Steve Bruno Photo

Hey, perfect timing Daily Post.  I think this post fits the challenge.

With the 4th of July falling on a Monday this year, the fireworks displays were stretched out over three days in Las Vegas. Last year I was able to watch two displays from my vantage point, with those from the Stratosphere being further away.  I remember there were some interesting patterns to that display, but were intended for a different viewing angle.  I didn’t attend any fireworks on Saturday, but I did make it to the Stratosphere for Sunday night’s show.  Although it was nice being that close, it wasn’t as good as I was hoping for from a photography standpoint, with many images being similar.

That left Monday night, and a return to last year’s vantage point.  After the Stratosphere letdown, I wanted to make sure I got some images that were different from the previous year, and unique overall.  The ‘tails’ were prominent again this year, so I spent a lot of time trying to avoid those, and just getting the burst of the explosions.  No easy task.  All my exposures were on Bulb setting using a cable release.  The display seemed to start a little earlier this year, and the lingering daylight made for some nice shots.

I never thought of shooting fireworks purely as artwork before, but think I succeeded with the top image (looking like a flower), and this one.

Although I did get some similar shots to the previous year, I was very happy with my results this year.

The grand finale was no letdown, and this was my last shot of the night.  Even though I was on Bulb setting, this was less than a 1 second exposure.  That’s a lot going on for 1 second.