United Kingdom Puts on a Great Show

Here is what the CBC News had to say about the weather on Wednesday, July 29, 2009.

"Wednesday was the hottest day ever recorded in Vancouver, according to CBC meteorologist Claire Martin. At 5 p.m. PT, Environment Canada recorded a record-breaking high of 33.8 C, breaking the previous record of 33.3 C set in 1960. Martin said anyone hoping the heat wave blanketing B.C. will be breaking anytime soon might just have to find some other way to chill out. "It's a very stable weather pattern — and very pronounced. It's not moving anywhere fast," Martin said Wednesday. Temperatures have been soaring across the province all week, hitting the low 40s (in degrees Celsius) in hot spots such as Lytton in the Fraser Canyon, setting records and driving thousands to lakes, pools, and beaches."

Even with the record heat, people turned up in droves for the 3rd night of the annual Celebration of Lights. The competing country was the United Kingdom. I don't think it is accurate to call it a country as it is more than one country but I think you'll know what I mean * smile.

Tonight at last, I did leave the air conditioned comfort of my hotel room for the closer view of the fireworks afforded by walking down to the beach. I found a spot that wasn't overly crowded, but boy was it steaming out there. On the way back, I stopped at the corner convenience store to purchase a few cold beverages and immediately took a cool shower after getting in.

Now that I somewhat cooled I can leave these lovely photos for your viewing pleasure.


Here is a short video taken on my old Canon SD300 camera. It will give you a good idea of the sights, sounds and fireworks. I have several more and when I have a bit more time I will splice them together.

UNITED KINGDOM PUTS ON A GREAT SHOW!

South Africa Wows Vancouver

I posted about the first of 4 nights of the Annual Celebration of Lights here in Vancouver. You can read about it here

On Saturday we had the second of four nights of competition. South Africa was on the roster to show their pyrotechnic skills and it was worth the wait! I never got out to the beach to jostle with the thousands and thousands who did. It started pouring rain in the late afternoon and I wasn't even sure whether the fireworks display would go on. The show did indeed go on though it was slightly delayed.

Look at the spectacular sunset we had during the rain and just before night closed the sky to get ready for amazing fireworks.

I discovered a few nights ago that my old Canon SD300 isn't fast enough to take good night shots, especially with moving subjects. These are a few of the better shots I was able to salvage.

I also made my first little video with clips from the Canon's movie feature. I wanted to upload it last night after the fireworks display but the lightening storms seems to have knocked out my internet service for about 24 hours. I've learned that I need a faster shutter speed )and/or a camcorder if I want to get good night movies. I couldn't get the shots I wanted and it was tiring to hold the compact camera up for extended periods. Nonetheless I enjoyed my first foray into splicing these movie clips together. Hopefully, I'll improve with practise.

Celebration of Lights

July 25, 2009

South African Team shines in their pyrotechnic skills