Sparks

The Vancouver fireworks show is a double edged sword. Sitting on the grass, in a crush of hundreds of thousands, especially in a city where people never get involved with each other, in awe of the tiny little sparks feels special.

On the other hand, did I mention the crush of hundreds of thousands? Every year someone gets beaten up or tasered or pepper sprayed. Kind of ruins the glow.

Two years ago I went at the last minute with a friend. We decided to avoid the worst of the crowds at English Bay and instead go to Kits Beach, which was closer to where we lived anyway.

The fireworks in Vancouver are incredible. You sit on the sandy beach just before sunset, looking at the mountains and the brilliant dark blue sky fading to black. They fire off the first warning shot just as the sun goes below the horizon, so that the sky is still glowing but there is no direct light. It makes the audience very aware of the time between sunset and night, which is not something we usually notice. Then, when the sky goes black the music starts, and then the explosions. I love seeing the lights reflecting off the glass apartment towers and hearing the noises echo off the mountains.

August 2006. Taken with standard 50mm lens and a very old tripod that was not behaving (it broke that night).