Remember, Remember...

...the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot.

Alright so it was the fourth of November, and that wasn't the most original of titles, but nevermind.
There was also no treason, the only gunpowder was in the fireworks, and the only plot was to get myself a hotdog from the friendly local scouts!

 

This was the first time since childhood that I'd been to a bonfire night/fireworks display, and it was a very impromptu plan!
A friend invited me to go a couple of hours before it was due to start, and since my youngest sister and her boyfriend were going, we decided to all pile into one car and go as a group. Yay!

The bonfire was lit first, and took some time to be fully ablaze, but it was nice and toasty once it got going.

For all of you going 'What the f**k, England?', Bonfire Night/Guy Fawkes night, exists to commemorate the events of 5th November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was discovered - and arrested - guarding the explosives that were had been placed beneath the House of Lords (one of our parliamentary houses).

We commemorate the foiling of this plot by burning 'guys' - effigies - on a bonfire (and in some places, parading them through the streets first), and standing around like pyromaniacs whilst everything burns.

Then we (or preferably trained professionals) set off fireworks and stare at the sky as colours explode into the darkness various types of hisses and bangs.
All because over 400 years ago, a bunch of people were going to do a very bad thing to our parliament.

By all means say it again. I'll even join you.

What the f**k, England?

But seriously, I had a good time.

I took my camera along, and was able to try it out in conditions different to those I usually shoot in. This called for longer exposures, a change of exposure compensation, lots of thought about aperture and shutter speed, and so on.
Considering I shot without a tripod, my longer exposure shots turned out fairly well!

I also tried out some heart-shaped firework bokeh! I made a heart-shaped bokeh filter last year, but had only used it around Christmas/New Year. It made some interesting results!
Next I'd like to make a star-shaped filter, but I'll need a paper punch for that--my freehand-cut stars are terrible!

Some of the fireworks took on shapes of their own as they exploded. These were actually swirly ones! There were usually several being set off at the same time, or within a few seconds to each other, so the sky was filled with rising fireworks, explosions of light, and coloured smoke almost constantly.

It was all over by about 8:30pm, which made it a nice, easy evening out. It was also pretty cold away from the bonfire, so we were all glad to get back into the car and put the heaters on!

Will be looking forward to next year's Bonfire Night--next time I'll wear thick socks!