The Magic Above Us

Eversince I acquired my first DSLR in 2010, photographing fireworks has been in my photography to do list. The annual Philippine International Pyrolympics, an intra-country fireworks competition, at MOA is the perfect opportunity to shoot fireworks. Yet it took me until 2024 before I was able to shoot in one of the weekends of the 11th Pyrolympics. You can read about that sortie here: https://chiwitchronicles.wixsite.com/website/post/11th-philippine-international-pyromusical-competition

For the 13th Pyrolympics this year, our birding group set March 14 as our day to photograph the fireworks. We began exploring options on the best vantage point. Ed Santos, saw a posted on a major daily showing the fireworks with the globe and light trails (from cars) in the foreground. That meant one had to shoot from a high floor of a condo situated in front of MOA. After some searching, Ed was able to book a unit facing MOA. Our final group was Ed Santos, Steve Albano, Jimmy Javier, Homer Pialda, Alex Ting, and myself. Ivy, Homer's better half, also joined us. Anticipating the Saturday traffic, we all converged at the area before 4pm.

When we got to the unit at the 8th floor, we discovered that a huge construction crane was blocking a clear view of the globe and that were a bit low to get a full view of the rotunda. And while setting up our gear, I discovered that I left my tripod plate at home. Called my son immediately and booked a Lalamove to bring the item to the condo. It was past 6pm by this time and the first country, Portugal, was supposed to start at 7pm. The lalamove took a little over an hour to get to MOA. Fortunately, the fireworks started at almost 7:30pm.

Sharing some of the Portugal images:

Fireworks from Portugal

There was a break of about twenty minutes which we used to review our shots and gobble up our snacks of bokayo, polvoron, tabaron (a kind of chicharon), Ivy's oatmeal cookies. And of course the never ending wise cracks. Then we heard a boom and we all realized that the next country was starting and we all scrambled to fit in the cramped veranda.

The second country for this night was the United Kingdom. Since we couldn't get the full rotunda anyway, I switched lenses and just focused on the fireworks. Sharing a few images that I was able to create:

Fireworks from the United Kingdom

As with any photography sortie, what makes the experience memorable is the camaraderie and fellowship we all shared. To cap off the night, I awarded my companions their certificates and complimentary caps as members if the Capayas Theree Kings Club since they have all gotten our three star birds in past Coron trips.

The obligatory group hug

All in all a fun filled Saturday night.