An entry level camera that captured my heart...

The following photos were taken in the historic town of New Bern, North Carolina. The town was founded in 1710 by Swiss Baron Christoph von Graffenried.  It was named after Bern Switzerland, and thus the name "New Bern" came into play.  Every year, this delightful historical town holds a Colonial Christmas celebration.  Keep in mind that prior to the American Revolutionary war, New Bern was the colonial capital of North Carolina and the main building of government there was the Tryon Palace.  So all festivities are centered in the Tryon Palace area.

All images shown below were shot in RAW mode, AWB - in ISO's ranging from 200 to 12,800 (the ISO 12,800 were obviously shot at JPG fine mode).  Images were converted using ACR 8.7.1.  Files were converted from RAW to TIF mode (my preferred workflow).  Images were then converted for web usage using Irfanview (my preferred file converter) at a 95% quality level, resized to 1200 x 803 (so it's manageable).  Please note that the EXIF information has been stripped because when you convert from TIF to JPG using Irfanview, it does that (I've corresponded with the programmer about this).

The entrance to Tryon Palace - shot at ISO 400, AWB, RAW, Aperture Priority mode.

Looking at Tryon Palace further back by the main entrance gates.  Same shooting data as above.

The historical area of New Bern has a multitude of colonial era homes - and many are available to tour.  Everything is accessible on food, so you don't have to drive everywhere to see everything.  Same shooting data as above.

Taken at ISO 400 (other data the same as above).  Taken at Dusk - again, one of the many colonial era homes you can see in New Bern.

Same information as above.

New Bern has a variety of bistros and restaurants.  We enjoyed eating here at Morgan's Tavern and Grill.  Shot at ISO 800 -other shooting info same as previously (i.e. AWB, RAW, Aperture Priority Mode).

Another wonderful (awesome) higher end restaurant can be found down by the bay area - it's called Persimmon's restaurant and it's obviously predominantly a sea food place.  During the warmer months you can sit outside and eat and you can bring your boat right up to the restaurant and park it there.  Shot at ISO 200 - same info as above.

Everywhere you go in New Bern, you'll see these huge bears (the symbol of New Bern).  Each bear is uniquely different and quite colorful.  Shot at ISO 400 - other data same as above.

Another bear sample - there must be 50 or so of these bears - all painted differently - all across the town.  Shot at ISO 400.

A traditional church scene - complete with Spanish moss hanging down from the oak trees, along with some holiday decorations.  Shot at ISO 400.

Shot at ISO 4000 - taken inside one of the many novelty stores in downtown historic New Bern.

Did you know that Pepsi Cola was founded in New Bern by a pharmacist named Caleb Bradham (read sign on this image).  So the original Pharmacy is right here where this drink was introduced.  Shot at ISO 400.

The birthplace of Pepsi Cola - the old Bradham's Pharmacy.  Shot at ISO 400.

And lest you think there are no areas to shop - think again.  There are numerous small malls housing a variety of restaurants and shops.  Taken at ISO 800.

Taken at ISO 5000.  Walked into this one novelty store and saw this "store dog" relaxing.

Shot at ISO 12,800.  Once the colonial Christmas festivities began at Tryon Palace, music, food, and the atmosphere were superb.

Shot at ISO 12,800.  It was pitch dark outside (other than a few lights towards the front).  The line of folks waiting to tour the inside of the Palace.

Preparing for the evening's festivities - shot at ISO 640.  The tents housed food, entertainment, magic tricks, etc.

Shot at ISO 400.  People already lining up outside of the Tryon Palace area (no photos were allowed inside of the Palace).

Shot at ISO 200 - great boating and fishing can be had here.  New Bern is where the two rivers - the Neuse and the Cape Fear come together before they head out to the ocean.  And this was the site of numerous naval battles fought during the American Civil War.

New Bern City Hall.  Shot at ISO 400.

Shot at ISO 3200 - colonial entertainment inside one of the tents.  Remember, it was cold outside (40 degrees F).

And if you're ever in New Bern, make sure to have breakfast here at the Bakers Kitchen.  They have sausage and French Toast to die for!!!!  Shot at ISO 200.

Shot at ISO 1000.  So Merry Christmas to all of you.....