'Tis the season ... for all things Christmas

If you've followed this blog in recent years, you know that I'll stop in stores during high-traffic holiday seasons to photograph interesting merchandise displays.

So it was today -- Christmas Eve -- when Lee Ann and I happened to stop at a Kohl's store near the heart of Fuquay-Varina, a community in far southern Wake County. We were there primarily looking for a solitary string of white/clear lights to replace a string that had ceased working on our tree (don't you hate when that  happens?).

As it happened, Kohl's didn't have light strings. But a Big Lots store next door did have some, and we made off with a relatively inexpensive box of lights for $2.50. The bulk of the lights are guaranteed to continue working if one of them burns out (I'm sure we'll find out in time how that goes!).

But Kohl's did have a photogenic variety of holiday or seasonal merchandise on display and for sale, such as the faceless angels shown in the image leading off the post or one or more of the stuffed animals shown in the image below. So I pulled out my iPhone 11 (I upgraded from 10 recently) and started firing away ... then decided to try and pull together a Christmas Day post about my shoot to possibly bring some cheer to those who might need some this season. (Note to readers: Many of these were already marked 50 to 60% off, so if you see anything you might like to add to your yuletide decor, you know where to look ... )

For those of you who've heard about the ever-improving quality of images you can get from the cameras in iPhone upgrades ...  I can vouch for the dramatic improvement of images taken with the 11 over the 10 -- especially in low light. I've already captured some remarkably lit shots in low, available light since I got the 11 over the Thanksgiving holiday.

In addition, the phone's auto-edit function is spot on about 90 percent of the time, and what's more ... the other image editing functions available in the phone offer a sharpening option. Pretty remarkable. I've not gone too crazy with that feature, mostly because the phone does a pretty decent job focusing at the point of shoot if the photographer knows how to select the primary focus point when capturing the image. All of the photos you see in this post were taken with the iPhone 11.

As always, to pull up a larger, sharper version of a photo, simply click on the image. This is particularly helpful when accessing the blog from a mobile device. And if you'd like to see the full gallery of images I took at the Kohl's store, click on the link in this display.

Merry Christmas, everyone ... and Happy Holidays!

A bright red yuletide bow (above) and examples of house furnishings (first two below) emblazoned with the word "Noel." 

Above and below: Two more vehicles, and this time, I don't think there is a practical use for them ... other than decoration. But Lee Ann wasn't around for me to check with at the time I took these pictures, so I could be very wrong about that. 

A tri-snowmen photo holding display (above) and a boot filled with a cute, but tired, puppy (below).

If the angle of the above snowmen pillow appears a tad artsy, it wasn't by design. It was situated on an upper shelf, requiring me to elevated the phone to capture the composition. Below, one of several aquamarine colored tree ornaments and decorations in a modest display. 

Above, a musical glass globe (not sure if it's a snow globe; I didn't explore that), and below, a basket of sundry pillows decorated in designs and colors for the season.

Above and first three below: Various hats with clever holiday-related quips.

The tri-snowmen tapestry above appeared to be a table place mat; the hand towel below, designed to appeal to the grandmothers willing to part with their money because it reminds them of the little ones. 

Above, a sign playfully alluding to the puppy in the house. Below, a narrow, all-red tree with same-colored ornaments.

Snowman-bedecked plates (above) and Santa and Mrs. Clause salt and pepper shakers (below). 

Celebrities such as Will Farrell (above) and the HGTV's Property Brothers, twins Drew and Jonathan Scott (below) showed up in the store. Farrell's was promoting "Elft" movie-related merchandise; the Scott brothers were sort of just isolated from everything, including the men's clothing, so I'm not sure what they were there for.

Above and below are products promoting the movie "A Christmas Story." 

There was a period in my later working years -- when I made a practice to dress up at the office -- where I began to "collect" and wear Christmas ties and wear them during December. I think I even had enough to wear a different one every work day in the month. That's what I thought of when I ran into these ties (above and first three images below). 

Above and below: Christmas season socks for men, presumably to use as stocking stuffers? 

I had to ask Lee Ann if the cars above had any functionality or were they just decoration. I was embarrassed not to have realized it when she told me they were decorative cookie jars/holders. Below, perhaps also as a stocking stuffer, are "sleep pants" (perhaps the euphemistic way of saying "pajamas" so men will be more included to wear them). 

Immanuel United C-C, Southside Indy

While I was in Indiana over the Thanksgiving holiday, I made a point to stop by a church I'd had my eye on to photograph for many years on my many drives up South East Street between Garfield Park and downtown Indianapolis.

Immanuel United Church of Christ, 402 Prospect Street, isn't architecturally spectacular by any means. But I've always found it architecturally interesting. I'm glad I could add it to my church collection. My one challenge was weather; just as I started to begin shooting, a light rain began to fall. I succeeded in making 10 pictures before the downpour became heavy, and I made a dash for the car.

The church is on a small parcel of land at the northwest corner of Prospect and East streets, just south of the I-70 interstate highway. The longest portion of the building fronts Prospect Street; it's the facade you see in the first photo below. The side you see in the very last photo of this post faces the parking lot on the east side of the property, along East Street.

As always, to view a larger, sharper version of a photo, simply click on the image. This is particularly helpful when accessing the blog while using a mobile device.

Fishers, Ind., downtown area remains in an ongoing state of development

I began visiting the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers on a regular basis in 2014, and the downtown's area was under heavy construction then (at least as much as I can recall). In the ensuing years, tear downs and new buildings has been ongoing there, and I documented some of the activity in several shoots during my visits.

And so it was when I was there last month. Whereas the majority of construction in years past had been going on east of the railroad tracks along and north of 116th Street, the heaviest concentration of new digging and structures is still along 116th Street, but west of the tracks. There's also construction going on east of I-65 along 116th, and I noticed the Fresh Market store that used to be next to LA Fitness on the north side of 116th has not only closed ... but it's been torn down.

When I was in Fishers last month, I didn't photograph the latter area west of the interstate, but I did take another leisurely stroll in the original downtown area where new building is going on ... and where I wanted to document development completed since I was there last, which was in May 2018.

One of the sites I was most eager to revisit was the municipal mall and mall performance stage near Town Hall. In May 2018, the land was dug up and the skeletal beginnings of the new performance stage were present. But last month, everything was finished.

That's the performance stage in the photo leading off the post and the image immediately below. The second photo below is the mall green -- the view performers have when they're on the stage. That whole green area was dirt and construction implements when I was there last.

As always, click on any image to view a larger, sharper version, which is particularly beneficial when accessing the blog from a mobile device. To view a full gallery of images from the shoot, click on the link in this sentence.


Photo geek stuff: All shots were taken with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens. Each composition was captured in three exposures -- normal exposure and 2/3 stops above and below normal. ISO was set at 160 and f/8, and I used the shutter as my variable for the different exposures. The three shots were melded into one in post-processing using Photomatix high-dynamic range (HDR) software.

West of the refurbished municipal mall and performance stage are the structures under construction shown above and below. 

North of the performance stage are buildings under construction shown above and below.

The Meyer Najem Construction Co. plant can be found east of the municipal mall. Above is a view of the full building facade, and below is a closeup of the installation art. 

The Fishers police station (above) has a new home in the municipal circle complex. Nearby is an older structure (below) housing other municipal services. 

Braden Business Systems (above) anchors the northeast corner of Municipal Drive and North Street. Directly east down North Street -- just before the former railroad tracks -- is this view (below) of Four Day Ray Brewery in the distance. 

Another new building facade (above) and an extended parking garage (below) along the former railroad tracks.  

Looking west toward Municipal Drive on North Street (above), and the RQAW headquarters (below) just east of the former railroad tracks on North Street. 

New development on the north side of North Street (above), not far from Four Day Ray (below). This western facade of the brewery from Maple Street features a colorful mural. Sun rays refracting off the the brewery's corner signage (second below) featured a brilliant purple colorization at this time of day. The brewery as seen from the north side of North Street (third below) and a closeup of the mural (fourth below).

The front facade of LoKe Bicycle shop (above) across from Four Day Ray.

Fishers Office Suite (above) on Lantern Road and North Street, festive seasonal street decorations (next two below) and Community Health Network's new facility at Lantern Road and E. 116th Street (third below). 

Above and below: Open areas under development along East 116th Street between Moore Street and the former railroad tracks. 

Just east of the above construction activity are the Crown Liquors store (above), Greek's Pizzeria (below) and Handel's Homemade Ice Cream (second below). On the west side of the site is the former Nickel Plate Bar and Grill (third below), a longtime institution in downtown Fishers. 

An open area (above) under development on the south side of East 116th Street east of Fishers Town Center. A sign on the grounds (below) indicates it will be developed as the future site of the First Internet Bank headquarters. 

Further west along 116th Street, just east of Holland Drive, is the building construction shown in the photos above, below and second below.