Every year photographers plan for days to shoot the perfect fireworks shot. I do it too - all scoped out and ready for the big show. But this year, a series of huge thunderstorms right before dusk led me to believe they were cancelled. So I went to a party instead.

Think again. Mother Nature's fireworks were replaced by the annual 4th of July show.

But I was 5 miles from where I wanted to shoot. So I grabbed my camera and a mini tripod and ran down to the beach. But, wrong lens, wrong camera.. And I didn't even know what I could make from this vantage point. (ps - always pack a headlamp or flashlight when doing night shots). My headlamp allowed me to see not only the camera controls, but also time a Chesapeake Bay crab crawling near my leg!

Sometimes being forced to think outside the box and use your instinct can create images that mean a lot more than the "postcard shots" everyone else makes. This image was one of 15 frames I was able to shoot. The fireworks were over 3 miles away, but I was able to find some neighbors just sitting on their pier watching.

Using the foreground to frame the distant fireworks actually worked, and let me get one my more unusual 4th of July shots.

PHOTO DETAILS:
Date: 7/4/06 Time: 9:19:22 PM Lens (mm): 45 ISO: 200 Aperture: 6.3 Shutter: 8 secs Color Space: Adobe RGB (1998) White Balance: Daylight