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Halloween, October 31st 2009. After a busy morning and afternoon chasing convection and multicells around parts of the country there was little time to rest because I had planned on shooting the Maghera public fireworks display, which is something I have been doing on previous years. On 2007 and 2008 I chose a country location where I could get peace and not be bothered by anyone. Even from a considerable distance good images could be taken by using the zoom lens to fill the frame with the fireworks. This year I decided to get close up to the action so I could get more atmospheric images with the spectators in the foreground. This years display was advertised to take place between 19.00 and 20.00 local time, and as usual, it was located within the football pitch (this is the only time you will get me on a football pitch!) between the Recreation Center and Police Barracks.
My family and I made our way down to the pitch and found a good location close to the launch gear at a corner away from any distracting house lights in the distance which would have interfered with the exposures. There was a DJ there doing a live show with loud music which could be heard on the radio. The place was full of spectators and Children dressed in all manner of Halloween costumes running around the place with glowing multicoloured lights and having a great time. Members of the Magherafelt council where on the grounds including the Police to keep things in order. The DJ announced that the fireworks display would take place at 19.45 so it was just a matter of waiting. I was thinking what a contrast this Halloween was in comparison to 2008. That year it was absolutely freezing with frost on the ground, operating the camera in those conditions was a numbing experience. This year it was very mild, dry, and cloudy. I was able to wear a shirt and light jacket which was open and I felt very comfortable. Behind me, just above the Recreation center roof, the near full Moon could be seen with a milky 22 degree halo and upper tangent arc (UTA) which provided a nice atmosphere to the event. Things came to life when Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'' played which seemed to lift everyone's spirit. Then the time came for the display, I had the camera set-up on the tripod with settings pre-selected from a few test images earlier and I was ready to go. I planned on taking both still images and video clips in the hope of catching something cool. The countdown began. 10, 9, 8....switched the camera on...5...switched to video mode...3, 2, 1....a roar from the crowd followed by sounding horns and the fireworks erupted...
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This is the view from my location in the pitch looking N. I was concerned that had I been too close the display would have passed beyond my 28mm wide angle frame, in fact, the opposite happened, I couldn't get the frame filled so I left it at 28mm and messed around with some light zooming from time to time during the shooting. Next year I will get much closer than this, I was still happy enough though because I got the kind of images I wanted with the fireworks and crowd in the foreground. These where just the spectators close to the display, where a barrier had been erected to stop anyone getting closer, many more members of the public where behind me and out of frame to the R and in the car park.
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A complex mass of sound filled the night in the form of screaming and banging fireworks like artillery combined with shouting children, clapping parents, and the muffle of the music on the radio. Getting the correct exposure and aperture combination was very difficult because each section of the display had a dramatic variation in brightness, size, and duration which involved continuously changing settings non-stop. A few people were recording the show on digital video cameras although I seemed to be the only one who was taking still images which was strange. I'm sure I stood out with the tripod when the brilliant light from the bigger fireworks and bright colours flashed and reflected in rapid pulses off the metal tripod legs.
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I like the structure to the smoke in this image. You can tell how calm it was just by the movement of the smoke during the exposures. On previous years when it was more breezy/windy the smoke would blow across the grounds for quite a distance.
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Half way through the display I was in the zone and really enjoying myself. I liked this one.
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Overexposed, however it couldn't be helped as this set was blazing in magnitude and lighting the place up like lightning bolts for a second or two before turning dark again.
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I'm confused about what caused that blurred feature to the bottom L of frame. It's visible on many of the images below. I don't recall anyone standing there and it certainly wasn't me because I was behind the camera.
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Beautiful deep red colours.
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Some of the 'fall out' from this one was close to hitting the crowd.
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Last image of the display, included it mainly for the smoke plume. The display ended and all turned silent and dark again. I don't know how long it lasted but it seemed very short to me, perhaps 15 min's. I wished it had lasted longer so I could get better images but when I previewed what I had I was happy enough. I had approx 30 still images and over 4 min's of video footage taken so that's not bad for the 15 min time frame.
Here's a short video clip of the action. The video starts with the countdown then blends in with different clips during the period. The end section was the best with those glorious golden fireworks exploding in quick succession. Turn your volume up for the desired effect. It was a decent display with some mediocre scenes mixed in with periodic impressive combinations which made it a great experience. We enjoyed the display very much. Afterwards we had a walk through the town to take in the atmosphere then enjoyed a tin of Roses chocolates which was a great end to the day. That night a nasty cold front moved in delivering some of the heaviest rainfall I have seen since March this year, it was a nasty night and morning however the timing could not have been better, it was dry during the fireworks display so everything worked out perfectly!. Thanks for reading.
Martin McKenna