Back in June or July 1982 I bought my first SRL with money from my first real job (Ritz Camera -- RIP?), one of the first things I did with it was shoot the concert and fireworks on the Mall in DC for the 4th of July. From what I found in my negatives, I must have shot 2 rolls of slides that day... one 36 exposure and the other 24. The number of "hits' was shockingly high especially given the difficult shooting conditions -- pouring rain, thunderstorms, darkness with fireworks (where a meter did not good and I had not idea what I had until it came back from the lab), and even misfiring fireworks that went off just above our heads (some folks were burned as I recall).

It also documents the last Beach Boys Concert and "Blow Out" on the Mall for the 4th of July to the best of my knowledge. The following year James Watt - Reagan's Secretary of the Interior, got rid of the BB (bad element according to him) and brought in Wayne Newton the following year. Bad move for Mr Watt, turns out he pissed off of many Americans AND that both Reagan and Bush Sr. were BIG fans... add a few other goofs on his part, and Mr Watt was replaced the next year.

As an aside, just a few nights ago I went out and shot the local fireworks. Obviously not such a magnificent setting, but out of the 100+ photos not a single one was anywhere near the quality of the betters ones from 30 years ago!