Christmas Lights - sans tripod

Yep - I did it again. Nightime photography with no tripod. This time, I was traveling to visit family for Christmas so obviously, it was more important that I made room for gifts in my suitcase! But also, with the event planned I knew that I would be in a group of non-photographers who I knew I wouldn't want to make wait for me. And, the event would be packed being just a couple of days before Christmas. I brought with me my Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 and Lensbaby Burnside 35mm to give myself just a couple of options. What I realized is that, when I'm in a situation where I have to bend the rules, I find my Lensbaby Burnside to be much more forgiving, and I'm more likely to be more creative.

For these shots, I kept my ISO at 2000 in order to limit the noise, but also enough that I was able to use a shutterspeed that would allow me to still handhold my camera while taking shots. I loved using the Lensbaby to purposely get my images of lights out of focus and get the swirly effect and dreamy bokeh. And again - another lesson to use what you have and stretch the boundaries. There's no wrong answer! Experimenting can lead to some beautiful works of art.