Blog Archives
the last night of fireworks season
I can’t tell you how I know this, but if you have a very specific shot in mind – say a relatively empty parking lot at a fireworks stand so you can get photos of blurry people moving back and forth to buy bottle rockets or whatever – a much better idea is to go and get this shot on a night that is NOT the last night that the fireworks stands are open.
This is not the shot I wanted, but it’s the shot I got. Sometimes that’s the way it works. The important thing is that I tried. Right?
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 7.4.2025
Buy 1 Get 1
In Texas, fireworks can legally be sold only during tightly-regulated times, leaving stands like this one to just, well, stand there for almost the whole year. They look pretty bleak without business but with the ever-present buy-1-get-1 offer. And on cold and icy days, they look additionally forlorn.
Smyer, Texas
photographed 2.10.2021
Seasonal Commerce
I like fireworks stands, probably because they’re closed almost all year. There’s something endearing about them, sort of hopeful, and patient while they wait for those few days each year when they can do some business.
Wolfforth, Texas
photographed 4.1.2017
Buy 1 Get 1
For various reasons, I’ve been in a bit of a shooting slump lately.
But I feel like I might be coming back. On Thursday morning, I noticed the way the sunlight played across this roadside fireworks stand. And on Friday, I brought my camera, pulled off the road, and made a few images. It felt right.
(Also, for you fireworks shoppers out there, it’s Buy 1 Get 1 every day.)
Smyer, Texas
photographed 12.4.2015
One Day | One Image 