Another highly detailed confectionary creation from the Dickens village gingerbread. The main establishment is titled hark the Harrods and one can look at all the details in amazement at the amount of work the architectural firm puts into this Christmas creation. The paper spirals near the top actually spin creating the effect of smoke rising from the chimneys.
This scene is another from the recent mansion Christmas event. This display was done by a local group of ladies involved with the Red Hat Society,and by the looks of their display, having fun is high on their list.
This image of a store display in the small town of Lititz Pa is just one more challenge I set for myself taking photos. I love the various scenes you see around Christmas time in this town and window decorating contests keep shop owners busy at this time of year. The challenge was to capture something half decent,while having to do everything from the sidewalk outside and while the store was closed and dark. Reflections everywhere on the glass from street lamps,traffic and other businesses was my first challenge and trying to light things was my second challenge.
The clocks were lit by flash at various angles through the windows,all the while blocking reflections bouncing toward the camera. A wide-angle used up close allowed me to compose the shot and achieve some balance and allowed me to see several clocks in the store.This was shot at five thirty in the morning so I had time to experiment without bothering anyone.The one thing I wish were different is the dark area in the bottom middle. There were various items piled on the table,which did not look good lit,so I left them in shadow.
Every year a local architectural firm takes a week out of their busy schedule to create a unique gingerbread village of some sort. The display is always incredible,with each employee vying to claim first place. The edible display is always full of humor,intricate design and detail and covers an area approximately ten feet by eight feet.It has scenes inside the buildings,lights, and they are generous enough to allow the public to come view it on certain nights. My good friend Larry is the official photographer for this project and he is gracious enough to allow me to shoot on the night he does his shooting. This little vignette from one corner features a bakery,complete with hot cross buns in the window,queen victorias secret on the corner,baskets of scones and baguettes out front and a sweet old lady out front offering cookies. It has become a holiday treat I look forward to every year.Another combination of flashlight,spotlight,available light.
One more angle of the antique cars at the caboose motel. I could see this printed as a large canvas,which might look more like a painting than a photograph.
Just a pair of reindeer sitting on a table in our home. I photographed the pair in the dark using a pen flashlight. Basically just felt like shooting something and figured this would make a good practice subject.
This is yet another display from the historic mansion Christmas event. This display was created by a local bakery and the tree is adorned in fresh gingerbread ornaments that include snowflakes,trees and ginger bread men. There appeared to be other food items on the tree but I was not exactly sure what everything was.The left window sill features gingerbread houses and various other items round out the composition.The first exposure was done capturing the exterior light and then everything was lit by a hand-held deer spotlight in a very dark room. When you do this technique,you must be careful not to kick or bump anything as you light things or you get registration problems.
This was the only shot I did this year alone in the mansion,which can be a little spooky in the dark as you hear every sound in the old structure. Thankfully the strong smell of gingerbread filled the room and kept my mind from being distracted by noises. If only I would have had a big glass of milk,I might have been able to sample the bakery delights.
This image was one I did last night in my living room. I was in the mood to shoot something,so after noticing our exterior Christmas lights were shining on the curtains,I decided to light paint one of my wife’s flower arrangements. First,let me say we do not have two lamps sitting at our front window,but I decided to bring the second one in for balance. My wife recently bought the lamps from a friend who was moving and they fit nicely in our decor. Normally we like traditional white Christmas lights,but for some reason I decided some blue lights on our bushes would be interesting,but I am not really sold on them yet,but they add a cool look to this shot.
My first exposure was for the window light,which was ten seconds and during that time I turned the lamps on briefly for about 2 seconds. After that I used my spotlight to selectively light the goose,flowers and curtains and the hanging angel ornament.
This is another Christmas display in one of the rooms at the old mansion I mentioned the other day. This display was done by the folks from the Hans Herr House,which is the oldest homestead in Lancaster County and is a registered historic landmark. It is a more natural setting,with no lights on the tree,and basic food related items that harken back to a simpler time. I lit the entire scene with a small hand-held flash with a snoot to direct the light in very small areas. The figure is very life-like kneeling at the tree and helps balance out the composition.
Another image of the old cars parked at the caboose motel.
The Christmas season is one of my favorite times of year,so I look forward to any opportunity that comes along to photograph Christmas related subjects.Homes adorned in festive decor always draw me in for a closer look and memories of times with family gathered together on a cold winters night leave lasting impressions. Wether it is enjoying grandmas cookies or seeing relatives again,Christmas is hard to beat for me. A simple photo like this one can trigger cherished memories from the past and reliving those glory days in one’s mind can be very special.
The scene above is done using a tripod and multiple exposures utilizing my spotlight. It is one of several rooms decorated in an old mansion,which allows visitors to come and enjoy the decorations which are done by volunteers from various groups and individuals in the community and runs for two weekends in early December.The organizers are gracious enough to give me a key and let me come in to shoot anything that catches my eye.This was shot this past saturday long before the sun rose,so we did not have to contend with light shining in the windows. More scenes will come as I work on them. My friend Larry has a shot on his blog from another room. He is listed on my artists I admire section at Lefeverphoto. He chose an extremely tough room and did a stellar job.
This figure kneels at the grave of someone named Pidgeon,who is buried in this magnificent Victorian era cemetery that is full of highly detailed statuary.The only info I could find was that the monument cost $2,350 dollars and shipped in october of 1898. It mentions eight stone cutters,a polisher,a statue cutter,and letter cutter. I shot this in infrared on a sunny day,which turns the foliage a dreamy white. I lit the statue shadow areas to show a bit more detail.
I like to give a little story or background on my photos,but I cant seem to nail down any specifics about who is buried in this mausoleum? I did find out it was built in 1912 at a cost of $9337 dollars,and is blue westerly granite.Shot in infrared with a Nikon D200 and 17-35 wide-angle,which is not so wide on that camera body.
Another image from a local balloon festival.Shot this from my truck roof because you could not even see the farm from road level because of the corn crop. Seven feet higher can make a huge difference. The balloon on the left was asked to go low over the farm by the chase crew after they recognized me from last year and knew to heed my request to get them a great shot. It’s amazing how they follow the same path,because the red balloon had been in the same spot as the nearest balloon minutes before.
This is the mausoleum where Methodist bishop Matthew Simpson is buried.Though based in Philadelphia during the Civil War, Methodist Bishop Matthew Simpson (1811-1884) traveled the country during that time giving speeches in support of the Union, emancipation and President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was thankful for the Bishop’s support.After Lincoln was assassinated he delivered the eulogy at his burial in Springfield, Illinois. At that time few people traveled as widely as Bishop Simpson did and his reports on public opinion were a valuable resource to the President. The mausoleum reminds me a little bit of a miniature church to some degree.
This image is part reality,part imagination. The barn and lamp-post were part of this scene yesterday and they were coated in a light dusting of the seasons first snow. I have always enjoyed the paintings of Thomas Kinkade for their dream like quality and I also like the effect of warmth in a cold setting,so I added some warm light to the scene to invite the viewer into the scene and maybe take a peak in the window of the wood shop to see what the craftsman might be making. The gentleman who owns this barn made the unique doors,which if I recall correctly have a passage from the Bible carved in them. I noticed there are icicle lights on the roof line,but unfortunately they were not lit,so Hopefully we will get more good snows and I will remember to return.
This is another flash light painting exercise where I attempted to bring out the detail in the statue. The sun was shining through the tree,but was basically backlighting everything. I shot the first exposure with the silhouetted statue and sun,and then the sun moved behind the leaves and I started with the flash portion of the shoot.The off camera flash is mounted on a six foot pole for better positioning but the statue is pretty high,so it’s not the perfect lighting scenario.
A thin layer of ice forms on the pond in front of this old barn as the sun rises and starts to warm the day.
This is another example of experimenting with deer spotlights on a subject. Admittedly,I still need more practice to master this technique,but each try proves to be fun. The top photo is no spot light and the bottom is the result of about twenty separate twenty-second exposures at f11 using the spotlight. I used a wireless remote to fire my camera and also use a laptop to review what I did on each exposure to keep track what was lit already and as a reference if I need to shine the light at a different angle for better effect. Doing that also keeps you from touching the camera and creating registration problems. My spotlight has a diffuser and a snoot to keep the camera from being able to see the light source as I stand in the scene. The steamroller has the name Fordson on its radiator grill.
Sun and clouds provide a nice day to shoot infrared.Willow trees are great for this.The whiter areas are where the sun was shining the strongest.I waited till the sun started to illuminate the trees and farm and the field was still in shade from the clouds.
An Amish farmer heads down the lane with a silver tank of some sort, while another farmer in the background heads to his barn with a fresh load of harvested tobacco.
After following this hot air balloon one evening, it finally landed at an Amish farm and these young people came out to see the balloon being packed up.I shot this from across the street with about a 400mm lens as the audience looked up into the balloon. The young men actually happily pitched in to wrap the balloon up and carry it to the trailer.
They asked for so little,but gave so much.More than just friends.This is the epitaph that one pet owner had etched in stone in memory of a beloved cat and dog.I assume the pets are buried here just feet from magnificent mausoleums housing their owners. I was not particularly dazzled by the carving work on the cat,but it may be a hundred years old and simply be weathered. You never know what you might come across in these acres of granite.
Another old car parked at the caboose motel.
This image of the three crosses caught my eye because they were under the canopy of this beautiful tree. This cemetery has numerous grand old trees,many of which I do not know their type.For those looking for photo tips,take note how I framed the tree without overlapping the branches and stones.Picking the right lens for any given situation allows you to visually pull off the shot you envision,and little details like that can be a huge advantage.Here are a few quotes relative to my image. From the Bible,
and Albert Einstein-“Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us, our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life.”
This is another example of adding light to a scene for a different look.The bottom photo is the original and the top is after adding multiple flash pops. I had to anchor the tripod in the creek solidly and then move around with hip waders on while I lit all the areas with a small flash unit on a pole. It’s not perfect but it was raining so I had to rush a bit.I used a wireless remote to fire the camera and use radio popper wireless flash transmitters to fire the flash. I enjoy trying to create something from scratch and encourage others to try new effects.
A calm pond reflects autumn colors contrasting against pine trees and birches.All I need is a moose standing there in the water and I would really be happy.
This pair of images exemplifies what you can do with a small flash,a tripod and a little time. The top image is the result of about 10 different flash pops on separate exposures,all done at various angles to light the subject and bring out the texture. The bottom image is no flash added. This technique would be considered painting with light,which is essentially using a flash like a brush to bring your subject to life . I definitely prefer the top image of the two,because I feel it shows the sculptors work in a way that showcases his talent.Having wireless flash and remote camera firing is a must with this technique so you can move around your subject and operate your gear at a distance.
This old wagon has been sitting by this tree for as long as I can remember,so I finally decided to stop and ask if I can photograph it before it disintegrates to nothing.The ivy growing on the wheel caught my eye initially, so I broke out my spotlight to try a little light painting. There were a lot of things to hide no matter which way I composed the shot,so it’s the best I could manage.
This is one of the first images from a recent photo excursion to the cemetery with a friend,and initially this area caught my eye as the rays of sun spread across the grounds. We parked along a lane and I decided to walk about 30 yards in,which put me in the right spot to see the rays and various light and dark tones. We had an hour drive to get there,and we had no idea the morning was going to be enveloped in fog,so we wish we had left earlier.
Donald Reese Photography 