Well what is the magic of Christmas? To a child it is nativity plays at school, visiting Father Christmas, the putting up of the decorations and getting loads of presents on Christmas Day. In your seventies it is pleasing your children and their children, then the serious business of getting plenty of good food in, mainly food your diet would not allow you to eat any other time of the year. But any excuse to drink and eat more than normal. Of course we still enjoy the tradition of putting up a tree and outside lights to cheer any visitors up. Plus the decorations in the house that have been handed down or kept since childhood and held together with Selotape or disused fine fishing line (well that’s how mine are kept up). Of course buying a turkey that is for eight to ten people when there is only the two of you (plenty of soups, curries and pies to be made out of this years bird). Of course the few days would be enhanced if you have the right weather, with snow and frost’s.
So this year Christmas was just perfect as we had all of them, especially wonderful was the snow as we sat down to eat our Christmas lunch.
19th.
There is a very clever in built activity within Canon cameras called High Dynamic Range (HDR). On this setting the camera takes three rapid shots, one under exposed, the next over exposed and the third as it is, then within the camera it combines all three and comes up with the near perfect picture. The camera also allows you to see either all three shots individually or just as the finished item. Sometimes the clumsy operator (me) causes movement on the tripod and below are a couple of the images of individual shots and their composed shot, which I found very interesting. I must admit a few of the shots are not through my clumsy use but because the lights were flashing and with a slower speed the camera caused the blur.
The finished shot.
Lighter.
Darker and the one I like best.
Final shot.
The best of the three, longer exposure with fast flashing lights.
My gym lights, finished shot.
The camera was not on the tripod but resting on the felt roof and the wind blew it resulting in this shot.
25th
Had some help on Christmas Day putting the turkey in the oven, unfortunately I was engaged elsewhere and my wife took this shot and it was a case of point and shoot whatever my eyes can see.
26th.
Much to our joy yesterday we did have snow and very cold and the snow came down quiet heavy so we postponed our traditional walk until today, when though the temperature never went higher than minus three C all day, it was a beautiful sunny morning.
As you can see yesterdays snow stayed on the mountain tops but not lower down, enabling the walk to be wet under foot but easy going.
The early morning sun giving a orange tinge to the snow.
On the lower hills opposite our house we often see herds of Red Deer stags and in the past I have included them in my blogs. Our walk today took us on the opposite side of the glen to those hills and on the hills we saw three collections of those deer eating on those slopes. I (of course) had the wrong lens on my camera to get a good close up of them, but on putting them on the computer enlarged them aa bit and counted roughly one hundred and fifty stags across the three groups. below are the shots as I took them, though the shot of the third group was to out of focus to put on here so you will have to take my word that it was there.
So the first shot shows the main herd and the second shows some going over the hilltop, how many had already gone over I don’t know and the third group were to the right of them.
27th
As I am finishing this blog off today we have had strong winds and rain most of the night, which has now turned to snow and warnings that the A9 will be severely affected on the national weather forecast, we are settling down to a day indoors around the log burner or stripping the turkey down to make stock and dishes for the freezer. Mainly hoping the A9 into Perth will be okay tomorrow, when the shopping begins again preparing for the New Year weekend.
Just wishing you all a great 2024 healthy, wealthy and enjoyable.
Much love to all who follow my blog.