Monthly Archives: December 2008

I was in San Diego for a week at the beginning of the month and took a lot of pictures (I just got a Nikon D90 and I was antsy to use it). I was posting them on Facebook because I didn’t (and still don’t) have access to my main computer. But now I basically have a new main computer and can edit images again. Also, it’s Sunday night in Oak Harbor and everyone went back to Seattle already, so I have absolutely nothing else to do. That helps. This set contains pictures I took that don’t have people in them.

These pictures are from our annual Christmas Eve party at the Knights of Columbus hall. The uncles basically get together to drink four times a year: 1.) Planning for the summer camping trip, 2.) Summer camping trip, 3.) Planning for the Christmas Eve party, and 4.) The Christmas Eve party. It’s something I’ve always looked forward to. The party used to be a lot bigger, and this year was especially small. I’m guessing it has a lot to do with the weather recently.

Anyway, we made the most of it. “We” this time consisting of an unusually strong showing from the OHHS Class of 2004. I told my brother it was one of the most random groups, but I thought about it some more and I’m absolutely positive everyone in the first picture sat at the same lunch table the first day of 8th grade.

I’ve said it before, but night photos are easily my favorite type to shoot. The long exposure reveals a lot of things that I don’t notice as I’m taking the picture. I guess it’s counterintuitive to the idea that good image quality depends on how closely something matches the real world. In night photos, you usually don’t want it to match what you see in real life. You want a brighter sky, visible clouds, and interesting colors.

If you want a no brainer recipe for interesting pictures, do long exposures during a snowy night with a fisheye. That night, all I was missing was a full moon. But hey.