Family Lights Trip & Wicked: The Good – A Night Downtown
A Tradition Revisited
Took the family — and, reluctantly, one preteen boyfriend — down to see the Monument Circle lights in downtown Indianapolis. A few members of the extended family met us there, rounding out a group of eleven. It’s been a few years since I’ve made the trip downtown for this, but I still remember how it used to be a holiday tradition growing up. Mom worked downtown back then, and in the simpler days of the 80s it was a much bigger deal. I think she missed it when she stopped working there, and those outings became her way of keeping a piece of downtown with us.
The Internal Debate
To be honest, heading out into 30-degree weather and what I assumed would be a packed crowd is normally the type of thing I’d avoid. But I kept reminding myself: you don’t get family memories and traditions without actually doing the family-memory, tradition-making things. Add to that the constant reminder that the kids are getting older — and that soon I won’t be able to just say “Hey, we’re going to see the lights” — and the importance of going now instead of skipping it won out.
Comfort zones shrink memories. Getting out of them makes them.
At the Circle
We arrived to a wave of hugs, laughter, and preteens insisting that jackets in 30-degree weather are optional because “looking cool” is apparently a survival strategy. We walked to the Circle and found a crowd waiting for the lights, but not nearly as overwhelming as I expected. Nice surprise.
We stood together drinking hot cocoa and cider, talking and waiting for the moment the lights came on. When they finally did, we lingered, chatted some more, and decided to keep the night going by walking downtown to the Indiana State Museum IMAX to watch Wicked: The Good. Afterwards, we walked back to the cars to wrap up the night.
A Good Family Night
From a family perspective, it was a really good night — the kind that feels simple but meaningful. It was good seeing the mix of young and (in this case) me being the old all together doing something festive. This is exactly the kind of memory and togetherness I want for the girls… and, honestly, the kind of family moment I always imagined wanting.
A Photographer’s Takeaway
From a photography standpoint, I learned a few things:
- I still need more practice with night shots. Underexpose first, then bring it up in Lightroom — that’s the lesson.
- I have very little (read: zero) experience photographing people. That’s why you won’t find many in the gallery for this post. The few I did take… let’s just say they won’t be seeing the light of day.
- I also realized I need to get over the idea that people care that much about being photographed. I personally get annoyed by the traditional “everyone stand together for a picture” ritual — the one that gets taken, looked at once, and disappears forever. But candid moments? Those I could learn to capture. Those feel real.
I’d like to get better at noticing the moments without pulling myself out of them.
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