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Grand Illumination
05-DEC-2004

Grand Illumination

(Day 61) I like how these trees are silhouetted against the fireworks display.

This image is a part of last evening's Grand Illumination celebrations, launching the Christmas season in Williamsburg. I am rather amazed at the popularity of this event; there must have been 60 to 70 thousand folks crammed into the small colonial village to take part in the celebrations. It used to be a rather small affair in the late 1930's after the restoration. A town crier would travel from house to house with a manageble crowd in tow. At each house would call the owners name and they in turn would light the electric candles in their windows and display the holiday wreath they had crafted for the season. You may not know, but the popularity of placing electric candles in windows during the Christmas season had its roots here. In the 50's fireworks were added to the celebrations, though they were only of pyrotechnics used in the 1700's, no large rockets or thundering booms and that is what they are today. (More Info)






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    post a comment
    Lisa Feuer 11-Dec-2004 06:41
    Holy Moly...this is amazing. All of them. I would have loved to have seen this in person.
    Pedro Libório 09-Dec-2004 23:54
    stunning...gets a vote!!!!
    Silvrday 09-Dec-2004 15:34
    Stunning.
    Russ P 08-Dec-2004 03:10
    That Nikon, in your hands, takes an extraordinary photo! All excellent!
    Karen Stuebing 07-Dec-2004 11:28
    What a great tradition. And the photos are fabulous.
    whiskey01 07-Dec-2004 06:32
    WOW, master!
    Gayle P. Clement 07-Dec-2004 05:43
    Wow!
    Elaine (etfitz) 07-Dec-2004 04:29
    Amazing photos!
    johnnyboy 07-Dec-2004 03:21
    Excellent
    Susanne 06-Dec-2004 21:07
    I love the colors and I like the way you captured them. Very nice composition.
    laine82 06-Dec-2004 20:41
    This is a lovely colourful capture.
    markvm 06-Dec-2004 19:20
    All four are nicely done!
    penny roots 06-Dec-2004 19:18
    Great captures , beautifully done .
    Mike Westendorp 06-Dec-2004 19:02
    Great shots all over!! Nice work
    JV 06-Dec-2004 18:49
    All these shots are wonderful ;all the time it occurs something in your town, it's fabulous
    René Gysi 06-Dec-2004 18:42
    Excellent photos with great colours. Wonderful!
    Robin Reid 06-Dec-2004 18:41
    What a neat place to be and excellent image.
    Linda Zhang 06-Dec-2004 18:23
    Beautiful shot and scene.
    Jacky (Yaacov) Costi 06-Dec-2004 17:48
    Amazing lighting. Beutiful picture.
    Argishti Khachik 06-Dec-2004 17:28
    terrific shot!
    Gilles Navet 06-Dec-2004 16:51
    Impressive night image with a great use of a dificult light
    Gilles
    Gary Blanchette 06-Dec-2004 16:50
    Absolutely Awesome!
    jude 06-Dec-2004 16:43
    Fantastic... all 4 shots.. the way the trees seem to be reaching upward is mimicked by the shooting fireworks.. nicely done
    Sunny 06-Dec-2004 16:32
    These photos are remarkable!
    Shmuel Halevi 06-Dec-2004 16:25
    WOW, very well captured AutomnS.
    Stu 06-Dec-2004 16:20
    They are all superb! Great colours.
    Cliff 06-Dec-2004 16:15
    These old buildings, lit as they are by the different coloured fireworks, make for pretty spectacular images. Interesting copy with your photos - we'd love to visit one day.