Burning Christmas Tree
One of my favorite annual rituals is the burning of the Christmas tree. As I mentioned a few days ago, we kept it up a bit later this year than last but it came down today. It was a small tree so I was able to cut all but the lowest part of the trunk without a saw. I carried it to the family room, where our fireplace is, and burned it, bit by bit over a small fire I had already started. Naturally I put the camera on a tripod and took a few pictures. Getting the exposure right for flames is a bit tricky. You want the background to be black and you don’t want the flames to be too bright. On the other hand, you have to play with the shutter speed to get the right amount of blur (or lack of blur). This is by far my favorite from the evening.