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Exploring the Pacific Northwest Landscape

4th of July Fireworks on Lake Union

Posted July 7th, 2008 in [hide]


With planets, nebulas, smiley faces, and a giant reflecting lake, Seattle’s fireworks are rumored to be among the most impressive in the country. Unlike the show on New Year, coming out of the Space Needle, these are launched from a barge on Lake Union.  Most of these photos were from the Moss Bay dock, where I launch my kayak:

This is one of my favorites of the night; the colorful embers spilling down from the two main explosions, and the streaming plumes of fire shooting upward make up for the darkening sky:

Colors Streaming Down

The lake was filled with more boats than water.  As the show went on, a thick blanket of smoke condensed on the lake, obscuring the surface level view in the lake.  The Aurora Bridge is barely visible in the bottom-right corner of the frame:

Double Globes with Smoke

Before the show opened, viewers kept their patience watching other fireworks around the city. Looking south, from the edge of the lake, is the Space Needle:

Pre-Show at Joey’s

Here, a column of explosions rises up from the background, illuminating the darkening night sky:

Column of Fireworks Explosions

Finally, to signal the beginning and end of the show, a flare was sent up into the night sky, falling into an arch.  Below is immediately before the fireworks started, at 10 pm … as the blue remaining in the sky shows:

A Flare Forming an Arch

5 Responses to “4th of July Fireworks on Lake Union”

  1. Awesome pictures!

  2. nice work Forrest :-)

    Could you please send me the first photo in 1024×768 size so I can use it as a wallpaper and for a guest photographer post like http://www.roadlesstravelled.com.au/cute-baby-green-frog-sitting-on-finger-free-desktop-wallpaper/

  3. I think it’s a testament to the inherent goodness in mankind, that the Chinese discovered gunpowder and put it to such a beautiful use a thousand years before Europe made the same discovery, and used it to kill people. This is the way to go! Have a good time, watch some pretty lights in the sky, and let each other live.

    We stayed in for the 4th, so we didn’t get to see a show. But it looks like you must have enjoyed it, huh? I swear, that’s the way to go with the gun powder technology!

  4. Great photos Forrest. Were you in your Kayak when all the other boats were out there? I hope not, that seems like it might be a bit dangerous.

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  1. Fireworks and July Fourth « Frisco’s PhotoBlog
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