Bang!

Starting off the blog with a bang. I plan to share photos and ideas about photography and journalism. Perhaps some tangents now and then.

The 4th of July is a great time of year to enjoy lots of fireworks. An early start to the holiday kicked off in Astoria with fireworks launched from Roosevelt Island on June 30th. A couple quick shots of the show over the Triboro/RFK Bridge and Hellsgate Bridge.

I've photographed the 4th of July fireworks many times for The Salem News and The Eagle Tribune in MA when I was a staff shooter for CNHI (Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.). Always stressed out and on a tight deadline to nail the fireworks shot for A1 it was a pleasure to leisurely fire off some frames in the cool summer breeze at my apartment this year. I usually set up a tripod and use a black card to wave in front of the lens in between bursts over a long exposure -- 15 seconds -- exposing for the foreground.

One year in particular I was covering the Danvers fireworks and my tripod got knocked over in the crowd right before the show began throwing my camera to the ground and smashing the lens in half. I will never forget sprinting back to my car parked over a mile away to get a backup lens to try and get a shot for the paper. Navigating through the crowd with all my equipment while trying to run to my car was quite a sight. It all worked out and with only 10 frames of the show I did nail one nice image and it held the front page of the paper just fine. I only wish my sweat and tears were evident to all that saw the paper that day.

I kept it simple this year and just balanced the camera on the balcony railing and crossed my fingers. Just a little fun for the 4th.