Light-Up Night Photoblogging, Part I

Okay, so, there's this annual tradition in Pittsburgh called "Light-Up Night," where all the office buildings downtown are supposed to leave their lights on, and there's all kinds of other lights and festiveness, and the Pittsburgh Christmas Tree gets lit up while kids ice-skate around it. I'll probably post those pictures later on, but for now I'm just going to focus on some of the more peripheral festiveness.

This was also supposed to be the big test for my tripod, which could lead to more night photography. Sad to say, it failed miserably. The legs wouldn't stay extended, but they wouldn't collapse all the way either, not without lots of cajoling and beating, and the thought of repeatedly tinkering and wrestling with something vaguely rifle-shaped in the low-light situation seemed like kind of a bad idea. I managed to get pretty decent hand-held results at 1/30 of a second, and even 1/15, but I still plan to get myself a Slik Sprint Pro tripod, which seems to strike a pretty good balance between portability and non-crapness.


Light-Up Night concession stands. I did not partake, to my eternal regret.


Giant inflatable lightbulb, generously provided by the local electrical company.


A very festive garbage can, and its equally festive shadow.