Fire in the night

[E.M. Bell]

OK..this is the off topic forum..and this is about as far off topic from railroads as one can get!  Every now and then, I get the urge to point my camera at something other than a train.  Fellow fourm member Randy Moore invited me to go with him to Richmond Ky this evening to a nite fire event with the Civil war group he works with.  A total of 4 cannons where fired, including One of the Two Mountain Howitzers owned by the 14th Kentucky lite artillery.  

I had been around this stuff several times in the past, but had no idea what to expect trying to shoot a event like this after dark.  25 or so shots produced what I felt where 3 "keepers" Its hard to get the timing just right, not to mention trying to figure out F stop and shutter speeds for something that last for 4 or 5 seconds max.  What you see below is pretty much what it looked like in person with just a small amount of post-proceesing in photoshop. Clicking any of the thumbs will produce a large image.

Randy prepares a charge before the event. Black powder and a little titanium  produce a great effect after dark.



A trio of big guns fire in sequence just after sunset.



The KY 14th from the side of the firing line.



Standing behind one of the howitzers..

[Michael Knight]

Excellent photography Emmett!!!