Christmas time in Elizabeth

We were so proud that we were able to sleep in until 6:15 on Christmas day! WooHoo!! Yea! Ok, so before that were footsteps of two little girls at 5am (after going to bed at 11pm) saying they saw Santa and his sleigh!! Best thing that was said was from my youngest "Did you have your camera?" So proud. So when we finally got up and got our first cup of a large mug of coffee, the unwrapping begins. I have been taking pictures of our Christmas celebration since hubby and I were first together and living in sin. More of remembrance than to show what the girls received. Looking back through the years, watching them grow from tiny little things to these amazing kids is so much fun. This year I was able to get some additional shots with the Nikon. I bought a Digital Field Guide book for my camera and gathered some ideas of taking different types of shots. Using the aperture setting and changing the speed of the flash to minimize the shadows in the background. There was a suggested shot for the holidays and said to use Christmas tree lights. So, with my trusty dog Colonel, I wrapped him up in lights and started taking some shots. And I have to say, not bad for an amateur. Ok, not the best in the world, but I liked them. Colonel was not happy with lights wrapped around him, so I used one of the girls to pose with him. Then got the old dog, Lani, to pose with lights. Figured since she was blind and deaf, it was a shot. Turned out pretty nice too. Then wrapped the girls in lights and finished the night off. Of course the next day were tons of pictures of what they got, but my finger was in the way for some shots so there are shadows. Ah well, it was a fun time.