Canada Day Fireworks, 2022

I thought a lot about returning to the same viewpoint as last year (actually 2019) and trying to do better this time around. It's not that I didn't get some wonderful photos last time, but there were little things that I thought I could improve upon. In actuality, the photos this year didn't work out quite so well, at least in some respects.

My most preferred photos from last time highlighted the clock tower with a light burst from behind while another firework exploded overhead. Otherwise, it was (and is) so dark that, except for the clock, the tower can barely be discerned. Also, last time around, there was lighting on the corner of the building (the right side, below) to provide balance and another point of interest to stand out of the deep shadows. You can see what I mean in this ↓ picture.

The tower is prominent because it is backlit,
and the side of town hall is also lighted.
This year, backlighting like this
did not occur one single time.

Nevertheless, the show was grand. You shoot what you can in the conditions that you get, and I really like some of the photos that I did get. 

Here are a few images. I could go on and on with many a photo, and maybe I will at some other time.

It was fun. I enjoy the challenge of getting good fireworks photos. It's not the fireworks themselves that are so difficult, but showing the context is not easy, and I don't really want just the fireworks against nothing but sky with no contextual elements. Photos like that can also be wonderful, but they are not really what I want to achieve.

 

Timing the bursts is also unpredictable. One might as well just keep on pressing the shutter for 4 seconds (all of these exposures are 4 seconds) and hoping for the best. As long as the bursts come regularly, you'll get some decent photos.

The trudge back to the car was pretty funny in a way. After standing for an hour or more, both my knees and ankles all but locked up, and it was quite a hobble before I loosened up. Going down the grassy incline to the parking lot was especially fun.

I am already thinking of where else I might go for next year's photos now that I've photographed from this vantage point twice.