New Year’s at the Needle, What a Blast!One year ago, New Year’s 2010 was clear and cold, perfect for viewing and photographing the fireworks display. Having photographed Fourth of July fireworks several times, I wanted to try my hand at this celebration surrounding our iconic Space Needle. That was the plan, unfortunately, never came to fruition. At the time, I thought if I left our home in southwest Seattle at about 23:15 that I would arrive on Alki Beach in plenty of time to park, set up my camera gear and have a good time capturing some brilliant images of the fireworks. Arriving on Alki Beach about 23:40, I found there wasn’t a spot to be had anywhere to park, and I drive a Honda Element, easily parked in the smallest of spaces. New Years at the Needle - Close Up I did view the fireworks…as I was cruising along in the crawling traffic clogging Harbor Avenue SW. SO..fast forward one year to another cold and clear New Year’s with its imminent fireworks display. I wasn’t going to be thwarted again, so I packed up my camera gear and left the house at 21:15 heading to Alki Beach. When I arrived about 21:40, imagine my surprise when I arrived to find parking was already quite filled up. But persistence had its reward and I slipped into a parking stall in the perfect spot to view the display across Elliott Bay. I settled into my two plus hour wait, covering up with a wool blanket and my android phone for company. About 23:40 I got outside and set up my tripod and camera, taking a few test shots to adjust my exposure for the low light. Then setting my focus on the Needle itself, I stood with my remote shutter release and shot away! If you’d like to view all the images I uploaded into an album over at Webshots, please visit this link: http://travel.webshots.com/album/579393209BuBMXn
