Having fun with Christmas Lights. I enjoy going around and looking at all the displays of lights up this time of year. I always take my camera and try to capture the mood it gives me. It is my way of getting in the Christmas spirit a little more. I have a couple of ideas and tips for you to try if you would like to do so.

You have two options when it comes to exposure. You can either shoot at a low ISO and use a tripod or a higher ISO and utilize the Vibration Compensation of the lens. When deciding on an f-stop, depth of field isn�t as big a consideration to me, but instead a star burst or not. A low f-stop will give you circular highlights vs using a high f-stop and going for star burst. I carry a tripod with me just in case I can�t get a decent shutter speed to hand hold, even with a high ISO (3200). Another thing I like to do is when I see an object like a lighted train display I will do a longer exposure, preferably around 10 seconds and �pan� the camera for the last 2 or 3 seconds. This gives the feeling of movement and makes it a little different.

City and County Governments usually put up a nice display each year. Botanical Gardens seem to have the best ones in my opinion. Don�t forget to just drive around the neighborhoods and get some different things as well. I find that Shopping Malls tend to run you off too often when trying to photograph anything within their borders�oh well. That is another reason to take advantage of all the great Tamron Rebates with Joel at Camera Land. When you call you can ask for Joel of course or Mark and Jeff who have been posting a lot here on the forum. And don�t forget to let them know you are a member of the Campfire, it is more important than being naughty or nice! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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Great photography is not about being in the right place at the right time, it is about putting yourself in the right place at the right time.