Whether you celebrate Christmas or any of the other significant days in December, there is something about the many holiday lights, decorations and celebrations that can’t help but affect you.
For those who subscribe to a particular religion, these days lead up to certain dates that have great significance to them. For others, it’s the season of celebration, parties, and other social events that fill one’s calendar.
Some of us enjoy that quiet feeling you get when the lights are twinkling, the fireplace glows with warmth, and there’s a soft blanket over your pyjama-covered legs while you listen to seasonal music or watch an old movie or tv program. Sentimentality reigns.
In the past three years, my husband and I have lost our only children. His daughter (from his previous marriage to Kerry), Samantha, died in July, 2022. My son (from my previous marriage to Ian), David, died in October 2023. For both of us, the rabid excitement about Christmas can be wearing on what’s left of our nerves. So we decided to tone things down a bit.
Ours will be a quiet time with a nice meal, a small Christmas tree, and our memories.
Some traditions are definitely worth keeping, though. A cookie tin full of chocolate rum balls has already been prepared and is ‘fermenting’ for the season. A few dozen shortbreads are in the cupboard as well. With any luck these MAY last until Christmas – or not.
Today, the weather is rather dismal, so I spent some time setting up and using my make-shift studio in the kitchen. Armed with a simple black backdrop, a Christmas-themed piece of paper, a fake plant and some decorative cupcakes (from the Superstore bakery), I attempted to create a few seasonally appropriate scenes.
For the past two weeks, the Kennebecasis Valley Camera Club held workshops on using flash and accessories correctly. So, I set up my flash, reflective umbrella, got out my light meter and remote control and went to work. What follows is the result of that effort. It was great fun to play with props and setups, not to mention trying various exposure settings, and even a bit of focus stacking. The downside is occupying the entire kitchen for a couple of hours. The upside is, Joel and I got to eat the props!
A couple of days ago, I ventured out into the wilderness (sort of) beyond our house with my friend Mary. She was in search of a Charlie Brown-type Christmas tree, scavenged from the roadside. We found one quite quickly and she set about cutting it down and trimming it to fit into her vehicle.
My main task was to act as a lookout and distract any passersby who might think we were tree thieves on private property (we weren’t). I walked a little bit down the road and spent a few minutes taking photos of the dried weeds and leaves at the roadside.
It proved to be good cover as I chatted with an elderly (well, older than us) gentleman who stopped to ask what I saw worth photographing. He went on to tell me that he had personally planted the entire stand of hardwood trees in the area behind the road in 1985. Those trees stood easily 40′ high or more – an impressive feat. He wasn’t concerned about the scrawny evergreen that we had purloined from the ditch.
Who says small town / rural living is boring? AND, in 19 days it will be Winter Solstice. Although that heralds a few months of cold, snow, wind and shivering, it ALSO means the days will begin getting longer – and that’s a very good thing.
Capturing Cherished Memories 