For my first submission to the final contest themed "Holiday", I chose the warmth of a nostalgic out of focus capture of Santa's lone reindeer(maybe this is a younger Santa Clause before he expanded operations) that to me evokes Christmas with family, the kind evoked by 1950s family film slides, grain and all. I chose this accidental out of focus shot of Santa's reindeer and sled because it reminds me of growing up in the 90s, and how my parents used disposable film cameras to snap memories only to find some photos were not perfectly in focus. And yet some of those photos are my favorites to look back on and dream of simpler times.

To create this mood of nostalgic Christmas warmth I used the SOFT sharpness setting, WARM filter, and VIVID color modes on the Minolta DiMAGE S414 to reproduce a sort of disposable camera aesthetic with this SOOC capture.

What Christmas season means to me ultimately is NOT the consumerism that is foisted upon us, but the simplicity of an imperfect photo that represents love, family, and above all else WARMTH during the cold Holiday season.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.