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Judy's Gems
Judy Hall
jhall@evansnewspapers.com
I’m sure by now that you’ve got
everything ready for Christmas...
presents all bought, wrapped and
placed under the lovely decorated
tree. I can however offer a few
words of advice about those
Christmas photos we all take and
cherish in years to come.
First, however, how about a lit
tle history regarding lights and
Christmas. Many of our
Christmas traditions involve
lights - Christmas trees, candles
and lights strung around our
homes, just to name a few.
Of course, since the discovery of
fire, light has been used to bright
en the darkness, especially dining
the depths of winter. Better to
light the darkness than to curse
it.
The first light related to
Christmas is a star - the star of
Bethlehem, said by the Bible to
shine over the place where Christ
was bom. After that came can
dles placed on Christmas trees,
Yule logs and later, of course, the
discovery of electricity added to
the ways we could celebrate with
lights.
Taking photographs of lights
has been difficult if not impossi
ble for many years. Cameras and
film were too slow to capture the
image of the lights. If you added
flash for the photograph, it was as
if there were no lights - the beau
ty of the lights was lost.
Then, came the days of the fast
film - ISO 400 or greater - now up
to ISO 1,600. The early films nf
this type would capture the
image, but the resulting prints
would be excessively grainy.
Fast films of today are much
better. Now it is possible to use
ISO 800 and higher and still get a
print with very little grain.
Amateur photographers and
some “professional” photogra
phers have learned to rely on the
auto-exposure of their camera be
it a point-and-shoot or an SLR.
Today’s cameras are not fooled by
the low light, but are able to set
themselves for good exposure
even in low light.
So, how do you get good photos
of that beautifully decorated tree
or house? First, turn off the
flash or strobe on your camera, if
possible. Even a camera with a
flash which doesn’t turn off) can
be muted by placing something
over the flash. Be sure you don’t
place anything in front of the
lens.
Next, since you will probably be
taking the photograph at a very
slow shutter speed, you will want
to use a tripod if you have one. If
you don’t, it is possible to place
the camera on a solid level service
or on a beanbag placed on a solid
service and take the photo. This
will prevent movement of the
camera if you are careful to not
move it when pressing the shut
ter.
Take more than one photo of
the same scene just to be sure you
get a good one.
For an extremely dark shot,
you may want to set your SLR to
the “B” or bulb setting. On this
setting the shutter will stay open
as long as your finger is on the
shutter. A tripod is highly rec
ommended if not required for this
type of shot.
Want to take an outside shot of
your decorated house? Take it at
twilight, not when the sky is
totally dark. Some cameras have
settings which will allow you to
light your family or friend in the
foreground of your picture and
not the lit house in the back
ground. It might be indicated by
a symbol that looks like a person
at night in front of lights. Use a
tripod.
I hope these suggestions will
help you to get better photo
graphs of your Christmas memo
ries. After all, that’s what photo
graphs are - a picture of your
memories.
Merry Christmas. Take lots of
photos. You’ll be glad you did.
Vixen and Blixen and Prancer and
First Grade experts talk about the excitement of Christinas
By Charlotte Perkins
Staff Writer
First graders may just be
starting out in life, but there’s
one subject they’re experts on:
Santa Claus.
How does he get into your
house?
“Down the chimney!!” says
Kristie Schimming.
But what if you don’t have a
chimney?
“He’s magic!,” says Michael
Schultes. “He can do magic and
make a pretend chimney!”
Kristie and Michael were part
of a group of highly vocal
Perdue Elementary School stu
dents who gathered in the
school library last Thursday to
talk about Santa and the excite
ment of Christmas.
How old is Santa?
Victoria Gonzales thinks
maybe he’s 100, but Justin
Jones argued for 183, and
Emma Thomas topped the esti
mates with an even “one thou
sand!”
How do they know he’s so old?
Well, he’s got a beard, and,
according to two of the children,
he’s got that tell-tale sign of
aging white hair!
“He’s got hair like yours!”
one says to the reporter. “Are
you Mrs. Santa?”
“No!” another chimes in.
\ s’ ‘it
Vv" ‘ . ‘ - • r ■ :-■
Photo by Emily Johnstone
Little Cole Robinson enjoys the annual Houston County Fire
Department Christmas party! He is the son of Commissioner
Gail Robinson and her husband, Mark.
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lifestyles
“She’s Mrs. Claus!”
Giggles all around. Time for a
new subject.
What’s your favorite
Christmas song?
“Making a List and Checking
it Twice!”
“Up on the Rooftop, Click!
Click! Click!”
“Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells!”
For Emma Conrad, “Jesus,
Name Above all Names” is a
favorite, and for Brittany
Edmonson, it’s “Silent Night.”
Do these children know why
we celebrate Christmas?
Absolutely.
“It’s the day the Baby Jesus
was born!” Kristie says.
“No! No!” Emma argues. “It’s
Jesus’ Birthday!”
How long ago did Jesus live?
First graders may not always
know the answers, but they’ll
give it a try.
“180 years ago!”
“No, 178 years ago!”
Back to the North Pole, where
some of the children say that
Santa fives in a castle, and some
say he fives in a cabin.
What are the names of
Santa’s reindeer?
Well, there’s one that they all
know.
“Rudolph!”
“Rudolph!”
“Rudolph!”
December 24. 2002
“Pretzel!”
“Rudolph!”
“Dasher and Prancer!
Dancer!”
“Vixen and Blixen!”
“Rudolph!”
“Can they really fly?” the
reporter asks. j
“Yes,” says Kianna Honan fl
with complete assurance. fl
“Santa uses fairy dust to I
sprinkle on them!” says Jfl
Chloe McLaughlin.
Does Santa really fl
know if you’ve been fl
good or bad? <
“Yes,” the children ■
chorus, and he might V
leave you some coal fl
instead of presents if you fl
haven’t been good. fl
What’s coal? I
“Black rocks” fl
Do they know anybody fllfc n
who’s ever gotten black flair:,
rocks for Christmas?
Well, no, not really,
but then it pays to be
on the safe side, with
Christmas almost
here.
And another fl
thing all the chil- flfy "’fl
dren agree on is fl
that while Santa
absolutely won’t jfl
come into your house (fl %
until you’re asleep on *
These first graders \ Urn
from Perdue -flfl Hr fl flgL^fl
Elementary fl cM
their
thoughts about Christmas with The
Journal. From left, front row: Victoria Gonzales,
Justin Jones and Michael Schuttes; middle row: Emma
Conrad, Brittany Edmonson, Kianna Honan, Chloe McLauglin; back row: Kate Hill, Tyhson
Grogran, Carly Moore and Kristie Schimming
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Photo by Judy Hall
Who’s happier about holidays - staff or students?
The office staff at Perry Middle School dressed up as elves last week as they prepared for the
Christmas/New Years break from school: Celebrating are: (l-r) back - Phyllis Lockaby, Shirley
Brown, Julie Morton and Carla Yarbrough. Kneeling in front is Audrey Spires.
Christmas
Eve,
Christmas
morning <
can begin fl
any time
after M
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“Same
Williams Day”
Photo by Charlotte Perkins
Mayor Jim Worrall proclaimed Wednesday
“Sallie Williams Day” in honor of the New Perry
Hotel’s long time employee. Sallie Williams, an
expert cook ahd salad chef, was honored with
a reception attended by friends and family, and
received a plaque with a proclamation, and
several gifts in recognition of her 50 years on
the hotel staff.
C1
Pretzel
midnight.
Their estimates on when
oflp they’ll be out of bed on the
big day range from 1 a.m. to
4 a.m.
Parents, be warned!
Photo by Charlotte Perkins