Cleveland Orchestra Star Spangled Spectacular

…not so spectacular this year.

Well, at least not the fireworks. The orchestra sounded great and Tower City was beautifully lit up.

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On the downside, however, the fireworks were in a different spot than they have been in previous years. I had my tripod and camera all set up to take some fireworks shots and all of a sudden, I hear the fireworks going on behind me. The entire audience had to turn their chairs around in order to see them. I was in a terrible spot to take photos of these fireworks (although I had chosen a prime spot for where I thought the fireworks would be). No announcements were made telling the crowd that the fireworks had switched locations this year, even though there were announcements and acknowledgements in-between each piece by the orchestra. On top of all that, just as the fireworks started, it startedÂ down-pouring. I was able to see lightning off in the distance, but I had hoped that it would hold off. No such luck. Henry, Jackie, and I had to quickly pack up all of the chairs and my camera equipment and hustle back to the vehicle, about half a mile away. We were entirely soaked. Luckily, last year, I spent the extra money to get the All-Weather cover for my LowePro SlingShot 300 Archived Link camera bag. It was well worth the investment. It has bailed me out three times that I can remember. If not for that bag, my camera would have certainly gotten wet those three times. Thank you, LowePro.Â