Carols by Candlelights

Not the Carols by Candlelight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, that would have to wait for another year... This is Carols by Candlelight at Ruffey Lake Park by the Manningham City Council.

What a fantastic event! Everything there were big - the stage, the sound system, light system, number of activities, and the support from the local churches.

But the most important of all - the huge number that turned up for a great night out. The locals obviously know this was going to be a great event (because they have done it 10 times before) so they are very well prepared. Not with brollies (thank God) but with reindeer hats, blankets, eskies, chairs, food, sunscreen, etc. In other words, much more prepared than this photographer was! :P

I was very impressed by the pre-carols programme organised by the local communities and churches. There was a worship band on a little stage singing lots of popular Hillsong songs and spreading the gospel message - the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the message of salvation. And there were face painting, fairy floss, arts and craft, aussie barbie (aka barbeque), on top of the many play areas, etc at the park.

As the name Carols by Candlelight implies, there were candle lights during the carols. Well, my readers, you might know that Victoria has been in drought for quite a few years and any risk of fire must be considered. With the lush green at the Ruffey Lake Park and many native trees there, no naked flame was allowed on the day (is it allow on any day?) so we had this immitation candlelights (torches) which had these little "flames" that actually flicker. What a great idea albeit they weren't nearly as bright as a real candle light would be.



The performances were amazing, loved the kids choir and the band and the many dancers and of course carols. There was even a brief message of hope. What a great night.

This is Alexndra Valmorbida, whom I have photographed before here. Boy, her skills and performance have developed even further! Excellent performance! Well done!



The night ended with a real bang, no, in fact many bangs - fireworks!

That was a fitting finale and also the scariest part of the whole evening for this photographer.. Why? Because I have never taken pics of fireworks before... Yep, never.. until now. Read a little before and asked two friends briefly how it is done, including everyone's friend, Google..

Armed with no more than a couple of tips, I wondered where to place the tripod? What angle will give me the best view? What shutter speed? What aperture? How high will it go? So dark I couldn't really tell... I only managed a few frames of it but thank God that the customer liked it.

Hooo.. a big sigh of relief from the photographer! :)


Thank you very much boys and girls (and your parents for giving me permission to take pics of you).

I know you want to see a few more, so here they are. Nop, Humphrey Bear did not do a double as Santa. Santa was there along with the Santa Sled he just managed to fit into after spending many hours at a gym in Manningham!

Very well done everyone and may the Lord Jesus bless you in 2010.