If any of you were expecting fireworks photography today, I have to disappoint. But let me soften the blow by explaining that it is impossible for me to take a good fireworks photo! With my little point-and-shoot, all I ever get is a colored smudge in the sky. I didn’t even try to take photos this year.
Pictures of fireworks seem a little pointless to me anyway. If anything is meant to be transient, enjoyed only as it occurs, it’s fireworks. What would they be without the motion, the resonant percussive explosions, the smell of the drifting smoke?
For a while, I thought we might get rained out last night. My friends Jan, Helen and I made our way down to the river shortly before sunset, and found ourselves caught in intermittent drizzle. We did bring umbrellas, but you can’t really watch fireworks from beneath an umbrella!
Then, magically, the rain stopped just as the show was ready to begin. We stood and watched, a crisp breeze blowing over us, and had a great time. The engineering of fireworks is amazing to me - how do you pack bits of powder and whatnot so that when they explode, they create a smiley face? Or a cube? It’s pretty incredible.
It is funny you mention the science of fireworks. Instead of enjoying the show, I always find myself wondering how they do the tricks.
ReplyDeleteIt was a quiet 4th here. I think they had the big fireworks show downtown, but it was too hot to go.
What we would give for a drizzle.
There are fireworks that create smiley faces? Wow. I guess I haven't checked out any kind of fireworks show in too long!
ReplyDeleteLove your image of peace, following a day of explosions.
i love fireworks
ReplyDeleteand the smell of sparklers is one of the most nostalgic in the world
glad it kept dry for you!