Nikon D5300
18mm | F/20 | 1/3 sec | ISO 100

My friends and I decided to bike to Booklyn Heights Promenade to watch the Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show. We had done this the year before, but I didn’t bring my tripod so I just ended up filming the whole thing holding it in my hand. This time, I wanted to take pictures. I was a bit apprehensive as the weather forecast predicted rain but my friends assured me that it was fine since it’d be after the show and when we were almost home.

We got there relatively early, got a good spot, grabbed food and settled in for the wait. Amidst the banter time passed pretty quickly but the sky was ominously dark - not because of the setting sun but because it was overcast. Very shortly afterwards, I felt a couple of drops. It seemed to stop so we didn’t pay it much attention although we were weary of the fact that it might start raining heavily.

Of course, we were not to be disappointed. A light drizzle kicked in which gave way to a pretty heavy rain. At this point I was conflicted on whether we should leave or stay. I really wanted shots of the fireworks but again it was chilly and I did not want to get sick standing in the rain for over an hour. So we gave into reason and decided to call it a day. Much to our disappointment, the rain stopped after a bit clearing up just in time for the fireworks and did not rain again until we were almost home. I felt major regret for not having stayed but at the time it seemed to be the right decision to make; we have to make these kinds of decisions often in our lives, the choice of safety and desire. I feel as if I would not have minded staying as the bitter regret was much more than what I woulkd have felt had I got the shot and got sick. But hindsight is 20/20 as they say. There is no general guideline for these kind of things but I will definitely give it more consideration if it’s something I will regret this much.

Luckily I wasn’t completely empty handed although this shot is not one I am very proud of. I took it to test the lighting and view as I was setting up my camera, so it’s not great but it’s something.