Local Fourth of July Fireworks – 2025 version
The Fourth of July is my favorite “shooting from home” night of the year. I don’t have to go anywhere – everything is right outside my living room window.
This year – once again – Hackensack’s pyrotechnics were straight out that window. Bergen County’s show in Leonia was right behind them, about 5 miles away. Could I GET any lazier?
For practice, I shot some of Maywood, NJ’s show on July 3. It wasn’t great. but it let me get my settings straightened out for the 4th:
I decided to document the evening, beginning with the pre-show setup on the picture window ledge:
As I sit in a chair waiting for things to start, two cameras on tripods are ready to go – videos on the left and stills on the right.
I’m just waiting for a sign – any old si…………and there it is!
Important lesson – never hit the shutter while you’re getting up from your chair:
While I still have my iPhone in my hand, I might as well take a few shots before I switch over to the mighty Canon:
Canon-time………..(is that like “Hammer-time”?). This first shot shows both the Hackensack fireworks and the Bergen County July 4th Festival ones in Leonia:
Followed by 7 more Hackensack shots:
That last shot actually looks like a show-ending curtain being brought down.
Thank you, Hackensack!
But we’re not quite done…………
There used to be an added bonus on the Fourth. Every year, the Macy’s fireworks are shot off in either the Hudson River or the more distant East River (which is where this year’s show took place). They’re well south of me, about 10-15 miles away.
I haven’t seen much of them lately, due to construction of a large residential building that blocks out most of that show.
But on this night, I happened to notice something that looked vaguely familiar: Parts or most of four simultaneous, semi-circular explosions in the distant south. These could only come from the four barges in the East River near the Brooklyn Bridge:
You’ll also notice the blocking residential structure that’s “Now Leasing”. It’s called “Ora”. I don’t know if that’s a misspelling of “Aura” or if the builder grew up two towns north in Oradell, but I hope this plug earns me a one-day lease on a top floor, south-facing unit on subsequent July 4s (Hey – they took away my cherished view……….it’s the least they could do).
Here’s the best I could do this year despite being Ora-blocked:
So the Fourth is over, but the celebration isn’t. At 12:17am on July 5th, I heard more fireworks going off nearby. I located the building and – of course – as soon as I got my camera aimed and focused, they stopped.
Fortunately, they started up again. With my camera already set to go, I shot a video (you might wanna crank up the sound a bit):
A belated-Happy 4th (and 5th) to you!!
Hi Bob!
Great photos! It’s a HOT Summer this year.
Stay cool.
Best,
Lisa