Fireworks in St. Louis - Fourth of July Weekend

I love photographing fireworks. I don't get to do it that often because... well, they're not set off that often and they can be hard to capture. You can't fully predict the composition of the scene unless you know the precise location from which they are being set off and the height of said fireworks. That's part of the fun.

The big Fourth of July party in St. Louis is Fair St. Louis (fka the VP Fair). This year, it was to be held in Forest Park instead of downtown due to construction around the Arch. I, among others, was less than thrilled because of my relative proximity to the park and pretty much wanted nothing to do with it. Thusly, my parents and I headed to the Webster Groves Community Days for the first time. We haven't attended fireworks as a family for awhile and decided to give this gathering a try.

We arrived before sundown and snagged what turned out to be a relatively decent spot from which to view the fireworks. It wasn't overly crowded and the traffic wasn't half bad.

                          

I think it was worth it, yes? For more, click here.

Then, yesterday, a friend posted a video from Fair St. Louis, except he had a unique vantage point. He shared with me his 'secret' location and I convinced my roommate to join me. There were NO crowds where we sat, we could mostly hear the concert and the only crowds we encountered were on the way home - when we decided to walk back to the car instead of taking the Metrolink 2 stops back to the car. Our seats were AMAZING. We literally had front row seats with a wide open sky and I have NEVER been so close (yet safe) to the fireworks. They were HUGE. They filled the sky - I often felt like my lens wasn't going to capture it all. But it did and it was totally worth it. Check them out below:

                                       

For more Fair St Louis, click here.

I cannot wait until the next fireworks opportunity... unfortunately, I will probably have to wait until the New Year. But by then, I will hopefully have my wider angle lens. And I will be ready and waiting!