Christmas Lights Photography

As I talked about in my Christmas Lights 2008 post, I did a bit of Christmas lights this year. After I got them all done back on Dec. 18, I took a bunch of pictures of me and Nate's handiwork (would you expect anything else?). I was completely dissatisfied with the pictures, so of course I went right to Google to find out how to take pictures of Christmas lights. Some suggestions were obvious (no flash, use a tripod), others were arcane with f-stops, apertures and manual white balance, but almost all said 2 things: shoot the pictures at dusk and set the white balance to tungsten (aka incandescent bulbs). Shooting at dusk means you get both the lights and the background. The trick is to bracket your shots over time and then pick the best ones. (Much easier now that it's just pixels instead of film). The white balance setting accounts for the fact that all those bulbs (or at least all of mine) have little tungsten filaments in them which glow yellow. Using the tungsten setting gives everything, like the snow, a cool blue glow and makes the sky look awesome. If I remember my physics correctly that makes sense since blue and yellow combined make white.

I headed out at about 4:15 PM on Christmas and after choosing some prime spots, I started shooting at about 4:25 PM. I knew this was too early since I was still able to hold the camera and shoot without a tripod. As it get darker, I kept shooting every few minutes. It was cold enough that I had to wear gloves and the driveway refroze, but luckily neither me nor the camera ended up on the ground. I managed, too, not to get run over when I shot from the street. I even got a compliment on the lights from a driver who missed me. The one element of the lights that I seemed to get a good bracketing on was the inflatable Nativity, which I talk about in my Christmas Lights 2008 post. Below are the shots over time with the time stamps. I think I like the 5:01 PM picture the best, but the one before that is OK, too. You can see that by 5:10 PM, I was just getting the lights.


For those of you who don't celebrate Christmas, I suppose these techniques would work just as well on a Menorah or whatever holiday decorations you put up.

Christmas Lights 2008

This year, I put up more Christmas lights and decorations outside than I ever have in my 7 years here in Bethlehem. Some of it certainly was the fact that we had a warm weekend when Nate was here and a warm day that I took as vacation. (OK - warm meaning in the 40's for those of you not in the Northeast) I think too that since last year I didn't get to do any lights because the weather was cold and wet and, with a torn ACL, I really wasn't up for climbing on the roof. Maybe subconsciously this year I wanted to spruce the place up since all we hear is bad news about economy and since Kenny hasn't done as much here since he has been focused on his new house. Whatever the reason, Nate and I had a blast doing the lights and decorations. Here is the finished display. (My Christmas Lights Photography talks all about how I took the pictures, so I won't repeat here.)


Nate did all of the lights on the porch and the shed and most of the work on the inflatable Nativity. I did the net lights on the shrubs, the lights on the stairs, the toy soldiers (which NatesMom and I got many years ago), the luminary bags and the electrical, as well as helping Nate with the Nativity. Kenny got the luminary bags in an after Christmas sale a couple years ago for $1 for a box of five. They are all electric and you can string up to 30 bags together. I spent a lot of time working on them but they came out looking pretty nice. I used a combination of timers and light sensors so all I had to do every night was the Nativity. For an added fun touch, I replaced the regular bulbs in the driveway lamps with red bulbs.




The most fun part of the display is the inflatable Nativity. I've been kind of anti-inflatables in the past. They usually are snowmen or Santas and always seemed to be deflated or blown around when I saw them. But when I went to Lowes (see Is the Christmas Season Over?), they had the inflatable Nativity with life size Mary and Joseph for 50% off. I've looked for a life sized Nativity in the past, so I decide that if it was still there a week later when I had Nate to help me carry it, I'd buy it. It was, so I bought it and Nate got a trip to Longhorn Steakhouse out of the deal. Nate's take on the set was a little different - he wondered what it meant that the only inflatables left were the religious themed ones. The set consists of the inflatable manger, Mary and Joseph who are heads with clothes, attached to metal pipes. Baby Jesus is attached to his "bed". Everything gets screwed in the ground and has held up pretty well despite snow storms and wind. Nate and I had a slight physics failure by not attaching the guy wires at 45 degrees which caused the manger to fall over backwards, but that was remedied by attaching a bungee cord from the manger to Joseph.

I've gotten some nice compliments on the display and even though I spent a bit to get it all right this year, everything from the decorations, to the lights to the electrical should last for many more years.

Christmas 2008 Pictures

Every year, for a long time now, Nate and I have gone to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. We have appetizers in the afternoon, a big, pseudo-fancy dinner around 7 and then get ready for Mass. We try to take a picture before we head out to Mass, especially now that we are both in suits. The tripod and remote for the camera make the whole process much easier. Here are this year's pictures from dinner and before Mass:

Merry Christmas!

From me and Nate, we hope you have blessed, peaceful and joyous Christmas! From our house to yours, a Bread Wreath that was part of Christmas Eve dinner:


May Christ's blessings remain with you long after the presents are opened and the decorations put way.

Bethlehem became the link between heaven and earth; God and man met there and looked each other in the face. - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Easiest Sausage Stuffing

I like turkey. I like stuffing. I like sausage. On holidays, when I cook I try to combine these by making sausage stuffing and cooking it in the bird. (Yes, Food Police, I check my temperatures so I don't kill myself or Nate). I have found easy and complicated, tasty and not so tasty recipes over the years. This year, Google coughed up what has to be the easiest recipe EVER.

1. Cook 1 lb sausage
2. Reserve 1/2 c. of the drippings
3. Mix drippings, 1 1/2 c. hot water, sausage and stuffing
   
4. Stuff in turkey & cook

I can hear the food purists out there gagging since not only is it prepared food, the recipe is from the Kraft website. I understand, but I'd rather hang out with Nate and rest up for Midnight Mass, than spend all day cooking on Christmas Eve. Besides, there will, as always be fresh bread.

A Christmas (Bread) Story

Yesterday, as often happens, I decided to make bread. I figured since Christmas was less than a week away, I'd see if I could find a recipe for a Christmas Bread. Most of what came up was recipes for Stollen, which is like fruit cake, or Panettone, which is kind of cake like and has to be cooked in a special pan or paper liner. After exhaustive searching (and by that I mean I actually went to page 5 of my Google search :)), I found a recipe for what was essentially a Christmas Challah. I like making braided bread and this recipe had brown sugar, butter and cinnamon rolled up in the braids.

My first mistake of the day was starting at about 1 PM when I had to be at Youth Group at 5:30 PM. Bread cannot be rushed (trust me I have tried and it never turns out well). Then the recipe called for vegetable shortening (aka Crisco) which I had read as vegetable oil. Luckily my neighbor Monica had Crisco so I could get the dough started and put up to rise. I knew I needed to go to ShopRite for more butter, brown sugar and confectioners sugar for the icing. ShopRite was a zoo - by the time I got back it was after 3 PM and I knew no way was this bread was getting made before I left for Yourh Group. So I let it rise (which was slow due to the eggs and shortening) and then punched it down a put it near a cold window before I left at 5 PM.

When I got back at almost 10 PM (we ran a little late since it was a Christmas party), I walked in to the house and thought "Monica must be baking". But no, what I smelled was dough and, as you can see in the picture, it was thinking of taking over the kitchen! I punched it down and divided it in 6 to make the braids. It was a bit tough to roll out - a little over rising will do that. The recipe said to make a rectangle, smear it with butter and add brown sugar and cinnamon. It was big on detail or quantities so I just guessed. I got everything rolled and braided and in the oven by about 10:45.

I guess my guessing about the filling wasn't quite right because at about 11 PM the smoke detector went off and the kitchen smelled of burned sugar and butter. I got the exhaust fan going and opened a window but about five minutes later Kenny was knocking on my door to see if everything was OK! I assured him it was fine, just me in the kitchen.

The bread survived fine and I iced it and topped it with crushed peppermint candy this morning. Monica got one of the loaves for the Crisco and the late night fire alarm. The bread tasted good too - maybe the crust was a little over done, but I can adjust that next time - which hopefully will be during daylight hours!

Happy Immaculate Conception!

I'll admit, I saw this post on the Ironic Catholic Blog, but I figured it was so good I'd share it too. In honor of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, here is Bobby McFerrin singing Ave Maria with the crowd at a concert.

Is the Christmas Season Over?

Today is the second Sunday of Advent. Thanksgiving was only 11 days ago. The only Christmas decoration I have up is the wreath Dad sent me. I just got my first Christmas card (Yea - N&V!). Despite all that, when I went to Lowe's this weekend, ALL of their Christmas decorations on sale for 50% off! At first I thought maybe it was just a one day sale, but no, everything was marked as clearance. (For honesty's sake, I will point out that I did check the prices - I am my Mother's son after all). I guess when you start selling Christmas stuff just after Halloween, maybe it's time to put it on sale.

I've long ago given up trying to convince people that the Twelve Days of Christmas starts on Christmas day. But could we at least sell Christmas decorations and gifts until December 25th? Sigh......

Random Acts of Magnetism

As I have mentioned before, the back of my Honda Element is covered with bumper stickers and magnets. Now others are getting into the act....It started last year after Autumn Blaze (who knew it would be the last one?), when I noticed that someone had put a Star 99.1 magnet on the Element. I assumed it was someone from the LifeSygns Youth Group, but no one ever 'fessed up. Then at Easter, someone added an Easter Egg magnet (thanks Amilee!). After that there was a random rearrangement of the magnets, followed, unfortunately by a random act of de-magnetism where the NHHS magnet either was taken or fell off. Just before the baseball playoffs someone added a Boston Red Sox "B" magnet. So far all of the magnets have met the "the stuff we do and believe in" criteria. I'm glad I can provide entertainment to those who read and add to the fun on the back of the Element.

Here is the current state of the Element:

Can I Eat the Stuff in My Fridge?

I often wonder as I look into my fridge whether that lunch meat I bought a week ago or that chicken that has been in the freezer for six months can still be eaten without making me sick. Amazingly, the FDA as published guidelines about this. They admit the guidelines are conservative, (which is fine with me and Nate) and give recommendations for both the fridge and freezer for many foods. They also give some common sense advice like "don't freeze whole eggs" - duh!

The list is put out by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (part of the FDA) which is "responsible for promoting and protecting the public's health by ensuring that the nation's food supply is safe, sanitary, wholesome, and honestly labeled, and that cosmetic products are safe and properly labeled." I found the list on an FDA site (Science and Our Food Supply) on bringing food science into Middle and High School classrooms under an A-Z food safety guide. This is just the kind of information and education that my Mom would have loved with her degree and lifelong interest in Nutrition.

Who knew that our tax dollars could come up with such a good source of information. I may just post the Fridge/Freezer guidelines on the fridge. Now if I can just remember when the stuff went in the fridge......

Revelation Generation

It seems somehow appropriate that my 1st post in a long time is about a Christian Music event, since my first postings in this blog were about the Cornerstone Music Festival. On Saturday, August 31, 2008, I attended Revelation Generation in Frenchtown, NJ for the first time. To quote their website, RevGen is "the premier Christian festival in greater New York and greater Philadelphia. With the best Contemporary Christian and crossover music—from rock to rap to worship to metal—this two-day mega-event is a great way for youth groups, church groups, families, and singles to come together for a dynamic, memorable concert experience. Last Labor Day Weekend." (http://www.revelationgeneration.org/the_event/what_is_revgen.php). I attended in two roles - as adult leader for our youth group, LifeSygns, and as an ersatz photojournalist.

I had a great time at the event, not only because of the awesome music, but because of the access I received with my Press Pass. Not only did I get to bypass the main ticket gate, but I got access to artist press conferences, including Toby Mac and Peter Furler of the Newsboys. For a while, we had access between the front row and the stage, but oddly that was taken away for no explainable reason after the first couple acts. The event took place on two main stages, the NY Stage, which had more pop and contemporary music, and the Philly Stage, which was more rock and metal. Even though performers on each stage were staggered, I spent a lot of time hustling between the stages trying to get pictures of as many of the acts as possible. By the end of the day I was exhausted and felt like I had walked 10 miles!

Here is a link to a web album of some of the shots I took during the concert (I actually took over 250):

http://picasaweb.google.com/mwcawley/RevelationGeneration2008?authkey=h8ZrgJZO8EU

Many of the pictures were taken with a lens I picked up last year (and should have blogged about :( ) - a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens. Yes, it was expensive, but it allowed me to take many of the night time shots without a flash from 100 feet from the stage.

Just to be on the up and up about the Press Pass...I have offered my pictures to the Catholic Spirit, the weekly newspaper for the Diocese of Metuchen. While not a "Catholic" event, many Catholics attended and commented on our choice of the Papal Flag as our place marker. I was actually amazed, not by the amount of Catholics, but by the fact that they knew the Papal flag. We shall see if the Spirit publishes my pictures, but at least I gave them the opportunity to cover an event that built up the faith of the youth of the Diocese.

Chrism Mass

Last night I attended the Chrism Mass for the Diocese of Metuchen. This is the mass, always held during Holy Week, where the priest of the Diocese recommit to their vocation and the Holy Oils used during Sacraments are blessed and distributed to the parishes. My pastor, Msgr. Andy, asked me to attend as Immaculate Conception's representative. The mass was filled will all the pomp and ceremony you would expect at an important mass at the Cathedral. (All the smells, bells and yells, as Mr. P would say.)

Bishop Bootkoski was the celebrant assisted by the former, retired bishop, Bishop Hughes. Most of the priest from the Diocese were there and it was amazing to here them all pray the Eucharistic Prayer together. The Diocesan Choir was excellent, with a brass, timpani and, of course, organ. I'm not sure I'd like mass to be like that every week, but every once in a while it's awesome to see the full ritual of the Catholic Church.

More than the ceremony of the mass, I was struck with a feeling of unity during Mass. The priests in unity with each other and the Bishop, the parishes all united in one place, and the Sacred Chrism which unites us all as anointed by God. After Mass, I noticed that in the program the Bishop put it this way:

"The Chrism Mass is seen basically and primarily as a celebration of the entire local church in its role as priestly people....It is fitting that both ordained priests and laity from throughout the diocese gather on this occasion to express the unifying leadership ministry of the bishop."

I'm thankful I could serve the Parish and experience this Mass.

Kenny's Property

Long before I met my landlord (and friend) Kenny Shilay, he purchased a piece of property on Jugtown Mountain in Bethlehem Township, just outside of Bloomsbury. It was where he planned to build his dream house - a house he would build with his own hands. Kenny and his father, Kenny Sr., worked weekends to clear the trees, stumps and brush so a house with a incredible view could be built. The property looks northwest and on a clear day you can see Wind Gap, PA 20 miles as the crow flies to the NE. By the time I moved to Kenny's current house/rental property in 2002, the Property (as we all refer to it) was cleared and ready for construction. I ended up helping some on the property since a) it's keeps me off the streets, b) Kenny and Senior were doing the work themselves and c) they have really fun construction equipment to play with. I mostly am a laborer but have had a blast.

In 2002, the septic system went in and in 2006, the house itself was really started. Lest you think Kenny was slacking in the interim, he was working on the property where I live, was doing more excavation and clearing at the Property (much to the chagrin of his tree hugging neighbor Cinny) and, oh yeah, married Monica, (I think he stopped maybe for a week for that!) and had a daughter, Amanda in 2005.



The whole build is documented on Monica's Blog, Shilay's Tara. I am the official photographer (and a contributor to her blog). I maintain a slide show of the progress on the house. It is pretty much closed in at this point, but the electrical, plumbing and finish work all need to be completed. The hope is to celebrate Christmas 2008 at the house.

You might wonder how Kenny and his dad, with help from a few friends could build this house. First and foremost is Kenny's dedication to the project - he works a full day and often spends another 4 or 5 hour on the house. Second is that Kenny and Senior own Cast Technology, a diesel engine repair shop. This gives them access to equipment normal people can't get. For example, Kenny owns a tractor, bobcat, Cat 955K bulldozer, a wood chipper that can take huge trees, a stump grinder and a genie lift. For the project he has borrowed a John Deere Excavator, a several ton forklift and other equipment. Most of all, this project is getting done because it has become Monica's dream as well so she lives with Kenny's obsession with his "White Whale".

January 1, 2008

January 1, 2008 was the first anniversary of my Mom's death. As has become tradition, Nate and I were in San Diego for New Year's with my sister Nancy and her husband Vince. Since this is our tradition, we were, of course, with them when we all found out Mom had passed away last year. If I had to find out such news, there was no one I'd rather have been with. I wasn't sure how I would feel on the anniversary - I'm not sure I've really completely dealt with the reality of Mom being gone.

Nancy and I talked about how we would celebrate Mom shortly after we arrived in San Diego. I definitely wanted to go to Mass and Nancy suggested a walk on the beach since that was one of Mom's favorite things to do, though she never made it to San Diego to walk at Torrey Pines. Mass was not easy since January 1st is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. They sang "Hail Mary, Gentle Woman" which was played at Mom's funeral, so some tears were shed. Even before Mom passed away, I had begun to develop an affection for Mary. For the past several years, I join a group of friends on Fridays at 6:30 AM to pray the Rosary and Nate joins us, too as his schedule allows. Over the past year, I have often thought of the passage from John 19 where Jesus tells John "Behold your Mother" and Mary "Behold your son". Mary isn't a replacement for Mom, but devotion to her can maybe help me heal.

Nancy, Vince, Nate and I took a nice long walk on the beach on Jan. 1st. It was a little subdued, but it was a good day - the weather was awesome, it was warm, we saw a New Age prayer circle and got some great pictures of guys surfing. More than anything, it was time spent together and a day Mom would have enjoyed. We ended the day with dinner a California Pizza Kitchen (another tradition when Nate and I go to San Diego). What could have been a real melancholy day turned out to be a day well spent. I think it is because we celebrated Mom, not mourned her. Don't get me wrong, I miss her all the time, but in celebrating her, she is more closely with us.

Here are some pictures from our "Mom" day at Torrey Pines Beach:

Flashback - 1987

Paula, my ex-sister in-law and a faithful commenter on this blog, as well as the author of Dave & Paula's Road Trip, sent me the pictures shown below. They are from Labor Day 1987 and, yes, that is me with Paula's son Jimmy who is just turning 21! I feel old since Nate is a high school freshman, but Paula must actually be old since she has a son who can now legally drink.

Fun With Hand Drums

As some of you may know, Nate has been playing drums for a number of years. His lessons have always been on set, but he has played "regular" drums in concert and marching band. Last fall, Nate decided that he was going to play drums at church with his Mom's Praise Band, Pacem, as well as with the yet unnamed Lifesygns band that plays at Teen Mass. While he could have played his set at mass, a hand drum is much easier to transport and a little more mellow for the mass setting. I decided to get him a djembe, an African hand drum since that is what Mr. Barr plays at mass and I knew he would give me good advice on buying one. The one I got Nate is shown on the left - it is a 14 inch djembe, with goat skin head and synthetic body. It is mechanically tuned, since I figured a 15 year old wouldn't want to mess with rope tuning.


Nate has a blast playing his djembe at mass and with Lifesygns. At youth group, he can play it loud and wild. I played the djembe at youth group a couple times when Nate let me and I can tell you it is way too much fun. I also got to play it at Eucharistic Adoration in December. This was the first time I had ever played or sung at a church event and it was moving and spiritual. I decided that I needed my own drum after these events. (For those who don't know, I started out a drummer before playing clarinet, baritone/euphonium and sax). I decided I needed something different in a drum, so after some research, I chose a doumbek, a traditional Middle Eastern drum. My drum is shown on the right, it is a 11 inch, hand etched aluminum drum with a synthetic head. I play at youth group practice to help keep the beat and at mass if requested. Teen Mass is for the teens - we are trying get to an all teen band soon.

Autumn Blaze 2007

On Oct 13, 2007, the Lifesygns Youth group headed out to Continental Airlines Arena for NJ's biggest Christian Music Concert - Autumn Blaze. Artists included Fr. Stan Fortuna, Thousand Foot Krutch, Barlow Girl and tobyMac. I'll include a few photos here, but I have also created an album on Picasa - http://picasaweb.google.com/mwcawley/AutumnBlaze2007?authkey=8ZjUj9VNvCw.

This year for the first time Autumn Blaze featured an overtly Catholic artist who is a priest to boot. Fr. Stan Fortuna is a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, a group of monks who are doing awesome things in the Bronx and other places. They live a life of poverty and chastity following the way of St Francis, relying on God and the goodness of others to feed and clothe them. Fr. Stan uses his music (a mix of reggae, beat box, rap and other styles) to evangelize. Some of the Youth Group kids got to talk to him before the show and I suspect most of the audience had no idea who he was as he wandered around the parking lot in his gray robes. He was pretty warmly received by the crowd when he performed which was cool.

The kids, as always, had a fun time - dancing and head banging to the music. It seemed that Barlow Girl and tobyMac were the favorites. Overall, the whole show seemed a bit rushed, like they had rented the room for four hours and had to squeeze in as much as they could.

Mr. P and I scored press tickets and got to sit where the reporters site for hockey and basketball. The short story is that we told Autumn Blaze we worked for the Catholic Spirit and it wasn't until the day before the event that the Spirit said we could use their name. The seats weren't that much better than the kid's and we didn't get any special access but the key thing was we got to bring cameras in. For the curious, my shots were taken with my Canon Rebel XT with the built in flash and a combination of the 18 - 55 and 75 - 300 mm lenses. Although the pictures came out OK, this concert and the Cornerstone Festival led me to upgrade my lens and flash, which I'll post about separately.

Lifesygns has been going to Autumn Blaze since it was a small concert in the fields of Zarephath. In 2003, it moved to Continental Airlines Arena and attracted even bigger names like the Newsboys, Third Day and, my personal favorite, the OC Supertones. The first couple years at CAA it seemed like the sky was the limit for this event and maybe it would have to move to Giants Stadium at some point. It seems though that interest has waned - this year the Arena was maybe half full. The cost of the tickets, other Christian concerts (like Revelation Generation) and the insistence on it being an "outreach" event all contribute, I believe, to the drop in attendance. They should get back to there roots - a fun family event.

The Return of the Blogger

One of my resolutions this year was to blog more. Well, here we are at the end of January and this is the first of the year. I could come up with a lot of reasons, but it really boils down to a chest cold, a torn ACL (which I'll post about separately) and work which has left me little energy when I get home at night. None of those are really good reasons, but here we are. Mitch accuses me of being a "bad blogger" - I like to think I'm just keeping his RSS reader free of clutter. Paula, who I convinced to blog, has posted way more than me. Nate says it's not a competition but I do feel like a bit of a slacker.

My last post was in October, so I have catching up to do. I'll do separate posts so a) it looks like I post more and b) you won't be bored by long posts. Some items to look forward to:

• How to Play Hockey Without an ACL
• Autumn Blaze 2007
• The Milk Can Game
• Mark's New Toys
• Fun with Hand Drums
• New Year's 2008
• and more.....

I'll just try to remember what I told Paula when I convinced her to blog: It's about the writing, not who reads it.