Bernard's View

Here is a shot that I guess would qualify as the MVP of my recent photography exhibition.  I took it this past July during the annual La Ronde Fireworks Competition.  It's also a shot that has a fun story to it.  One of my "photography hero's" is Bernard Brault, who is a photographer for the La Presse newspaper in Montreal.  I first started to follow his work during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games as he had a daily photography journal featuring shots he took not only during the Games, but also regular shots he had taken during the day, complete with the information about what camera settings he had used.  It was a daily must read for me.  Two years ago, he took a photograph of the La Ronde Fireworks to mention how the latest competition was beginning and I immediately realized that I live about five minutes from where the shot had been taken.  It became my mission to get out there and try to take a similar photograph.  I had to wait a year as the pedestrian bridge where this photo was taken was closed for repairs, and then I had to return three times this year because my first attempt was marred by the smoke from the fireworks being blown in my direction.  The second attempt was ruined by strong winds that kept causing my camera to move, but finally, the third time was the charm.  This shot was taken at f/14, 11sec. at ISO 100 at 140mm.  I also cropped the final image to make everything a little more tight.  I personally love the fireworks in the sky above and the light streaks left by the passing cars below, but I was surprised to learn from people who bought this photo that they also liked the street signs as much as anything else as they reminded them of familiar locations.  While trying to come up with titles for my photographs to be used during the exhibition, I felt it was natural to name this one after the man who has not only helped me to learn more about photography, but someone who's work I enjoy as well.