Fourth of July Celebration in Downtown Miami

Great fireworks show in Downtown Miami last night, (or a few hours ago to be more accurate).  The storms cleared up and the temps were about 17 degrees cooler (low 80's).  A perfect night to enjoy the fireworks on this Nation's Independence Day.  I was perturbed that the area we've all known for years as the best angle to shoot the skyline and fireworks, under the MacArthur Causeway was fenced off and the entrance roadblocked.  So I had to shoot alongside others from across the Port of Miami.

Not too bad an angle, except you cannot see the entire Bank of America building which was decked out in Red, White, & Blue.  The breeze came in from the East which blew the smoke towards the buildings (and eventually towards the City).  Last year there was no breeze and the smoke simply covered up the skyline.  By the time I left, and it took me an hour to get off of Watson Island and back in Hialeah,  Miami Dade County from Downtown to North Dade to Hialeah was covered in smoke which originated from the various fireworks displays.

Anyways,  hope you all had a good time. At least I didn't have a camera malfunction like I did last year. Got some decent pics and had a swell time.

See you out in the field folks.

Please visit my website at www.michaelpancierphotography.com or
my Facebook Page - Nature and Fine Art Prints by Michael Pancier

Wilderness

Coal Mine Canyon - Tuba City, Az

© 2009 Michael Pancier Photography

"Wilderness. The word itself is music.

 * * *

"Wilderness, wilderness . . . We scarcely know what we mean by the term, though the sound of it draws all whose nerves and emotions have not yet been irreparably stunned, deadened, numbed by the caterwauling of commerce, the sweating scramble for profit and domination.

* * *

"But the love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need--if only we had the eyes to see. Original sin, the true original sin, is the blind destruction for the sake of greed of this natural paradise which lies all around us--if only we were worthy of it."

-- Edward Abbey - Desert Solitaire

Abbey nailed it on the head. There's nothing more invigorating than being in the wilderness, and especially in the desert.  The wilderness will cleanse your soul.  There are so many folks out there without souls or with souls consumed with hate and vengeance.  There are folks that put on a front but truly are driven by dark forces who get gratification from the misery of others and from hurting others. These folks are empty inside.  These folks have never been to the wilderness and would probably show disdain for it because of the lack of human elements.  These people are not living, for they are truly dead in their spirit. Go to the wilderness and be reborn is what I say to them.  Stop dwelling on your misery and hate and petty vicissitudes.  Go to the wilderness and perhaps you will be at peace as I am when I walk in the desert, the Everglades, or the mountains.

Please visit my website at www.michaelpancierphotography.com or
my Facebook Page - Nature and Fine Art Prints by Michael Pancier