Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Take back the night

Bright lights in a dark sky
Arva, ON
July 2010
About this photo: It's Thematic Photographic's night-themed week. All week long, we're sharing photos from the darker side of the day. You can, too, by heading here.
I've shot fireworks before - most recently this past Canada Day - and I've got to admit it'll probably never get old.

I think that's because it's so unpredictable. Shooting these barely controlled explosions is such a crapshoot, which is what I think makes it as much fun as it is. There are no guarantees. You just set the camera as best you can - all manual, baby; green-zone full-auto shooting just won't work - and hope you get it right for this particular kind of rocketry.

Most of 'em end up riding the curved edge of the virtual round file, but some of them end up surprising you. And that's the joy of it all: Capturing a moment of complete surprise, and drinking in the fact that you managed to snag an absolutely random painting in the sky.

Even neater: It lasts barely a couple of seconds before disappearing forever. You get one shot.

Your turn: Do fireworks hold lessons for our everyday lives?

8 comments:

The Gearheads said...

I like you're thinking. It is cool to get a picture of something like fireworks. I have always preferred hand held, and I like to go full manual, though I don't find it as easy to do now as it was with my old Minolta X-370 with the speed on the dial up top and the aperture ring on the lens along with the zoom and focus. I should take more time to get firework shots, next time I will.

Rebecca said...

i love fireworks they are so pretty even though they last only minutes. i guess if they hold any lessons it would be that even a moment of beauty is better then no beauty at all.

Chibi Janine said...

Fireworks wasn't to bad this year as I could explain to my little boy what they were Last years bonfire night I had a petrified 2 year old on my knee thankfully they don't bother the dog.

Somewhere round about said...

i think that the best lesson that fireworks hold for our lives is to smile............whenever and wherever we get the chance

look at it this way. Life can be difficult. It's sometimes tough. Life happens.

However fireworks also happen. Glory. How beautiful.

Smile. If only for that two seconds of awe.

srp said...

With fireworks you really need a stabilizing tripod to have a chance at getting the shot right. Stabilization and being able to keep centered are also imperative in a life lived successfully.

Prettypics123 said...

Sure they do. Everything is temporary.

Alexia said...

This photo suits my mood today - a new baby boy, my second grandchild, born this afternoon!

:)

carmilevy said...

Alexia: Such wonderful news! I'm so thrilled for you all! Welcome to the world, little man.