A Photo a Week Challenge: December Holidays

December is the month of celebrations and holidays. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Festivus, December is a time for getting together with family and friends. It seems like there are parties and concerts several times a week. My husband and I sing in a chorale that had it’s final Christmas concert last night. My piano students performed their annual Christmas Recital on Monday. We have parties with both sides of the family, and Christmas Eve breakfast with the kids and grand-baby. One of the big traditions in Salt Lake City is seeing the lights at Temple Square. Each year, there is something a little different to see. A few years ago, they added these floating lights to the reflecting pond in front of the temple with a beautiful, cream nativity. So, what traditions and celebrations do you have during this time of year?

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE ONE OR TWO OR MORE PHOTOS FEATURING YOUR DECEMBER HOLIDAY TRADITIONS.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ tag.
3. Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
4. Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Perfect Sky

Skies can be tricky. The best lighting for human subjects is a slight overcast or near dusk/dawn, which can leave your sky a little washed out or darkening. Or if you wait until sunset, you have to get creative with lighting your main subjects (unless the sky is your main subject). Occasionally, I luck out and can get a great sky without sacrificing whatever else is in the picture. The last few weeks have seen a lot of interesting weather in the Salt Lake Valley, from extreme heat (several days in a row over 100) to more rain in a single downpour than we usually get in the entire month of July. Something the sudden storms give us is interesting clouds and early afternoon deep blue skies. For this picture, there were just enough clouds to buffer the LDS Oquirrh Mountain Temple from harsh afternoon sun shadows and allow me to capture some of the beautiful blue sky.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE YOUR FAVORITE SHOTS OF SKIES.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography. Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ and “Photo a Week” tags.
3. Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
4. Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

Sunday Stills: White

In the LDS (aka Mormon) Church, when a child turns eight, they meet with the bishop to talk about what they believe and how they feel about what they’ve learned in Primary (Sunday School for the children). They tell the bishop if they want to get baptized or not. When you are baptized, you and the person performing the baptism dress completely in white. A couple of months ago, we had the opportunity to attend the baptism of two great-nephews (who happen to be twins and pretty great kids). I grabbed this shot of J before the service started. You can’t see it in the black and white picture, but his scripture case is green and black camouflage. It’s a pretty awesome scripture case.

For more from this challenge, visit Sunday Stills the next challenge: White.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Serenity

I love walking around the grounds of Temple Square in Salt Lake City. No matter what time of year (except maybe the brilliantly-lit chaos of Christmas), this part of Salt Lake City is calm, quiet, and serene.

For more from this challenge, visit Weekly Photo Challenge: Serenity.