Holiday lights

I finally had a nice relaxing weekend. We actually woke up to a dusting of snow and a feeling more like Christmas.

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I think John was trying to keep me out of the house on Saturday so I wouldn’t log into work πŸ˜€ Β We went out doing a little window shopping at noncrowded stores (antique stores and little boutiques) and some lunch at a new local restaurant called Jam ‘n Eggs.

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Eggs benedict. Pretty good, not great. The service was excellent, though.

Festive deer. They are happy hunting season is over now.

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I also had time to play with my camera. I was practicing with the bokeh effect, which is where you have a focal point and blurred background, which makes the lights look very pretty:

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Then I cut some cardboard with a little heart shape on it to go over the lens to make the lights have a shape:

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I don’t have a fixed lens so it gives it a bit of a fish eye, but still pretty cool!

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We took my parents out driving around looking at lights. Is that called light peeping? Β πŸ˜€ Β Some people have the most amazing displays.

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That was just one house. I can’t imagine their light bill! The nice thing is that they have a box to collect canned food for the senior center. They get a lot of traffic, so I imagine they collect a lot.

Then there was this house, which we have been to before. You can walk around their property. They have interactive stuff and light shows set to music.

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John and Mama Radiance:

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It was chilly and windy and now it feels like mid to late December! However, we are going to be back in the 50s this week and so there will be a little more riding!

16 thoughts on “Holiday lights

    1. Lori Post author

      It is really weird how you can take a picture through that tiny hole in the paper and it still comes out πŸ˜€

  1. Susan

    You have mad photo
    taking skills! I so
    admire them.
    It is very warm all over
    for this time of year.
    I think we skipped fall,
    winter down here went
    straight back to spring.
    I still have roses blooming
    which is unheard of at this time
    of the year.
    I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

    1. Lori Post author

      It’s a lot of trial and error with photography. That’s the great thing about digital is that it doesn’t cost money to try and make mistakes πŸ˜€

  2. Helen

    Glad to hear you had a relaxing weekend – you deserve it! I always wonder about crazy lightshow electric bills as well, especially after I just heard on the news that incandescent lights on a 7 foot Christmas tree costs about $10 if you have it displayed for a few hours each day for 30 days. Crazy! But I love my tree so until I get LED, $10 well spent.

    1. Lori Post author

      It’s a cool effect. If I had a different lens, it would be easier because the shape had to be really small to work with the lens I have.

  3. Jody - Fit at 57

    I love how you did that heart thing!!!!!!! Beautiful!

    I love looking at lights & we watch the competition shows on TV – amazing! One neighborhood in Hawaii used solar panels & so no bill!!! We have a couple streets in our area that do the street thing.

    So crazy that you are going o be able to ride outside!!!!! YAHOO!

  4. Fran

    The lights are lovely everywhere.

    I am still learning my new camera, it has a lot of possibilities and I still have to read the manual. But I do love it although I have to get used to carry it with me on my walks. At that point the phone was easier.

    1. Lori Post author

      I found the manual not a lot of help, but maybe that is Canon πŸ˜€ Just trial and error for the most part. It is heavier, though. I find taking it along on hikes is a bit cumbersome but the shots make it worth it.

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