Christmas with a camera

A couple of quick shots taken fresh after Santa's visit, the last shots taken in my

"life before the Rebel".

When the first gift you open, upon Santa's strict request, is a camera, the rest of a day is just a blur from behind an unfamiliar viewfinder. (Why yes.....that is my two eldest sons enjoying their new Snuggies, in lieu of Christmas Eve pajamas on Christmas morning!)

You know it's a great Christmas when you can't make it through the day without crashing for a much needed nap

and when the leftovers from the stocking suddenly look beautiful to me

the day is spent tinkering with new gadgets

(these ever cool magnetic "Bucky Balls" kept my 15 yr old busy all day....all week, actually, as he shaped them into all sorts of amazing contraptions.

And later, taking down decorations is suddenly a chance to capture a mix of beautiful tidbits

What began as a few cards pinned to a lovely bow turned into a curtain full

of Christmas greetings. Is it wrong to leave them up longer to enjoy,

although everything else is cleaned up?

Looking through the eye of a camera reminds me of something important.

Our life is full of beautiful images just waiting for us to capture them.

some of these images were inspired by challenges from the Digital Photography School website. Until I can get into a real class, it is just me, these posts, my instruction book, and my Canon Rebel working our way through the world. It is gosh darned fun, too.