After many failed attempts to photograph fireworks over the years, I finally got my chance last June 1st at the Mall of Asia. As with many photo sorties, I was with fellow bird nuts, namely, Ed Santos, Ric Cerdinia, Ed Gapal, Bimbo Brillo, Ven Rojas, and RJ Castaneda. We were joined by Eric Santos and Bobby Nocom, (Ed's brother and friend, respectively). Based on Ed's previous experience with heavy traffic two Saturdays prior, we decided to be at MOA early. Although we still met heavy traffic, we were in place as early as 5pm. Cameras and tripods were set and we settled down to wait. Time for some selfies...
The early Pyro-birders
and test photos....
The scene in front of us...
The Prelude
Then came some test fireworks and I was able to capture a couple of these:
Going into the event, my biggest worry was that I will get my settings wrong and end up with crappy images. Much like birding wherein the target bird usually appears only for a few minutes (sometimes seconds), a fireworks display also happens fast. In fact Ed reminded me not to review my photos on the LCD screen and just keep pressing the shutter. These test photos gave me hope that I will be able produce good images.
Soon it was time. The two countries who performed that night were Portugal and China. Here are some of the images I was able to create:
Portugal
Despite Ed's warnings not to review images while the show was going on, I could not help but glance at my LCD from time to time, just to reassure myself that I was getting usable images. When the show ended, everyone got busy reviewing shots, and a few minutes later we were all sporting ear to ear grins and exchanging high fives and fist bumps.
Then it was the China's turn and the land of my ancestors did not disappoint.
China
To say that I am happy with my photos would be an understatement. And I still have plenty of other photos to process. I remember how our October 2022 attempt to photograph fireworks at MOA ended in failure (see my blogpost of that event here: https://chiwitchronicles.wixsite.com/website/post/epic-fail . Well, not this time. Thank you Lord for this opportunity!
To all my photographer friends in Metro Manila (and nearby areas), the finale will be this Saturday, June 8. If you are free, I urge you to go. I will not be able to (I am in Coron already), but am looking forward to the 12th Pyro Musical next year.
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