By Ed Heaton
It's that time of year when the mood of our country becomes joyful and festive. Along with this joyful atmosphere comes holiday decorations and lights which are always good for photo opportunities. For me the holiday season wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania to see the amazing holiday display of lights and flowers.
Now, working in a controlled public area such as a conservatory or greenhouse always presents equipment challenges because there are limited space and sometime company regulations prohibiting a lot of gear. You need to select your equipment carefully and be prepared for the variety of images you'll have a chance to capture. A good choice for an all-inclusive lens would be the Tamron 18-270mm (for the APS-C sensor cameras) or the Tamron 28-300mm (for the full frame/ FX cameras).
Now let's not forget about making a few macro or close-up images, and for this I'd bring along either my Tamron 60mm, Tamron 90mm or my Tamron 180mm macro lens. This has me traveling light and still being able to cover a large range of focal lengths with just two lenses and my tripod which is very manageable inside close quarters.
Best of Light,
Ed
nice pics, Ed! Great ideas for different holiday "angles". I love Longwood Gardens, but it's a bit far for me to get there, unfortunately! Wish we had something as good - the Conservatory in San Francisco is good, but not the same.
Posted by: Brenda Tharp | Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 05:44 PM
HI Brenda and Thank You! I really appreciate your kind words! Yes, I am fortunate having Longwood so close!
Posted by: Ed Heaton | Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 10:14 PM
Wow! Nice pictures,very nice garden indeed, this is as close I'll every see it. Wish Ottawa had something like this.
Posted by: Liddie | Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 08:28 AM
Good morning Liddie and Thank You! Ottawa my not have a nice garden but it's certainly a beautiful city! I visited several years ago and came home with an amazing set of images!
Posted by: Ed Heaton | Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 08:38 AM
Some beautiful images from Longwood. I was there in the Fall a couple of years back but haven't been fortunate enough to get there at Christmas. Absolutely love the bokeh shot through the window! Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Christine D'Arbanville | Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 03:21 PM
I was at Longwood on Saturday. It is so beautiful this time of year and you captured it so well!!
Posted by: Tj Delikat | Wednesday, December 15, 2010 at 06:09 PM
Hi TJ and thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you had a chance to visit this year and I agree with you, it's beautiful :-)
Posted by: Ed Heaton | Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 05:39 PM
Hi Christine and thanks for the visit and nice comment! It's a great place for photographers and I really enjoy my visits there!
Merry Christmas to you as well and have a safe and happy holidays!
Posted by: Ed Heaton | Thursday, December 16, 2010 at 06:43 PM
Very nice shots Ed! I visited Longwood Gardens 3 months ago for the first time. It is so rich with photographic possibilities. Looks like I need to revisit the gardens at Christmas time. Very beautiful.
Posted by: Randall Hull | Friday, December 17, 2010 at 09:40 AM
Hi Randall and Thanks for the visit and kind comment. Yes, worth a return visit over the holidays for sure :-)
Posted by: Ed Heaton | Friday, December 17, 2010 at 10:20 AM