I am an photographic artist. I am a baseball fan. I am a Mets fan. I am not a sports photographer.

I am inspired by my imagination and the works I’ve seen and loved. I make no claims to originality, yet I make no effort to imitate. I try to see things around me and imagine how they might look if I did this… or that… or…

Light Painting and Long Exposure are two very strong interests for me and  fireworks cover both genres.

Shooting fireworks is a challenge. You only have about 10 to 15 minutes to try to figure out how to shoot to capture the essence of the show. Do I use a regular lens, a long lens, or a wide angle lens? Do I do snapshots, or longer exposures? If longer, how long? Is a tripod needed? How else can I secure the camera if I’m not able bring one in?

This has become a long term project as I seek to explore different approaches. In the past 4 years, I’ve had perhaps seven opportunities to capture the fireworks at Citifield with it’s unique presentation. A somewhat spherical overhead with equal interest on the field. Over these 4 years, I’ve learned the type of show that is presented and where the points of interest are. On some of those occasions, I was allowed to bring in a tripod and on others I had to improvise, using my seat, or the cup-holder in front of me.

As you look at these images, you will see some growth and improvement as I refined my lens use and timing. This is still a work in progress, but I believe I am getting better at the capture. The below is a sampling of my successes.

I have been helped a great deal, firstly, by Kaitlin Wawryk as my ticketing and service representative and George, the amazing supervisor on the Promenade level, and then through the press and pr department, and finally with the assistance of Chris Brown, the VP of Guest Experience with, I believe, Robert Kasdon, the VP of Security. MLB has, for some reason, severely complicated the matter this year and I was unable to secure a press pass.

For your reference, while I have played with live action shots for the fun of it, that has never been important to me. My interest is always of lights and their effect.

In terms of future events, I would obviously like to continue this project. I feel as though I’ve gotten closer to where I want to be and would greatly love to be able to try the same camera angle I used from my 3rd base perch in April at the next Fireworks night from Section 421 and in another shot from in front of the Promenade Club directly behind the plate.

As a Thank You, I would be willing to give a shot or two from each shoot to The Mets for promotional purposes if The Team would like, with the only proviso being that I get credit for the shot(s) you use.

marc  ( marcmandy@mindspring.com )