Contrary to popular opinion, I must have been good this year. I had an opportunity to ride with Santa in the Christmas Truck Parade.

It is a different view watching the crowds from the float. Of course Santa was phenomenal, and he most definitely brought out the Christmas Spirit in everybody.

[flagallery gid=34](Click an image for a full size slide show)

Photographically there were a number of challenges. First it was pretty dark, yet the float was relatively bright. This made it difficult to capture both Santa (and the elf and teddy bear) and the crowds. What light there was on the truck was pretty visually, but hideous photographically. White balance was a nightmare. I had to resort to Black and White for a number of images. Black and White also let me adjust the contrast a bit better.

In addition to it being dark, the truck bounced around more than I would have expected. It was not unsafe at all, but the truck was not a stable platform for the camera{{1}}. Shots of the crowds were nigh on impossible.

Photography has come a long way. Even 10 years ago I could not imagine shooting at ISO 6400 or more and getting anything approaching usable. Back in the film days shooting ISO 1000 was problematic…

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

[[1]]Next year I would like to try attaching a GoPro or something to the truck to make a video. It may or may not work, but it would be interesting.[[1]]