Neighborhood lights

MarkR · December 10, 2007

(Ok, just fair warning: this is a "Cool Shot" because of the subject, not because of any kind of skill on the part of the photographer.)

I suspect every community has at least one person who doesn't just get excited about Christmas, but goes just a little over the top. These folks start in August, and you can read about them here.

Front of house (looks pretty normal, right?)

Walk around the corner (still not too over the top ...)

Then you look down and see this:

Another view:

Then there's the back yard!

More of the backyard ...

Thanks for looking, and Merry Christmas!

Skippy · December 10, 2007

The Hobbyist wrote:

(Ok, just fair warning: this is a "Cool Shot" because of the subject, not because of any kind of skill on the part of the photographer.)

I suspect every community has at least one person who doesn't just get excited about Christmas, but goes just a little over the top. These folks start in August, and you can read about them here.

Front of house (looks pretty normal, right?)
Walk around the corner (still not too over the top ...)
Then you look down and see this:
Another view:
Then there's the back yard!
More of the backyard ...
Thanks for looking, and Merry Christmas!

Ohhhhhhhh boy they really go overboard don't they

Having snow makes a huge difference to how these decorations come across.

Unfortunately most people miss the Message of what Christmas is all about.
I like the first and the second shots in this series.

Thanks for sharing

.... Skippy

.

Slinky0390 · December 10, 2007

those people are amateurs, there is this one house in the next town over that has to leave the lights up all year round because it took so long to put them up. i still swear they have to call the FAA before turning them on, i could see their house being brighter than nearby airports.

OhEddie · December 10, 2007

Yeah, they may be just a wee bit over the top. You did a good job of showing it too.

I'm glad I'm not paying the light bill.

christopherstudio · December 11, 2007

i think they are scared of the dark!

MarkR · December 12, 2007

Skippy wrote:

Ohhhhhhhh boy they really go overboard don't they
Having snow makes a huge difference to how these decorations come across.

Unfortunately most people miss the Message of what Christmas is all about.
I like the first and the second shots in this series.

Thanks for sharing .... Skippy
.

Interesting, because the first two I did something very different than the other ones. As you can guess, white balancing this was ... a problem. :cry

I eventually stumbled on the following: drop the Vibrancy slider in my raw editor (I used Bibble) to -100%. If I understand how it works, this had the effect of turning everything below a certain saturation level into a black and white, but left the bright colors of the lights alone. The first two shots in my series did this. I dropped the vibrancy on the other shots, but not by as much.

Another thing I learned: shoot RAW if you can, because white balancing a scene like this is ayayyay! If you can't shoot raw, shoot with the white balance set to tungsten. It'll be close.

Finally, I'd like to say that the Coles were very gracious to everyone who came by the house that night. They gave out candy canes to the children and were charming and friendly to everyone who stopped by.

Merry Christmas!

Slinky0390 · December 19, 2007

OhEddie wrote:

Yeah, they may be just a wee bit over the top. You did a good job of showing it too.

I'm glad I'm not paying the light bill.

now that i finally found this thread. this is in my town about 10 mins from my house
2119521964_7e5efbda7f.jpg?v=0

Neighborhood lights

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