Hey there everyone! Sorry that I have not updated since the end of June. But it was a slightly busy July so I beg your forgiveness. HAHAHAHA!!! Beginning of July started like it ALWAYS does with a marathon of fireworks imagery and shoots all around the area almost every night. This year I decided to change it up a little and try some different shows. I wandered out to Tioga Downs Casino and Track for their 4th celebration. I was a little disappointed with the positioning for the shoot but since it was my first time shooting there it wasn't a deal breaker. Plus part of my shot location selection was based on trying to get cleaner audio for the video I was also shooting. In hindsight or should I do another shoot there I will probably forgo the video and try to do something more from the front of the building and put that in the foreground. This year is also the first fireworks season that I have decided to try something different and post shots direct off the camera within moments of shooting them at the shows. It gives me something to do while I let all the other folks fight their way out of the location. So then the next night I was in Honesdale, PA shooting the fireworks there another new location! I really love the Honesdale shoot as it has more than just simply fireworks in it. From the location I had I was able to put the whole hillside into frame and make something a little more than just a standard fireworks shot. I need to find a way to get access down closer to the creek there so as to get some water introduced into the shot for reflections as well. I think it is going to come down to a re-position a little closer next year and that will be a get show for epic shots. The following night had no shows in the area, so I wasn't out there. The next night (3rd of July) however had a laundry list of shows I have been at in the past. Tunkhannock, Scranton and Abington Heights all had shows on the 3rd...but I was not feeling super and even though two of those shows have a possibility of producing some pretty epic shots I chose not to go out. Of course on the 4th there are a bunch of shows as well, but when you have one of the best in the area less than 5 miles away, why drive? I don't even have to leave to go to that show until way late as well, so for me that is like a gimme show. But I DO need to figure out why every year it seems like I setup all my gear and then a weather change happens and all the cameras and front filters condensate just before the show. It is the only place I have ever had this issue and it has cost lost shows in the past. I am considering the possibility that a wave of cooler air might settle out from the forest behind the school and hit the warm area I am in and cause this issue. It cannot be anything related to how the gear it handled as it has been stored at ambient temps and everything just right and it still does it? But knowing it can happen is half the battle and allows me to get a handle on it before it becomes an issue. The show went off without a hitch and I did get some just fantastic images from Montrose this year. Due to the uncertainty of the weather around the 4th I got a little present as well. The Highland Park fireworks in Endwell did not go off on schedule this year so they go laid back until the 5th. So since I was still not burnt out on shooting them I chose to take a run at them again. I did this show MANY years ago...perhaps back in '05 maybe '06. I went with a friend and we had no idea where to setup and we were not as bold as I am now about cruising in close to spot the launch point and making a judgement call on best shooting locations. So the shots I got back then were (well let's just say amateur...at best!) This time around I had a few tricks up my sleeve and a much more solid understanding of what I need to make the shots work. Now before I continue storytime boys and girls...here is where I have to say that I went out and did something a little wild during this same time frame. I think it was on the 5th of July...I know it was after Montrose and before Highland. I decided as I sometimes do to bomb around on craigslist or this time on FB marketplace. Yeah....shouldn't have done that!? I found a 5DIII for a song and a dance. I have been looking to bounce into a new primary and make the 6D a backup camera. I love my 6D but I wanted back into that 5D series again! So me being me...I find the thing shoot a message out expecting days before a response, nope within 5 minutes I had a response. Within 15 minutes I was on the road heading to inspect it and possibly purchase. I got there and the control mode dial was missing (small fix already done) but the camera actuated nice and focused quickly like I knew it should. I however did not choose to put an SD card in the beast and have it save to the card or do a format on a card. (mistake!!!) Since everything was in order, least from my standpoint. I decided this was a chance to save about 30% over what I would have to pay for this exact same deal anywhere else. SO...back to the fireworks, I have my shiny (not really) new (also not really) perfectly working (ugh oh...not really) 5DIII with me at the Highland Park show, but because I was not expecting to have another camera I did not have another N3 type remote trigger. So I put the 6D in wifi mode and was going to be content shooting the fireworks with that on the 6D mounted to the 15mm lens for some nice super wide shots. I put the 24-70 on the 5DIII and I pull out the 60D and shoot with the 24-105 on 1080p video like I had been all month. I was also running both of the GoPro's as well as my audio rig...so yeah, I kinda looked like mission control at NASA only with probably more optics! The show starts and I am trying my best with the phone to work the app and get shots with the 6D. (Disclaimer here...do not use the wifi and app for fireworks shots folks. Just buy a cheap N3 remote!) Once in awhile I am looking down at the 5DIII lcd and seeing just awesome closer in shots with good trailing. Then something odd happens the lcd displays a message that the sd card cannot be read. So I take it out reseat it and same thing. I power off the camera and power back on, same thing. Now the show is still going on and I am trying and not doing so well with the canon app on the phone and the 6D. I put in another card and try to format, nothing I tried one more card and got the same result. So at that point I just focused in on the 6D and ran that for the rest of the show. Now I did have a small 8GB CF card at home but didn't think to bring it why would I, 5DIII has a SD slot so why not use the media I have been running? I pack everything up and hoof it back to the car a little pissed off that the camera I literally just bought yesterday is not working today. So since people are people and cannot remember how to drive after a fireworks show I had some time. I sat in the car and played with the 5DIII for another 10 minutes until it was clear that the SD slot was non-functional at that point. So I took the card that had the shots that I had seen taken via the lcd and put it in the 6D...no go. Not only that but the other cards that got corrupted in the 5DIII could not be reformatted in the 6D. (I was able to do it later on the computer but, DAMN!) So I decided to wait until I got home and put a CF card in slot one and make sure it was totally jacked before I reached out to the seller. Alas the CF port works so that is what I have been using. I bought a couple new higher capacity CF cards, but I think before the end of the year I am going to send the 5D out for service and see if they can get that SD port working again. Ok so, the fireworks shows were finally done but we had a wedding booked for the middle of the month. Brought in another (2) AD200's so now I have 3 AD200's and one AD600, but before the end of the year I am going to be picking up another of those as well. I also had someone lined up to come and VALS for me (Voice Activated Light Stand) for those of you outside the shutter community. LOL This was a backup to my original person as that person backed out on me about 5 months ago. Then with a week to go...my VALS backs out based on a vacation they forgot about. UGH, right?! So I started calling around in desperation mode, guess what I found....nothing. Yup, you guessed it, the person I was going to have assisting with posing and lighting is now 86'ed. So yeah....that doesn't help the confidence or feeling of awesomeness rolling into an important event. Then....you guessed it the day of this outdoor wedding, t-storm's roll in HOURS ahead of schedule. You might as well have taken my entire playbook for the day and shredded it and then took a big steaming dump on it. As that is what my whole gameplan amounted to within moments of arriving on scene. The event facility person had no backup solutions for all of the posed shots and the entire wedding took place outside under a tent now. With no place for lighting....ugh, yeah it was one of those events where if it could go absolutely wrong for me, it did. BUT as I am fond of saying...adapt and overcome. I had lighting in place for the indoor reception and I had cameras I knew I could pound a higher iso if needed. But less than ideal for sure. The resultant shots where nothing like what I was hoping to provide but the couple love them and the family love them so that is all that matters at the end of the day. I promise...we are getting close to the end of the month and my story. The last bit was from the end of the month. My favorite fireworks show, Harborfest! I got there at about the right time thought I had a ninja place for setup and was super good to go....until the first shots. I then quickly realized I was WAY out of position for all of the aerial that were going up on the right of the display. But last year the whole line was equal so I thought maybe I would be ok...noooooope! They reverted back to years before that where the aerials were on the right and the ground effects and low aerials were the whole left of the display. So nothing I can do but shoot what I had in front of me. I am not certain but it seemed the show was a little smaller this year as well. So yeah, the end of the month kicked my arse but I am going to keep on adapting!!! With fireworks season officially done for the most part I am going to be posting new blogs a little more often now. Look forward to hearing more of the adventures of wacky camera guy soon!!!

Harborfest '18Man I wish I had been about 300 ft to my left past where the blue hearts are there on the left.