Gone are the large, klunky bulbs of earlier days! New LED lights have changed the way we view Christmas lighting. 

Loveland Chapungu Sculpture Park

Free!!!!!!!! The display at the Loveland Chapungu Sculpture Park is open to the public each night from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The paths wind seasonal onlookers through the heavily decorated sculpture park. Families and leashed pets can wander through the many zones at their own pace. The scene is complete with Christmas music ringing through the calm night air. The park is located just off I-25 and north of Highway 34. Nearby, you can find several outdoor malls, plenty of places to dine, and a 14 plex movie theater. 

I carried my tripod and Sony A1 camera so I could do long exposure shots with low ISO settings. This ice sculpture was back lit for a nice effect. The color of the light changed regularly…I just waited for the colors I liked to cycle through. Darla also got nice shots with her iPhone, without carrying a tripod.

I took a lot a “standard” shots of the lights, plus quite a few purposefully out of focus images like this one. This creates beautiful bokeh effects. 

This hillside is decoearted with ornamental stars and flakes under the large Christmas tree shaped cone. The light changes colors and synced with music. 

Darla wanted me to take this shot of her jumping in the air.  A lot of families pose for a family shot here and in many other similar photo spots along the walk.

If we were still in Wyoming right now, the ground would be covered with snow and the lakes and ponds would be frozen over. Loveland has a much milder climate, but we know we can get heavy storms at any time in the winter. It was chilly, but not terribly cold when we were there.

This venue is definitely family and kid friendly.  

And, it is not just for kids!.

You can expect sculptures at a sculpture garden, of course! Back in the day, stages at theaters were lit by candles and oil lamps from below, creating distinctive lighting and odd shadows. I’ll go back for more photos someday when the Christmas rush is over. The famous Benson Sculpture Park does not have seasonal lights. 

The Loveland Chapungu Sculpture Park drew a comfortable sized crowd.  At least while we were there, it did not seem crowded. We didn’t have any problems finding a parking spot, either. 

The Gardens on Spring Creek – Ft. Collins

At this time of the year, the botanical gardens are transformed into a festive, light filled wonderland. The Gardens on Spring Creek is a hidden gem, only a couple of miles from the Colorado State University campus. Check out their site at https://www.fcgov.com/gardens/ Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children, and free for children under 5. The complex also has a North American Butterfly building with 300+ butterflies flittering around. (I plan on going there for the butterflies very soon!)

The Garden of Lights is extremely well done and definitely worth the admission! You won’t feel shortchaged as the light display covers a good portion of the 12 acre complex. You can get additional information for the Garden of Lights by clicking here!

I’ve mentioned this earlier, but the Garden of Lights is a great place to fine tune your “bokeh” skills! I 

I have to admit, I was totally “in the dark” about this place! I didn’t know ANYTHING about it, even after finding a parking spot and going through the gate. I had to ask a couple of volunteers what the facility is used for the rest of the year? Besides the outdoor botanical gardens (currently covered with lights) the facility also has the butteryfly building plus this outdoor theater and music facility. 

Look for the red and white dot in the previous photo. It’s Santa! fDarla and I roamed our way to the north end of the building and found a line of adults with their kids. They were in line, waiting to get their chance for their kids to spell out their wish list to Jolly Ol’ St. Nick. 

Darla posed for a shot putting the bokeh lights to a real world use. I shot in Manual mode all evening. The new mirrorless cameras make this kind of shot fairly easy. What you see on the back of the camera is darned close to the image you will capture.

I tilted the camera slightly for this one. If I went back, I would like to put the camera below the lights and shoot up to create the perspective effect and varying degrees of focus. 

The light artists and staff af the Gardens are extremely creative! Many of the display feature wire structures profusely wrapped with lights!

This is basically the same shot as the previous photo, but was intentionally adjusted out of focus. 

if Forest Gump were to visit the Garden of Lights, he’d say there are “gazillions” of little lights! Like Forest , I’d suggest there are more than just a gazillion.

The elves were busy at Santa’s workshop. In days of CGI and sophisiticated animatronics, it is somewhat refreshing to see a few old school style puppets at work. 

No telling how long it took to decorate the gardens, but the man hours must be staggering! Additionally, it looks like they spend the entire rest of the year researching the newest ornamentation and lighting. 

It’s difficult to to fully predict what to expect when pushing a subject out of focus. The three big variables are: distance to subject, aperture settings, and how much you dial the shot out of focus. I was using a Tamron 35-150mm zoom lens, so the amount of zoom is probably another factor.  

My camera picked up a lot of the details you’d walk by and not think much about. These creations would surely be interesting to view in the day time.

I was the only person walking around with a tripod. I asked when going through the gate and no one had a problem with it.  I saw at least one other person with professional quality gear but he wasn’t using a tripod. It was dark and the facility is quite large, so there could have been more. The tripod gave me a lot more options for the shots. 

Downtown Loveland, CO

Loveland kicked off their Holiday Season early on November 18th. That Friday night was bitter cold, but it didn’t deter a large crowd from celebrating. Darla took this photo with her iPhone. The large tree on the left would be lit at 7:30 pm following some introductions by city dignitaries, mayor, and the Master of Ceremonies.  

I got up very early the next morning and went back downtown. The once bustling streets were deserted, but the snow covered tree was still lit. The streak on the far right is from a passing vehicle during a long exposure (on a tripod, of course).

The bronze cinematographer stands at his tripod next to the Christmas Tree in front of the Rialto Theater in downtown Loveland. We were able to tour the inside of the theater on the previous night. The Rialto was serving coffee and hot chocolate, along with beer and mixed drinks for onlookers for the jazz band playing for free upstairs.  The Rialto Theater is beautifully restored inside and and out. It hosts a wide variety of bands and musicians throughout the year. 

The Front Range runs along the east side of the Rockies, from Ft. Collins at the north end to Golden at the south end.  I haven’t been out looking for similar Christmas lights events in all of the other areas, but I am sure there are others. Smaller towns and cities like Ft. Collins, Loveland, Longmont, Boulder, and Golden have a “home sweet home” feel when compared to larger cities like Denver and Salt Lake City. We are definitely enjoying the “Sweetheart City” of Loveland, CO.