Fireworks Season!

In mid-June the fireworks stands pop up here on every corner like dandelions in spring!

Last night a good friend of ours had an early Independence Day party...

complete with live band...

 and a sizable professional fireworks show.

I haven't tried to take pix of fireworks before so this was a good opportunity to experiment & learn. For a first attempt, I'm fairly pleased with the results. Here's just a few:

I did some reading up on techniques. Certainly, it's a recipe involving shutter speed & timing. A tripod & remote shutter release are essential. Finally, just like real estate - location, location, location. Having something in the foreground gives some perspective. I used the trees on this property to frame some shots, however they got in the way of some good ones.

In this set of photos, I did play around with Lightroom to crop or enhance, just because it's fun.

There's no set of rules for how fireworks pix should look. I think it's interesting to see the trees framing the sparkles or the blur of slow shutter speed.

 The one below is my favorite. Classic explosion but the spirals show up really well, creating an interesting effect.

Next Friday is the huge annual celebration our church hosts for the community. Hopefully, my practice run last night will pay off!

Hope you all have a great Fourth of July holiday! Be safe; and remember - freedom isn't free.

Freedom is a fragile thing

and is never more than one generation away from extinction.

It is not ours by inheritance;

it must be fought for

and defended constantly by each generation,

for it comes only once to a people.

Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again.

~Ronald Reagan