Happy Holidays!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas (or Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or whatever holiday you celebrate)!

My family (like many, I'm sure) does a lot of eating.

Christmas Eve is usually Mexican food, because it's easy to pull together ahead of time. We go to mass and then have dinner at my folks' house.

Christmas Day we eat Italian in honor of our heritage on my dad's side. This year, my sister made an amazing eggplant parmesan and sauteed shrimp. Mom and I brought sauteed asparagus.

My parents recently moved after 20 years in the same home, so it felt a little odd going somewhere new. Their neighbors from the old neighorhood who have been sharing Christmas Eve with us for many years still came, so that was awesome.

Thankfully, it's not a long drive from the old neighborhood.

My family has always believed in the-more-the-merrier! 

As a kid, we shared many holidays with our dear family friends at their house, and you never knew who might show up, but you could always count on a crowd.

One year, when I was in high school, I sat next to a homeless guy who had been known to have violent tendencies when off his meds. I couldn't tell if he was talking to me or himself most of the evening, but it certainly was interesting.

And Christmas morning, in case we're still hungry, consists of bacon, eggs, biscuits, fruit, and cinnamon rolls (this is not a no-carb event!). My son was out of town with his wife this year, but my girls came for most of the festivities - leaving early on Christmas Day to join their dad for a while. 

One of my favorite parts about Christmas is all the decorations around the city. I went out with the Atlanta Urban Photo Walkers less than a week before Christmas to shoot some holiday lights.

It was a challenge.

The first 15 minutes of the meetup it poured rain - my trusty one-gallon Ziplock kept my camera dry, but we finally had to take cover.

It was a good excuse for a little charcuterie and a glass of wine.

And amazingly, about 30 people showed up. I love those meetups. It's a chance to catch up with people I don't see often and to meet new people, as well as do some fun shooting.

Not to be deterred, everyone sat around the tables at the restaurant setting up still lifes with the candles and glasses while the rain poured down. 

Eventually, we were able to go back outside, and we took a leisurly stroll down Peachtree Street to the Fox Theatre, finding fun things to photograph along the way.

It was too bad there seemed to be a glitch in the system somewhere, and only half the lights on Peacthree Street were lit! But there were still plenty to photograph.

I limited myself to my 85mm prime for most of the evening, because I love the rich bokeh I get with that lens.

With all the colored lights, it made for some fun shooting.

The wet pavement made for some great reflections too.

A few more days and we're into 2018. 

I'm ready.

Are you?

See you between the raindrops!

xoxo,
Susan

Ecuador in May! Who's coming? Email me for details - susan@susanjphotography.com