Christmas lights
I cannot help but feel a part of the Pacific Grove Holiday Light Parade because the staging of it takes place right on my street right in front of my house! So all I have to do is walk out my front door to see the start of the parade action. I took my camera along the route entrance to get some unique views, as well as up top from a bird’s eye viewpoint.
Read MoreGoing and strolling around Christmas lights displays is not really fun or entertaining for me, unless I bring my camera and a large aperture lens, in this case my new Sony 50mm f/1.2 G Master, the largest aperture lens I have ever owned. I personally think Christmas lights look better in photos out of focus, so that the frame is nearly entirely bokeh. I purposefully tried to make the photos out of focus to get the most bokeh in every shot and highlight the color and shape of the lights. Which one is your favorite?
Read MoreOne of the annual holiday traditions in Albuquerque is the River of Lights at the ABQ BioPark, which is a vast Christmas lights display. I went back in 2018 with a 50mm lens and photographed dinosaurs, a sleepy cowboy, and all sorts of flora and fauna. WIth Covid-19, the usual crowded light viewing experience is not possible, so the park shared some of its illuminated creations with store fronts in the Nob Hill area of Albuquerque. This is why the T-Rex now stalks freely in the city, horny toads eat plants in consignment shops, and a train crosses right over Central Ave.
Read MoreOne of my own personal favorite photos of all time that I made involved Christmas lights. These shots are quite different from that one, but one thing remains, I like Christmas lights out of focus better than in focus! Strings of lights make are an excellent opportunity to test out the bokeh quality of a lens, and my new Sigma 50mm f/1.4 ART lens impressed me with roundness of the light circles due to its 9-blade design. I took the lens mounted on to my Sony a7R IV on a stroll around Old Town Albuquerque during the annual tree lighting event, but the tree itself was not interesting to me to photograph. Much more interesting were these hidden shots I found around small stores and down old alleyways. Scroll down for a top photo tip!
Read MoreI have been to a fair few holiday Christmas light displays, but never one quite like what the ABQ BIoPark puts on with its River of Lights. This is not just a bunch of lights strung up on trees. These are lights come to life in the form of dinosaurs, zebras, and much more!
Read MoreMy second time photographing the annual Twinkle Light Parade in the Nob Hill neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Various types of vehicles adorned in a variety of twinkling Christmas lights slowly drive down Route 66 (aka Central Ave) to the delight of thousands of on-lookers. The usual favorites like Rudolph and The Grinch are always present, along with some twists like Mr. Potato Head and Darth Vader!
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Holiday photo card portrait with three sisters wrapped in Christmas lights - Nikon D4 Nikkor 24-70mm @ f/5.6 ISO 100 2.5 sec tripod mounted - Strobist: SB-800 in 43" brolly frame rightLong time DSLR photography student Stacy invited me to her home to photograph her daughters for their family Christmas card. She said I could bring Kiki along as well (more about this below). This was an unusual shoot as Stacy worked with me to learn how to make portraits and I used much of her own photography gear (note the use of a Nikon D4 for all these shots!). I had shown her my wedding couple wrapped in Christmas lights shot before, which we did with the three sisters for the above image.
Christmas Photo Card portrait three sisters in front of their Christmas Tree - Nikon D4 Nikkor 24-70m @ f/4 ISO 100 1/200th - Strobist: SB-900 to frame right in 43" brollyWhen editing this black & white image I wanted mainly the lights of the tree to be visible in the background framing the girls.
Smiling in front of Christmas tree bokeh for holiday portrait in Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D4 Nikkor 70-200mm with 2x teleconverter @ f/5.6 ISO 6400 1/60th - natural lightUsing the new 2x teleconverter Stacy recently got, I took advantage of an effective 400mm focal length to create extreme bokeh in the background of the above shot of the same Christmas tree lights used in the B&W shot.
Holiday Photo Card Portrait before the fireplace in Florida - Nikon D4 Nikkor 24-70mm @ f/6.3 ISO 100 1/4th tripod mounted - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-900 to frame rightA more formal shot before the lit fireplace, which made things pretty hot for the girls, but throughout our shoot they were great and knew how to get into proper positions unprompted! It was like working with professional models!
In all the shots Kiki was lying near the girls! It was my first time to bring her on a portrait shoot. Now when I try to photograph Kiki she is never happy about it and ends up looking like a sad puppy (see here). However, she was all too willing to get into every photo with the girls and smile! For the piano shot we let a sleeping dog lie and framed the portrait around her. She just wanted to participate and be involved!
It was a fun shoot and a chance for me to try a few new things shooting inside someone's home, as I most often shoot outside on location. I look forward to seeing the photos in print on Stacy's family Christmas card!
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