Post Christmas Brussels with a Nikon V1

When the Turkey and Christmas pud start to repeat on you. I can recomend jumping on the Eurostar and decamping to Brussels for a slightly alternative post Christmas experience. Which is what we did on boxing day although we did book the trip 2 months earlier. As far as cameras where concerned I was travelling light with a Nikon V1 with the 10mm pancake lens. Having not managed to find a flash unit for the V1 it was going to be a good test for its low light capabilities and as you you can see by the shots it performed superbly. With settings set at auto ISO, 100-3200 and exposure mode on aperture auto and metering set to spot. So apart from changing the Exposure compensation I kept the same settings throughout my stay in Brussels. The Nikon V1 uses the same battery as in the Nikon D7000 so in the smaller Nikon V1 with less power draining capabilities battery life is extensive. So less need for extra batteries and chargers.

Video preformance was also excellent even in the dark conditions auto focus worked fine with little or no hunting. 

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Edinburgh Santas run the Street

Capital Sees Red as Santas Get Moving For Charity

An annual highlight of Edinburgh’s Christmas, the Santa Run raises funds for the children’s charity, When You Wish Upon a Star, which specialises in making dreams come true for children with life threatening illnesses.

Red was certainly the dominant colour today as this year saw nearly 1500 ‘Santas’ come together on a sunny Edinburgh morning today, Sunday 11 December, to take part in The Great Edinburgh Santa Run in Princes Street Gardens.

As ever there where Santas and Elves of all shapes sizes and ages even our four legged friends where not left out and were suitably adorned with antlers, white beards and a variety Christmas decorations. The route this year took in some of Princess Street which added an extra challenge for a few of the competitive dads amongst the throng.

As an early treat to warm up the Santas the fantastic Edinburgh Rock Choir was in full voice and soon had the Santas and Elves singing along. With the voices warmed up it was time for a more extensive workout with a special Zumba warm up by UK Zumba® Specialist, Donna Giffen, to loosen the Santas up before the run.

And then to the sound a mass pipe band the Santas where off and running, well most of them anyway.

Commenting on the run, Nickie Gott, managing director of event producer She’s Gott It! said:  “The Great Edinburgh Santa Run is a wonderful Christmas event and one that young and old can take part in and enjoy.  It’s fantastic to have so many people come together in the name of charity and there’s been a brilliant buzz all day.  Everyone seemed to have a great time and to see Princes Street teeming with Santas and elves was a truly memorable experience.”

Margaret Rowarth, Scottish appeals manager for When You Wish Upon A Star, commended the runners and organisers alike:  “There is always a magical atmosphere at this event and people continue to be so charitable.  We are extremely grateful for the ongoing support we receive and all money raised will go to grant the wishes of Scottish Children in 2012.  It was thrilling to see everyone have such a good time and we would like to thank the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh’s Christmas producers, She’s Gott It!, and all our volunteers for their respective contributions to yet another successful Santa Run.”