Balcony Fireworks
Like most people, I love fireworks. Since they banned the use of fireworks in my state of Queensland, seeing fireworks has become a semi-rare event.
Every year, as part of Brisbane’s festival to the city, the fireworks kick off the festival with a bang (literally). Usually, I haul myself to a prime location with my camera and tripod in tow. But this year they predicted record crowds, so I decided to enjoy the sky show from the comfort of my balcony.
Granted, there is a TV antenna kind of in the way, but you’ll get the idea…
Here is a nice close up with my 300mm Canon lens. I always find getting the timing right with fireworks is tricky. This isn’t as sharp as it could be, but considering I’m 5km away from the action, it’s not too bad.
One of the things that makes the Riverfire fireworks better than the New Year fireworks show is that they project the crackers from multiple buildings, not just from the usual places on the river. Here is the effect (you’ll also get to see the antenna I mentioned above):
Now this is an awesome sight - I’ve seen the F111 fighter jet do a dump and burn during the day, which is amazing in itself, as you get to see the plane as well as the fire. But, at night there’s just something even more spectacular about it.
The dump and burn both opens and closes the fireworks show, so here is what you get to see as they zoom past…
It looks like a mammoth glow worm! So, I still got to see the show, and didn’t have to battle the crowds. Thank goodness for a shutter release cable - it meant I could still enjoy the fireworks with my own eyes, not just peering through the viewfinder 