'Twas The Night Before Christmas!!!

jeffreaux2

...a candle lit Christmas Eve tradition for my family...

1 before the lights were dimmed...


2 Singing of Hymns.


3


4


5 The lighting of candles begins.


6


7


8


9

Agnieszka

Beautiful! Merry Christmas, Jeff!

Elaine

Lovely! I especially like 1, 6, 9. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

jeffreaux2

Agnieszka wrote:

Beautiful! Merry Christmas, Jeff!

Thanks, and a Merry Christmas to you as well!

jeffreaux2

Elaine wrote:

Lovely! I especially like 1, 6, 9. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Thank you Elaine.

Ya know, I have always held some severe anxiety when doing weddings for the dreadful fear that the couple might want to have a candle lit ceremony. I learned a lot last night about that. Though there are certainly some things you can...and cannot do with a camera and candlelight I actually look forward now to someday having that opportunity....well....at least I wouldn't run from it. I wasn't dissapointed with a single exposure.

Also, I was on the fence about whether to buy a new 5DmkII or a 50D. Still am I guess...but that 17-55 F2.8IS....hmmm ....it proves itself so positively in these situations it is hard to even think about buying into a system that won't allow it's use. I was able, because of the IS and F3.5 aperture, to capture these at ISO800 at shutter speeds in the 1/40 range. That is impressive!....oh! and all hand held!!!

I wish you and yours a special Christmas as well.

Nikolai

Great PJ stuff! Merry Xmas!

Mike J

Nice shots Jeff! I especially like 5 & 6. Merry Christmas and looking forward to seeing more of yout stuff in the new year!

divamum

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I love the range of the occasion/expression that you captured.

And judging by everybody's clothes I'm guessing it's warmed up down there - we're pretty cold, so those short sleeves look positively summery!!!

Hope you are having a lovely Christmas day!

jeffreaux2

Nikolai wrote:

Great PJ stuff! Merry Xmas!

I appreciate that Nik.

I honestly had no idea what I would be able to manage once the majority of the lights were extinguished. I have enjoyed this beautiful candlelit service for many years though and knew what to expect. A photographer friend also showed up with his 20D in hand and asked "what settings should I use?". I told him honestly that I had no idea, that I just hoped I could capture a little of the spirit of the candle lit scene. Realizing that the wide apertures wouldn't lend itself to critically focused scenes I instead opted to throw the focus on forground objects in many of the photos and let the oof backgrounds suggest to the viewer where it was taken and what was going on. I am most satisfied with those photographs where I used that approach...as there was ample light to make that approach work well.

..and to my satisfaction...I did capture what I intended.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas as well!

jeffreaux2

Mike J wrote:

Nice shots Jeff! I especially like 5 & 6. Merry Christmas and looking forward to seeing more of yout stuff in the new year!

Thanks...now lets hope there is some "stuff" from me worth seeing!:D

jeffreaux2

divamum wrote:

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. I love the range of the occasion/expression that you captured.

And judging by everybody's clothes I'm guessing it's warmed up down there - we're pretty cold, so those short sleeves look positively summery!!!

Hope you are having a lovely Christmas day!

Yup...

In the 70's

zoomer

Very nice that you have these family traditions to share with your children.
Thank you for sharing these moments with us.

Shima

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Also, I was on the fence about whether to buy a new 5DmkII or a 50D. Still am I guess...but that 17-55 F2.8IS....hmmm ....it proves itself so positively in these situations it is hard to even think about buying into a system that won't allow it's use. I was able, because of the IS and F3.5 aperture, to capture these at ISO800 at shutter speeds in the 1/40 range. That is impressive!....oh! and all hand held!!!

I miss my 17-55 a little... but I sold it to fund a 35 1.4L... and you can get some really crazy available light stuff with 1.4 and a high but clean ISO on the 5D2

Anyhoo, great shots! Love it. I went to candlelight at my in-laws church (where my father-in-law is the pastor) but they might have thought me a little odd if I started snapping away... so all my holiday photos are at their home instead

jeffreaux2

zoomer wrote:

Very nice that you have these family traditions to share with your children.
Thank you for sharing these moments with us.

Thanks Zoomer!:D

jeffreaux2

Shima wrote:

I miss my 17-55 a little... but I sold it to fund a 35 1.4L... and you can get some really crazy available light stuff with 1.4 and a high but clean ISO on the 5D2

I have agonized over the decision...and still am hesitating to buy. I am thinking a 50D now to become a backup for 5DII later. If I still had my Tamron 28-75 I might just jump ship on crop sensors, but the 17-55 is keeping me there for now.

Anyhoo, great shots! Love it. I went to candlelight at my in-laws church (where my father-in-law is the pastor) but they might have thought me a little odd if I started snapping away... so all my holiday photos are at their home instead

Oh...I got some "looks" from a few people...but no one I recognized

It was a beautiful atmosphere...and always is.

RBrogen

Very nice shots Jeff. I to look forward to seeing more of your work as it is always inspiring.