Last Saturday I decided to try to capture the huge display of holiday lights at our local outdoor shopping center. I had all sorts of sparkly visions of the photos I'd take twinkling around in my head, but was frustrated when the ones I began snapping were nothing close to what I'd been dreaming of. I tried a few more times, but then finally (bummed out), I put my camera back into the car and was ready to leave when my daughter asked if she could try to take a few photos. I told her that the low-light conditions made everything blurry and that she might have a hard time getting a clear shot of anything, but I welcomed her to try anyhow.
Immediately she started snapping away and each photo that the she took was more beautiful than the last. They weren't crisp and clear...they were far better than that! Since we were outside in extremely low-light the shutter was staying open for several seconds per shot and so any movement resulted in blurred streaks of light. She noticed this right away and began experimented with different types of movement: side to side, up and down, fast and slow, and came up with some truly gorgeous shots. The fun continued as we drove home and she captured images of the light displays on the homes we drove past.
Beyond loving what she came up with, the evening served as an important reminder for me to clear my head of that inner perfectionist's voice that says I'm not doing things "right," and to just play around and have fun! We'll definitely be doing more "light paintings" over the holiday weekend...a few might even end up on our New Years' cards. xo Ez
All images by Miss K. (my daughter)