We had an insider tip on a good place to view Bedford’s annual 4th July fireworks display, and it turned out to be a good one. Clear view, no crowds, no waiting to get in and out (at least not where we were viewing, getting out of town afterwards was a whole other matter though).

I decided at the last moment to set up the camera and tripod, and took a huge number of long exposures of firework bursts.

This image is a composite of several separate photos. It took a fair bit of work to spot out the hot pixels. Next year I think I’ll try this with film.

Santa Claus waves to the spectators as he passes by in the 2008 Bedford, Virginia Christmas parade.