We spent the daylight hours looking at the Aviary and the Grotto, and then returned to our car at dusk for our tripods, taking in a beefburger each from one of the concession stands as we went by. We discovered on our return from the car that we should have staked out our viewing spots a little earlier, and as a result, we didn't get an unimpeded view through to the castle and therefore concentrated on taking pictures of the aerial fireworks.
For me, this picture is the evening's winner.
These two are very worthy runners-up, particularly the one on the right.
These three came from towards the end of the display, when some of the exploding shells faded slowly rather than leaving bright light trails.
The picture on the right was taken when fireworks leaving light trails were zipping around in odd directions.
I must have left my shutter open for a long time for the picture on the left, as the sky has turned red with all the light about.
Once the fireworks were finished and the crowd had cleared, I did try to take a picture of the castle, but it wasn't floodlit and I got a perfectly exposed picture of the windows where lights were burning inside, and a very indistinct outline of the castle itself! I decided that was one that should stay in my reject pile.
The funfair swung back into life after the fireworks were finished, and our cameras and tripods migrated in that direction, where there were lots of brightly lit subjects to contemplate. I took several photos of some of the cuddly toys being offered as prizes. I wonder whether the bear was the "star prize" as it seemed to be the only one on display.
I spent a bit of time photographing the merry-go-round, but was somewhat disappointed with the results as I got perfect exposures of the centre and found the chickens and horses were a bit dark.
The top of this slide is a good example of why a longer exposure is sometimes better: the lights were blinking on and off and with a shorter exposure, I only got one lot! The picture on the right is much better.
These two ferris wheel pictures also demonstrate how an image can change depending upon the length of the exposure. The picture on the right is a much longer exposure. I think I like it better, but then again, I like the star patterns in the picture on the left.
If you've enjoyed the fireworks pictures on this page, why not visit my Chislehurst Fireworks (1st November, 2003) page; and if you like fairground pictures, there are more of them on my Rochester (Christmas Fair, 2001) page.
For more pictures of fireworks from the Leeds Castle Fireworks spectacular, please visit Stephen's Leeds Castle Fireworks (8th November, 2003) page.
