Riverfire 2011

For the next three weeks, Brisbane will play host to all sorts of theatre, music, dance, wacky races and all sorts of other fun stuff at the Brisbane Festival. Last night was Riverfire which is a spectaular fireworks display that runs all the way from the Story Bridge to Victoria Bridge. Fireworks spray from bridges, tall buildings and barges in the river. Thousands of people line the banks - it's a great night out. I managed to get a good viewpoint from the 16th floor Riparian Plaza. This was shot through glass but I think it came out quite well :-)

Eagle Street Pier

This pier is home to a City Ferry stop but also Brisbane's two paddle steamers, The Kookaburra Queens, which are available for hire. This coming Saturday is Riverfire - a big fireworks festival on the river - and if you fancy getting a spot on the steamer and seeing the whole thing from the water, you can book a 4 hour (stationary?) cruise for $165 which includes a complimentary drink on arrival and a seafood and carvery buffet. Alternatively you can stand on the riverside with an eski and watch the whole thing for free!

Theme Day: Best of 2009 (and Skywatch Friday)

Today is City Daily Photo's "Best Photo Of 2009" theme day.

Here's the view looking directly down Charlotte Street to the casino. It's taken from a third of the way up the Riparian Plaza building during Brisbane's annual Riverfire celebrations in September. I've cropped it from the original photo posted here. The Brisbane sky lit up in a frenzy of fireworks which lasted 30 minutes, turning it a smoky indigo colour. Click on the picture for a detailed view.

Before the night that I took this picture, I had never taken photos of fireworks before. I went on the internet that afternoon and got a few handy hints and when the time came, I just couldn't believe the results - it was a real confidence booster. It helped also that I had access to the 16th floor of a building right in the middle of things. I didn't notice until afterwards how the lights of the fireworks behind me were reflected on the closest buildings in the picture.

For other skies around the world, visit Skywatch Friday

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in the best of 2009 daily photo event.

Fireworks Skywatch

Last saturday night, Brisbane's skies lit up during it's annual Riverfire celebration. It was a hoot and I managed to nab a great view from 16 foors up (with free beer and snacks). The building I was in had a fantastic view of the river but this one was taken from the other side where the adjacent buildings had fireworks going off the top of them. It was really spectacular and very loud even through glass.

For the other two shots from that night, see Sunday and Monday's posts.

Whew! that's enough links.

...ok maybe just one more: Skywatch Friday

Surrounded

I couldn't believe it. With the hundreds of thousands of people crowding the river, I walked into an empty room with floor to ceiling windows and the blinds down. I rolled them up and got this amazing view of the fireworks - right in the thick of it with the glass of the high rise buildings reflecting the explosions going off in every direction. This is looking straight down Charlotte Street with the Treasury Casino silhouetted against the fireworks at South Bank.

Riverfire 2009

To celebrate the opening of the annual Brisbane Festival each September, Brisbane is treated to "Riverfire", a half hour of pyrotechnics stretching for a couple of kilometres along the river from the Story Bridge (above) to Victoria Bridge. According to the paper yesterday, they were expecting 600,000 people to be turning up to see the display which included the F1-11 "dump and burn". Dump and burn, you ask? Lovers of the environment look away now. They do this low flyover with the F1-11 jet and, as the jet reaches the city, the pilot dumps fuel out of the back of the plane so that it catches on fire, giving the overall effect of a rocket blasting across the sky... with bone shaking, face melting sound. It really is spectacular and everyone gets very excited. A local radio station does a live cross into the cockpit of the jet and just before the pilot dumps his fuel he says "BRISBANE LOOK UP". Unfortunately, I missed getting a photo of that. I think I was too busy staring, mouth agape.

Being someone who has friends in high places, (well... the 16th floor) I was able to get a pretty good view!