Defrosting Santa

I'm still playing around with my new Nikon D800 camera and I'm still struck by awe. One of the new features in it is the time-lapse function and a few days ago I just had to try it out on something. Into the freezer Santa went and out again the next day, now embedded in a block of ice. The camera went on a tripod with the macro lens, a black background went up and a spotlight was used for the main lighting. But as I didn't want to stand around for hours, waiting for the ice to melt, a hair dryer was very handy. Setting the time-lapse function was easy enough; a photo each 2 seconds and 30 minutes of shooting and off I, or rather the camera went. 30 minutes later the the ice had melted and the video was in the box. A few things I needed to improve the next time; manual focus on Santas face, a wider depth of field and a more solid platform for the tripod (or is it the hair dryer moving Santa a bit?). Not too bad for a first try I think, though.

The second attempt was much better. This time I skipped the hair dryer and went for a natural melting. A photo every 20 seconds for 5 hours and manual focus with an f=12 and the shooting could begin. Well home after work (the shooting started at 6am) I discovered that the battery had run out at some point so that the video was 25 seconds long instead of the planned 30 seconds, but I still got the whole melting. And I like the result! I've got a few more ideas to try out so this is not the last time lapse I'm doing.

Christmas Eve

In many countries Christmas is celebrated on December 25th, but not in Denmark. Here it's Christmas Eve on December 24th that is the day for a big dinner and gifts. The dinner is either pork roast or duck roast with caramelized potatoes, red cabbage and a lot of other "accessories" and for dessert risalamande (rice pudding with whipped creme and almonds served with hot cherry sauce). Afterwards it's time to get a visit from Santa (he does come in many variants:-)).

Merry Christmas to you all:-)

Christmas in July

When crossing the City House Square in Copenhagen the other day, I was almost convinced that I needed either some glasses or to lie down for a while, because in the middle of the summer heat was a large gathering of...Santa Clauses in many shapes and sizes, Elfs, Santa's Wife(s) and a lonely policeman in a very old Danish uniform. No, my eyes didn't deceive me and I wasn't dizzy (or had had too much to drink). It was only the meeting point of the World Congress of Santa Clause's held annually in Copenhagen in July since the 1963.

Traditional Elf with reindeer

Not all was in Coca Cola colours

After this meeting they went by bicycle to Dyrehavsbakken, an amuzement park from 1583, and the World's oldest operating, lying just north of Copenhagen. On Bakken the Santa gathering went on for three days with lots of fun among hundreds of Santas from all over the world.

They came in all sizes:-)