estate.
a better shot of the giraffe from earlier...
A close up of the reindeer from earlier...
This is the shot in which I feel that the disproportions in size between the animal and the sleigh become more apparent..
Led bulbs aren't the easiest to shoot!
One of my most disliked things to shoot are these new LED bulbs... and the reason for that is the fact that they always seem to make the shot look blurred - no matter how careful you are or how steady you hold the camera.
As you can tell by looking in the background, the shot isn't blurred at all, so the lights are the only thing that i can put the blurring down to.
As you can tell by looking in the background, the shot isn't blurred at all, so the lights are the only thing that i can put the blurring down to.
down the unlit lane
This tricky shot of a Christmas Tree was well worth freezing half to death for because it gave me a chance to practice getting a shot with my zoom on.
I believe that this was the third picture that I shot of this scene, with the other two being unusable because of blurring as a result of my shivering too hard as I hit the shutter button.
I believe that this was the third picture that I shot of this scene, with the other two being unusable because of blurring as a result of my shivering too hard as I hit the shutter button.
the golf club
Though I don't play golf myself, the lights from this golf club are pretty hard to miss at night... especially when you are driving down an unlit road with these off to the side of the road.
keeping it local
With my step dad poorly in hospital and mum needing a break from the endless hospital visits, we kept it local one year so that mum could have a break and still drop me back home quickly and easily if the call to come back to hospital came.
Of all the shots I was able to get that night, I think that these were my most creative.
Of all the shots I was able to get that night, I think that these were my most creative.