Sorry about this, guys. Am going to take a 1-day timeout from our vacation series to blog about the biggest fireworks event in the world. I just gotta do it today because I wanted to pique the interest of some of you before tomorrow’s finale fireworks show.
The biggest summer event in Vancouver is the annual fireworks competition where countries were invited to present a 30 minute fireworks show. This is held over 4 nights in a 2 week period in end July each year in English Bay. Over a million people attends the fireworks this year.
English Bay is perhaps the greatest setting one could get for a fireworks competition. The fireworks are fired from barges moored in the middle of the bay. With a wide open bay and the North Shore mountains as a backdrop, it is beautiful by itself.
Some lucky ones, get to watch from the high rises by the English Bay beaches. I am still waiting to be invited to a party in one of these high rises. I don’t know of any friend-of-a-friend who owns one of those condos … introduce me if you know anyone who owns a condo by the bay!!
Other lucky ones get to watch from their boats. There are many boats you could rent but they are expensive. For us we almost always watch from Vanier Park which is a lot more family oriented.
Alrighty … am gonna just share the picture I took from the first three nights of the fireworks. They are presentations from Spain, Canada and China. Of the three I attended, China really blew me away. They are by far the best so far. I heard that they have brought along the fireworks they have designed for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Below are some of the “keepers” that I took. They were all taken with either the 70-200mm or the 17-40mm lenses. Exposure time ranges from 1.3 secs to 2.0 secs.
Enjoy!!
I am a fireworks addict, and this looks incredible. It has always been a dream of mine to be at the Boston July 4 fireworks, but this looks even better! Thanks for taking us along!
Ooooh…
I picked up a 70-200mm Sigma lens a few weeks ago. I’m really loving it. I’ve also got the 18-40mm kit lens. Is there anything else you think I should add?
Hi Chubbypanda:
I have a 70-200mm 2.8L and it’s great as a portrait lens. Well, as for your lens, you just need to cover the gap between your two lens. I would say get the 50mm prime lens. It’s sharp and cheap too. You should check “L” lenses … once you used one, you’ll be spoilt!
Ben