Katie and I originally planned to go downtown to watch the fireworks on the National Mall but the weather looked bad. As it rained all day, there were thunderstorm and tornado warnings which eventually led to the Mall being evacuated. Thousands of people would have to go through security checkpoints for a second time. We decided to stick a little closer to home and went to Leesburg’s Ida Lee Park. We caught the end of cover band “Gonzo’s Nose” before the fireworks started.

I got the tripod and camera set up just a few seconds after the first fireworks were exploding. I had read a few tips on firework photography and wanted to try them out. This was also one of the only times I’ve had a good reason to use bulb exposure (instead of setting the shutter speed, I just hold down the shutter release button or remote control for any amount of time desired…15 seconds in this photo)

Speaking of independence, this whole Scooter Libby thing really angers me. What will stop anyone working under the executive branch from abusing power and position when they know the President will pardon them? Yes, I know Scooter was not fully pardoned and that his sentence was just commuted, but Dubya said yesterday that he has not ruled out a full pardon. I thought Libby was the fall guy for the whole Plame case, but it turns out Bush is there to catch him on the way down.

Check out Keith Olbermann’s special comment on the Libby pardon.