Art and Photographs with Creative Lighting

Yes, I know, it has only been a week and I'm blogging already!  There are going to be some surprised people!  Lots going on, at least on the artistic photographic front.  I've blogged before about the Gothic House that my Dad built for me.  It holds an honored position on top of our mantle.  One of the things I've always wanted to do is decorate it for the holiday season, putting outside lights on the house.  I'd done some research, both at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and even on line and hadn't found anything quite what I was looking for.  Talking with my Dad last week, I got some ideas.  Then on my weekly trip to Walmart yesterday I found it.  They are tiny LED lights connected by small gauge wire that are for wreaths and are battery operated.  I was stoked.  But I had one more problem to overcome, how to mount them.  And then the light bulb moment, mounting putty.  Used for light weight mounting, it was perfect and here is the result:

You will notice that the inside of the house is lit.  Inside is a small Christmas tree with LED lights around it (white and the extra lights from the outside lights).  Here is a peek:

Can't tell you how happy I was when it was all done!  It was interesting how to get 6 foot of wire hidden or at least make it look like it was suppose to be there!  I guess I could have cut the wires and soldered them smaller, but I made it work with minimal work!  It is a work in progress!






On the way home from work one day last week I looked up and saw the moon.  I love full moons, but I love crescent moons as well.  Since leaves are still on the trees and the wind was up, the long exposure, creative shots were not going to happen, but closeups would work.  I got home, kissed my lovely wife and went for my tripod and after a few shots came up with:

Yes, I continue to have a fascination with the moon. 



We also had some rain this week.  I love taking pictures of water drops, and this one coming off a pine needle was the perfect subject for my Macro lens:

I've taken a few pictures of birds and I found this "bird couple" of Blue Jays, feeding.  I was actually following just one and the other came in the picture for a small window of opportunity:

And finally.  For all you artists out there who get a certain idea in your head, this little story and couple of pictures is for you.  I love blue lights.  My studio has an overhead blue light, but for the holidays I create a "blue room" or "winter room".  It is not done yet, but I originally put up some regular blue lights.  But it wasn't quite right.  The blue was not quite what I was looking for and it wasn't as vibrant as I'd of liked.  When I was at Target (looking for the Christmas tree for the gothic house above) I found these LED blue lights that were the blue I was looking for.  Of course, they are more expensive than regular lights, but in the name of art, I splurged.  Well, Ginger liked the old blue lights.  And then she had an idea, put some in the bathroom.  Always one to try something new, I hung some up in there and Ginger LOVES it!  So we both are happy with our rooms.  I'll let you decide which "blue" you like:

Yes, we like our lights.  I have some more ideas for my blue room but that will happen when we finally decorate for Christmas! (my studio is a little cluttered, but I'll have everything in it's place by the time decoration day comes!)

Ginger's birthday is coming up and we are going to celebrate it by going to a Bed and Breakfast this week!  We are stoked!  We both get a short work week and then get a long weekend!   I'm so thankful for my lovely wife that God provided for me!  I hope you enjoy the pictures from this quirky artist and his lovely wife!


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