Blackpool is famous throughout the UK for its annual illuminations – though many regular visitors agree that they aren’t as good as they used to be. Nevertheless, there must have been at least a million visitors on that day. I hadn’t realised just how many there were until the fireworks display began later that evening.
The Ferris wheel on Central Pier is now brightly lit seen from the promenade’s sea edge in front of the tower.
The lights of Blackpool Tower now shine more brightly too.
You get some impression of the crowds from the photo above.
The colours of those two illuminated domes kept changing colour and certainly attracted the crowds. I’ll include a couple more shots of this feature without further comment.
Soon, I had to look away from the lights because the evening’s fireworks display was about to begin. I walked back to the seafront railings trying to find a spot from which I could photograph the fireworks, but people were stood shoulder-to-shoulder along the whole length from North to Central Pier.
I eventually spotted a small gap where a couple were sitting with a child. I got as close as I could but realised that using a tripod would not be an option – and even at that gap by the pavement side of the railings, children were sitting on the seaward side of the railings with their backs to the sea, hanging perilously over the drop to the steps several feet below.
Throughout the display, as these children slid from side-to-side, more times than not their heads bobbed into my shots. I’ll be posting some of my fireworks shots over the next two posts. They aren’t ideal, for the reasons I’ve mentioned, but I can’t complain. The Illuminations are a family occasion and are there for the children more than the adults. As a photographer, my role is near the bottom of the hierarchy, I suppose.
Featured Photo
Before I move on to the Fireworks, I have to feature just one more image of the Tower.
EXIF data were: 2 seconds @ f/5.6 and 15.1 mm. ISO was 160.
