I think that the title of this little blog post pretty much sums up my 2013 Fireworks shooting. The first two times were rained out. The third show I decided to try my luck from the top of a hill in Seaway Park only to discover that my hill was about two feet shorter than needed and the blasts were no where near the structure of the Jacques Cartier Bridge. See, I`ve been wanting to take some pictures of the fireworks, but to keep the structure of the bridge in my shot. I had some success with this last year. You can see that picture by
clicking the link here. While you`re looking at that picture, also take the time see how
little was actually written about that photograph. I guess that I`ve become a bit long winded over the last year. I`ve been trying to capture a look something along the line of that picture and I thought I had found the perfect location. Along with my Lovely Assistant, we took a brisk 15 minute walk to where cars enter the Jacques Cartier Bridge. My goal was to position myself slightly near the beginning of the bridge, rather than going far onto the bridge itself. The bridge is a good place to view the fireworks, but it`s a terrible place to try and photograph them. One of the reasons is because the suicide prevention steel barriers block out what
can be a great view. I figured that by placing myself before the bridge actually begins, I`d free myself of the suicide barriers. I was kind of right. There were no suicide barriers, but there was also a large chain link fence in my way which actually went higher than the walls I was trying to avoid to begin with. We went to the stairs to leave the bridge, but I then noticed that there was a little gap between where the stairs were, and the suicide barriers that cover the rest of the bridge. I quickly jumped into the spot knowing it was the best vantage point I was going to find 10 minutes before showtime, and got ready. There was a large concrete ledge that I had to deal with, but luckily my tripod allows me to turn my camera and shoot vertically. I got as close to the ledge as possible, went vertical and began shooting. As I feared, I didn't get the exact results that I was looking for, but thanks to a very present Moon, I got still got some interesting shots. There was also some creative editing involved in getting to the final shots that you see here. I had to rotate the images 3.5degrees as my vertical shooting position was not quite as straight as I had thought. I also decided to edit out the cement ledge and as much of the buildings that obstructed some of the blasts, though I also find some of the shots where you can see into the building to
be kind of fun to look at as well. Here are the details for the shots that you see. f/9, 11sec, ISO 100 at 48mm. f/9, 8sec, ISO 100 at 48mm. f/9, 4sec, ISO 100 at 48mm and finally f/9, 4sec, ISO 100 at 48mm. I also tried using different crop sizes for these photographs. Generally sticking with 12" horizontally but sizes varying from 5" to 12" and lots of other odd numbers in between for the vertical. I guess it's back to the drawing board as I try and find a new more suitable location for the next show. There's a couple more locations that I have on my radar. Hopefully I'll get a bit more lucky with them.
little was actually written about that photograph. I guess that I`ve become a bit long winded over the last year. I`ve been trying to capture a look something along the line of that picture and I thought I had found the perfect location. Along with my Lovely Assistant, we took a brisk 15 minute walk to where cars enter the Jacques Cartier Bridge. My goal was to position myself slightly near the beginning of the bridge, rather than going far onto the bridge itself. The bridge is a good place to view the fireworks, but it`s a terrible place to try and photograph them. One of the reasons is because the suicide prevention steel barriers block out what 
can be a great view. I figured that by placing myself before the bridge actually begins, I`d free myself of the suicide barriers. I was kind of right. There were no suicide barriers, but there was also a large chain link fence in my way which actually went higher than the walls I was trying to avoid to begin with. We went to the stairs to leave the bridge, but I then noticed that there was a little gap between where the stairs were, and the suicide barriers that cover the rest of the bridge. I quickly jumped into the spot knowing it was the best vantage point I was going to find 10 minutes before showtime, and got ready. There was a large concrete ledge that I had to deal with, but luckily my tripod allows me to turn my camera and shoot vertically. I got as close to the ledge as possible, went vertical and began shooting. As I feared, I didn't get the exact results that I was looking for, but thanks to a very present Moon, I got still got some interesting shots. There was also some creative editing involved in getting to the final shots that you see here. I had to rotate the images 3.5degrees as my vertical shooting position was not quite as straight as I had thought. I also decided to edit out the cement ledge and as much of the buildings that obstructed some of the blasts, though I also find some of the shots where you can see into the building to
be kind of fun to look at as well. Here are the details for the shots that you see. f/9, 11sec, ISO 100 at 48mm. f/9, 8sec, ISO 100 at 48mm. f/9, 4sec, ISO 100 at 48mm and finally f/9, 4sec, ISO 100 at 48mm. I also tried using different crop sizes for these photographs. Generally sticking with 12" horizontally but sizes varying from 5" to 12" and lots of other odd numbers in between for the vertical. I guess it's back to the drawing board as I try and find a new more suitable location for the next show. There's a couple more locations that I have on my radar. Hopefully I'll get a bit more lucky with them.
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