Wednesday 24 December 2008

Out at Night

This evening I took to the local streets to try and take a few photographs of the local houses which were decorated for Christmas. I started by taking a picture of our own front window.
The camera then went dead. I have had a rechargeable battery pack in the camera for about two years now and it has served me well. The trouble with high quality rechargeable batteries is that they do not give much sign of failing until they suddenly fail to hold a charge. A quick swap to some old dura-cell batteries that I just happened to have in my pocket for a different appliance. The camera works, but at a slower rate....
Quite a few local houses have been lit up for the seasonal festivities, some more extensively than others. I tend to prefer modest decoration, but some like it bright, with flashing or waving Santa's or tumbling icicles, sleighs and snowmen.
This photograph is a poor representation of the effect of having three bushes festooned with lights. I think that I should have taken it at dusk to get a better effect.
Of course there is the Santa, waving furiously from the top of a neighbours garage roof, desperately clutching a giant wine bottle.
Every so often I came across a pair of houses who were either trying to compete for what they considered to be the best display, or in one case (not this one), spreading a single display across a few houses.

It turns out that Kodak no longer supply their excellent battery packs for my Z560 camera. I need to purchase them from another source for anything between £4.50 and £15.00 It would seem much more sensible to obtain some good quality rechargeable AA batteries from the wholesaler and fit them myself. (guess what I want from Santa this year?)

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