Our little family was able to attend the Independence Day celebration at the capitol with some dear friends this year, taking in some music and kettlecorn while having a lovely evening outdoors. It’s become an annual tradition for our family and, judging by the enormous crowd occupying the grass of the capitol mall each year, for many others as well.
One of the first things I noticed this year is that the orchestra was not staged up on the steps of the capitol. With scaffolding for the ongoing limestone restoration still hanging atop the capitol tower, everybody has to stay outside the safety fence’s perimeter…even musicians.
I didn’t set out specifically to take fireworks shots this evening, but since they’re there and so is my camera…what the heck? In this one I verified that my flash could illuminate most of the crowd in front of me, but I figured to do so repeatedly would be rude. Anyway, here are a few of my favorite shots.
The crowd was so red from this one it looks like they’re on KFYR-TV’s Skywatch camera at night! If you don’t know what I’m talking about,
check it out after dark sometime.
Wind from the north helped clear out the smoke from exploded shells but it also made the sparkly globes a little lopsided. Photographers are perfectionists, you know.
At one point in the evening, before the fireworks, I heard a familiar riff. Several of us looked at each other in surprise, because it was the intro lead-in to Kashmir. I quickly recalled that Aaron Meyer, the guest soloist, is a rock violinist and everything clicked into place.
Throughout the entire evening I didn’t see a single mosquito. That must have been due to the squadrons of dragonflies ever buzzing overhead. My guess is that the evening was a mosquito smorgasbord for those guys, and we’re grateful that they kept the skies clear for us!
The fireworks are great, but they would not be nearly as entertaining if they lacked the accompaniment of Dr. Beverly Everett and the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra, belting out our favorite patriotic marches and hymns!
After the finale it was time to pack up for the evening. I had to chuckle because the nonstop rumble and popping from Mandan sounded like we had our own little war zone across the river. Even from the parking lot of the capitol the noise was quite loud. I imagine everyone over there was having quite a time!
I love the Independence Day celebration at the capitol, and hope to partake next year as well. I have something a little different in mind photographically, so we’ll see how that turns out. Have a good weekend!
