This Christmas, for the first time, Juliette and I hosted her family at our house for the holiday. Her parents came, as well as her younger brother and sister and new brother-in-law. Things were a bit hectic leading up to it, as we were planning our first ever Christmas dinner, but in the end it all came off without a hitch and a good time (and good meal) was had by all.

Looking around the table as we sat for Christmas dinner, I was struck by just how many kinds of people were represented in that small group. There were eight of us together that night, and in that eight were included a toddler and a 78-year-old, a college student, and a pair of newlyweds. There were Caucasians, Japanese, and a black man. There were Canadians, a Brazilian, and Americans from both coasts. There were at least two different Christian denominations represented, plus a Jewish man, an atheist, and at least one agnostic. Conservatives, moderates, liberals, and the politically indifferent were all there.

And the most amazing thing to me is that despite all of our differences, we all get along. We have our disagreements, true—we even had a little political discussion during the meal. But even when we argue, we listen to what each other have to say, actually weigh the merits of the other's points, and treat one another with respect.

In my more optimistic moments, I believe that we as a species are capable of being more and better than the shrill, angry voices that seem to be dominating political and social discourse right now. It's not always easy to keep a level tone and a reasonable perspective, but seeing a group like the one we had for the holiday makes me know it can be done. If I could have just one wish for the new year, it would be that more people could see it—and live it—as well.

I meant to post this one a week ago, but our post-Christmas travels took us away from the Internet for the duration and I didn't get the chance. I suppose it may be a bit tacky to be posting holiday snaps several days into the new year—a bit like all the people in my neighborhood who still have their Christmas lights not only up but lit. I figure, though, that the beginning of a new year is a time of anticipation and excitement, and a kid on Christmas morning has that in spades, right? That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Nikon SB-400 flash. Aperture-priority exposure mode (matrix metering), TTL flash mode (+0 EV). Aperture f/1.8, shutter 1/60 sec (+0 EV), ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: flash WB preset; crop to 5x7; curves to bring up exposure and add contrast; cloned out some spots on her face; applied skin smoothing to her face.

Thoughts for improvement: The flash here is simply bounced off the ceiling, so the shadows under their cheeks and eyebrows could be filled better. It would also be nice if I hadn't cut off her shoulder. I think it's a good capture of the moment, though, and I like the soft reflection of the Christmas tree in the background.

It's Christmas Eve, and all of us here at Sakeriver (me, that is) wish you all a safe, healthy, and happy holiday. And to say thanks for following along all this time, here's a cookie, decorated by Jason's friend L.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (in Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode, manual flash mode. Aperture f/4, shutter 1/30 sec, ISO 200, flash power 1/4 (I think). Post-processing in Aperture 3: curves to brighten highlights and midtones; levels to darken shadows and brighten midtones.

Thoughts for improvement: The background is a little cluttered, so this might have been better at f/2.8 or f/1.8 to further defocus the background. I do like the little red and green bokeh highlights in the corner, though. There is also some color fringing due to chromatic aberration, but this is an artifact of my lens/camera combination—if I were more motivated I could try to remove or reduce it in Photoshop.

Jason loves babies. He loves to look at them and point them out to us whenever he sees them. And, as you can see, he loves playing with baby dolls. He doesn't have any of his own, but when he's at day care or when we go over to friends' houses, the baby dolls are among the first things he'll go for. He likes to hold them and put their bottles in.

The funny thing is, my mom always talks about how when I was a kid, I loved babies. I don't know if that extended to baby dolls, but she loves to talk about how I always wanted to hold every baby that I saw and how I liked to talk to them. She also loves to talk about how much Jason is just like me, so I reckon she'll get a kick out of this post.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (with Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode and TTL flash mode (+1 EV). Aperture f/1.8, shutter 1/30 sec, ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: cloned out a scab on his cheek; curves to increase exposure and add a bit of contrast.

Thoughts for improvement: I missed the focus a little, so the lettering on the hat is sharp while his eyes are just a touch soft.  I might have also liked to see this with an 85mm f/1.4, to get a softer background. He could also probably use a little more light on him.

On Sunday we were supposed to meet up with some friends and their daughter and go to Legoland. It rained, though, so instead we went over to their house to decorate some Christmas cookies. (Pro tip: if there's any chance whatsoever that your plans to go to Legoland might change, don't tell your toddler about it ahead of time. This turned out to be key in making our Sunday afternoon work.

Jason has known this girl since they were both just a few weeks old (Juliette and her mom met in a breastfeeding support group), and it's been neat to watch them grow up together. One of the most interesting parts of this weekend was watching them interact, because it marked the first time that they really talked and played with each other without any intermediaries. Up until now, most of their communication had had to relay through us parents, but this time they actually had some little toddler conversations. It's going to be neat to see how their friendship progresses now that they're actually able to connect with each other directly.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40 Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, and Vivitar DF-383 flash (with Gary Fong Lightsphere). Manual exposure mode and TTL flash mode (+0 EV). Aperture f/2.8, shutter 1/30 sec, ISO 200. Post-processing in Aperture 3: curves to bring up exposure; burned over the highlight on the railing; vignetting applied; edge sharpening applied.

Thoughts for improvement: The highlight on the railing is distracting, though I was able to reduce it some by burning. Other than that, though, I like the lighting a lot—the Gary Fong Lightsphere really does work well. Compositionally, this would be much better with a sparser background. There's stuff right behind both of their heads that looks weird, and the stuff like the fence and TV really don't add anything. If I were doing this in a studio, I'd like to see what it looked like with just the kids, the chairs, and the table.

I love watching Jason watch things. This is him at Shamu's Christmas show last Saturday. He didn't take his eyes off the pool the entire time.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40 and Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, in aperture priority exposure mode (matrix metering). Aperture f/1.8, shutter 1/40 (-1 EV), ISO 1600. Post-processing in Aperture 3: curves adjustment to increase contrast and bring up the exposure a bit.

Thoughts for improvement: I missed the focus a bit, resulting in the bridge of his nose being sharp and his eye being a little soft. My camera's AF system doesn't always do so well at night, especially since I have the AF-assist light turned off, so this is just something I have to deal with sometimes in order to catch the moments. Compositionally, though, I'm pretty happy, though perhaps it might have been good to include more of his left hand.

One thing about photography: it's turning me into a hypocrite.

I should explain that. See, I'm always chiding Juliette for being nosy. If we go to a restaurant, she looks around at people at other tables. If we go for a walk, she looks to see what she can see through people's windows. "Nosy Noserson," I'll say.

But, of course, if there's anything nosier than a street photographer, I don't know what it is. I'm constantly looking at other people these days, trying to see if they'll show me something I can photograph. That's got to be worse than just sneaking a peak through someone's open front door from the sidewalk.

These two kids were sitting behind us at Shamu's Christmas show when we were at SeaWorld on Saturday. (I didn't actually watch much of the show; first I was watching the crowd, then I was watching Jason.) I glanced back at them several times before the show started, and it reminded me so much of being that age and in love. They kept giggling and looking at each other, taking pictures of themselves together with his cameraphone. (OK, I guess we didn't have that last one when I was a teen.) And all I could think was "How nice."

There's a lot of doom and gloom out there these days. Terrorism, war, people losing their jobs, their homes. But, you know, there's a lot of tenderness, hope, joy, and love out there, too. I think it's worth taking the time to see it. I know it makes my life better.

***

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40 and Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 DX lens, in aperture priority exposure mode (matrix metering). Aperture f/1.8, shutter 1/60 sec (-1 EV), ISO 1600. Post-processing in Aperture 3: maximum recovery adjustment; curves to bring up exposure a bit; cropped to 5x7 and to remove some extra space at the top and a distracting foreground element; light dodging over the couple's faces; burned over the background and the guy on the right.

Thoughts for improvement: The lights in the background are quite bright and are a little distracting. I cropped out most of the man in the right foreground, but if I could have excluded him as I was shooting that would have been better. I also wish I could have gotten a slightly more intimate moment—I like the way she's smiling at him, but he looks a little distracted, which wasn't really representative of how they were acting at the time.

"The Popculturist's Top Ten Christmas Tunes":

The beginning of the Christmas season is an eventful time in the Popculturist household. We decorate our Christmas tree. I drag the ladder out from the garage to hang the lights up on the eaves. And, of course, the radio dial moves over to the local soft rock station for the 24-hour holiday music. Whereupon I start grumbling and Mrs. Popculturist starts commenting on my Grinchiness.

There's no big story to this one. I just happened to look up as we were walking from one part of SeaWorld to another, and liked the look of the audience's silhouettes up in the bleachers above us.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40 and Nikkor 55-200 mm VR DX lens, in aperture priority exposure mode (matrix metering). Focal length 200 mm, aperture f/5.6, shutter 1/125 sec (+0 EV), ISO 360. Post-processing in Aperture 3: cropped to 5x7; red-filter BW preset; curve for contrast, black point, and white point.

Thoughts for improvement: The main thing I could do without here is the mass of palm fronds right in the middle. It might also be nice if I could have missed the head down near the bottom of the frame.

Juliette got Jason a new set of Christmas pajamas that came with a little striped stocking cap. He, of course, loved it. It was beyond cute to watch him running all over the toddler's play area at SeaWorld with that hat on, the tassel bouncing all over as he jumped.

Technical info: Shot with a Nikon D40 and Nikkor 55-200mm VR DX lens, in aperture priority exposure mode (matrix metering). Focal length 200 mm, aperture f/5.6, shutter 1/160 (+0EV), ISO 800. Post-processing in Aperture 3: cropped to 5x7; curves to increase exposure and add contrast; retouched a spot on his face.

Thoughts for improvement: The other kids in the background are a little distracting, but otherwise I like it.