England Rocks

The L’International des Feux Loto-Québec continued this past Saturday night, but before we get to that, I have some business to take care of from last time.  Long time readers will know that I love nothing more than to link to my own work.  I suppose that some may see it as being a little over the top, but as the old saying goes, you never know when the pair of eyes that is looking at your work is doing so for the first time.  If so, why not point them towards something else that you've also done.  I've been posting fireworks photographs here on the blog over the last two years.  If any of you out there are new around here and would like to see those, you can easily find them by clicking on the links on the right-hand side of the page.  Most of them can be found in July 2014 and also July 2013.  Getting back to the business at hand, this past Saturday's display was done by Jubilee Fireworks of Kingswinford, England.  It was a clear and cool night, so I decided that it was time to try out a new location, one that I had been thinking about using for two years now.  I packed up my gear, and My Lovely Assistant packed up some snacks and we drove up to the observation deck on Mount Royal.  I'd seen some fireworks taken from this location and was very eager to try it for myself.  What I liked about the location is that you get a nice view of several buildings in the foreground of the show, as well as a nice dark sky which allows the fireworks to really be the star of the photograph.  I also really like being able to get a good view of the Jacques Cartier Bridge in the shot from this location as old time readers know, I really like being able to get the bridge into my shots.  What I didn't like was all of the tourists.  Knowing that I needed to get a good spot, we arrived on the observation deck a little bit after 8:00PM...a good two hours before the fireworks would begin.  I walked around a bit, looking for the perfect spot, and when I found it, I grabbed it and nothing short of a hurricane was going to get me to move.  Though several pushy tourists and a couple of tripod kicking kids tried their best, I stood my ground and came home with several good photographs, though I may not have made many new friends.  The first photograph of this group was taken at f/16, 12sec, ISO 100 at 70mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/16, 16sec, ISO 100 at 70mm.  The third photograph was taken at f/16, 9sec, ISO 100 at 70mm and the fourth photograph was taken at f/16, 15sec, ISO 100 at 100mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took over the course of the show.

f/16, 16sec, ISO 100 at 70mm

f/16, 14sec, ISO 100 at 100mm

To finish things on a somewhat happier note, while we were up on the mountain, one of those tourist couples decided to tie the knot.  While I was adjusting my camera settings, a man had knelt down next to his girlfriend, who was next to us, and next thing I knew, a little box had appeared, the word 'yes' was heard and then much applause.  Actually, I missed all of this, but I was filled in on the happenings by My Lovely Assistant.  I hope that they lead a long and happy life together.