Christmas in The City: Philadelphia

Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks.

Dressed in holiday style

In the air

There's a feeling

of Christmas

RiverRink, Penn's Landing, Philadelphia, PA

Children laughing

People passing

Meeting smile after smile

and on every street corner you'll hear

Sharing is Caring, City Hall, Philadelphia, PA

Silver bells, silver bells

It's Christmas time in the city

Ring-a-ling, hear them sing

Soon it will be Christmas day

City Hall, Philadelphia, PA

Strings of street lights

Even stop lights

Blink a bright red and green

As the shoppers rush

home with their treasures

Christmas Village at Love Park, Philadelphia, PA

Hear the snow crunch

See the kids bunch

This is Santa's big scene

And above all this bustle

You'll hear

Macy's, Philadelphia, PA

Silver bells, silver bells

It's Christmas time in the city

Ring-a-ling, hear them sing

Soon it will be Christmas day 


Comcast Center, Philadelphia, PA

The Party's Here! Where I am linking these days.

            

 My blog posts to my facebook page:  

Festive

I used a 4 pt star filter with this shot.

Playing with the Christmas Lights

For me it is Christmas lights,  

but any lights will work!
Here are some things you can do with lights.

You can make lights seem to twinkle
by using a higher aperture setting.

f25, ISO 400, 30sec on tripod 

If you can attach a filter to your lens,
try using a star filter for this effect.


 
f 2.8 ISO 1250, 1/60 sec on tripod 
using a 4pt star filter 

Below is an outdoor tree  

covered in blue lights.
If you have a zoom lens you can do this one. 

My camera was on a tripod, 

I selected a slow shutter speed  

and turned the zoom on my camera while  

the shutter was open.  

1/6 sec, ISO 100, f2.8 on tripod
rotating zoom.

And of course, everyone's favorite these days...

bokeh!
The out of focus lights in the background create bokeh.
Use a wide aperture
and add distance between your subject and the lights.

f1.8, ISO 640, 1/200


Do you have any tips for shooting lights?
Please share them,
I'd like to try something new! 

Christmas Light Extravaganza

Just around the corner from my home 

is a neighbor who goes all out for Christmas! 

Located on Butler Pike right at the 

Ambler Exit of Rt. 309 - 

You'll likely find a traffic jam 

of light seekers! 

For those of you who can't make it in person... 

here's a glimpse!

Yes, even Santa stops in for a visit...

My First Camera

 

Today, it sits on a shelf.