(Original title: North Pole Without The Snow)
I went over to Melanie’s house last night to shoot some long exposures of their Christmas lights, which made the neighbour kids curious enough to come out and ask me what I was doing. (A shadowy figure with a tripod and glowing LCD screen? A little conspicuous in a cul-de-sac.)
But what I SHOULD have done was bring my digicams with video, because their Christmas lights are all set with timer to music. I set the camera manually to try and capture enough of the lights that were blinking with the Christmas tunes. These are both 15 second exposures at f/11, ISO 800, with a tripod. You can do the same thing with your point-and-shoot digicam, but with some models you might have limited exposure (shutter speed) time. The settings vary between cameras, but you absolutely need a tripod for this. Failing that, something to put your camera on top of, like a mailbox. Plus super steady hands and something like a dishcloth between your camera and the mailbox. And don’t breathe. (See what I mean about needing a tripod?)