"Blue, Blue Christmas"

[Sony A700 | CZ 16-18 | 16mm | f8 | 2 sec | ISO 640 | 3 images, tonemapped]

I like looking at Christmas lights.  I like looking at Christmas lights, a lot!  That’s why driving to Medicine Park to see the lights on Christmas night 2011, made sense and felt “right”.  It had been a good day, because it was, after all, Christmas Day!  A lot has to be overlooked on this day, just because; just because.  And that’s why standing in a light rain on a winter night taking pictures of Christmas lights is an okay thing to do.  And I wasn’t the only one, either.  It was surprising the number of people who showed up just as I did to capture a few quick shots for scrapbooks and memories.  Most were only brief moments, quick dashes, and hurried poses.  And then, there I was, smiling and remembering times gone by while waiting patiently, camera on tripod, for a less hurried appreciation.  Oh, Cristmas lights, Oh Christmas lights, how brightly you do shine!

Herbie

Christmas Lights Reflect in the waters of Bath Lake

It was earlier in December when I visited Medicine Park for my first attempt at capturing their Christmas Spirit though their Christmas Light displays.  My plan was to use the high dynamic range (HDR) technique to capture the emotions I feel when viewing the display of lights around Bath Lake.  I thought I had a good plan, but as it turned out, it wasn’t good enough.

It was well past sunset when I turned off Hwy. 49, and toward Medicine Park.  The sky was black since the “new moon” was two nights past, and the thin slice of  the current moon was setting in the astronomical twilight, and having no effect, at all.  I thought this would be a great time for making good HDR images of the lights.  The Christmas Light displays did not disappoint.  I spent the next 2 1/2 hours in a fantasy frame of mind moving back and forth on the walkway that runs along the east bank of Medicine Creek.  A wedding reception was taking place at the same time at the Medicine Park Music Hall.  The cold, but calm, night air was filled with the music from the band, the laughter of people having a good time, and the sound of water, reflecting the many colors of light, pouring over the falls of Bath Lake.  It was a magical night and I was having a great time!  However, my resulting images weren’t what I was hoping for.

While HDR is a much better way to approach the capturing of Christmas Lights and the magical feelings they cause to rise within me, the lights in a pitch black darkness are a problem.  I believe my results would have been much better if I had been earlier and was able to benefit from the illumination from the sky at civil, or even nautical twilight.  Also, a sky illuminated by a full, or almost full, moon would help a lot.