Christmas window
PENTAX *ist DS 
Aperture 56/10 ISO 800 Shutter 1/10 Focal Length 200/1 
Alexandria, Virginia, US
Dec, 2016Views
445
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Awards
People's Choice in The best Christmas shot! Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Genius
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was captured around the corner from the building where I work in Alexandria, VA.Time
It was just after 6am, perhaps an hour before sunrise.Lighting
The lighting is entirely ambient...the interior is the lobby of an office building, and the exterior lighting is from the street lights. I did not use a flash in this shot because I was across the street and because of the glass in the window.Equipment
I shot this photo using my Pentax *ist DS with a Pentax 55-200mm zoom, handheld. As I noted, this was shot from across the street with a long focal length. As I recall, it took several shots before I was able to get a shot without a lot of blurring, since the Pentax *ist cameras do not have any image stabilization.Inspiration
My bus stop was at the corner just past this office building, and I had noticed this window with the holiday decorations. It struck me that the simple white lights and white decorations could make for an elegant photo, so I brought my camera to work with me the next morning and got off the bus a stop early so I could walk by this window.Editing
Surprisingly, this photo is straight out of the camera, with no post-processing.In my camera bag
Because I was going to work, I only had my camera and the longer zoom attached to it, specifically to get this shot. Normally, I carry a couple of different lenses with me as well, because I don't always know what I'm going to shoot.Feedback
This shot only happened because I noticed something interesting in the course of my normal routine. This particular shot taught me to try to avoid being in "automatic pilot" mode as I go about my daily routine. If I hadn't noticed the decorations in this window, I never would have thought to bring my camera to work. Now I sometimes throw my camera in my backpack as I head to work, even if I don't have a specific shot in mind. I never know when I might see something that I'll want to shoot.
