Back To Bernard's Spot

As we near the end of another season of fireworks, I needed to return to my favourite spot for another session.  For those of you who weren't around last year, I learned of this location thanks to a photograph in La Presse by the great Bernard Brault.  One of his photos appeared in the newspaper in the Summer of 2011 and I immediately recognized the location and promised myself that I`d go there later that year.  This is the third year that I shoot the fireworks from this spot, and I`ll probably continue to make an annual visit there every year.  This is also the second year in a row when I overheard a couple of people wondering where they should position themselves to watch the fireworks when I heard the reply that they should stand close to the guy with the camera since he probably had a good spot.  There's an added degree of difficulty in taking photographs from this spot.  Not only is it important to get some nice explosions in your shots, but you also need to hope that some cars will be driving by at the same time because otherwise the bottom of the photograph will look rather dull with only a bunch of empty traffic lanes.  The first photograph was taken at f/14, 8sec, ISO 100 at 75mm.  Here are a couple more shots from the show.

f/14, 7sec, ISO 100 at 75mm

f/14, 6sec, ISO 100 at 75mm

f/14, 12sec, ISO 100 at 75mm

f/14, 34sec, ISO 100 at 75mm

f/14, 30sec, ISO 100 at 75mm

I really enjoy this spot.  It combines two of the things that I really like photographing.  Fireworks and light streaks.  The final product is kind of a double feature as often the light show at the bottom of the photograph is just as interesting as the one up top.  The location also offers a prime look at how bad some of the local drivers are, as some of you can probably see by looking at the streaks of light and how they sometimes change direction.  Can't wait to return here again next year.