Every year Colonial Williamsburg celebrates the Christmas holiday with a series of fireworks displays referred to as the “Grand Illimunation”. They are held over the Governor’s Palace and the Colonial Capitol Building. The Governor’s Palace is the main display, and large crowds typically assemble on the palace green to enjoy the show. The fireworks at the Capitol, on the other hand, is a more intimate setting with smaller crowds. These images were taken at the Capitol during the 2017 holiday season. The lack of any wind this night created creating smoky backdrops and eerily lit scenes around the Capitol as the fireworks exploded in the night sky. The silhouettes of nearby trees added an extra layer of dimensionality not normally seen in images of fireworks displays.
Delicate streams of fireworks illuminate the front of the Capitol.
Fireworks set off behind the Capitol provide backlighting for the arched hallway between the two house chambers of the Capitol.
Streaks of light in the smoky night sky.
A string of fireworks hung across the front of the Capitol create a seething waterfall of rising smoke and falling embers. The lighting creates a fantastic silhouette of the brick fence and gate around the Capitol grounds.
The Capitol is engulfed in an intense burst of color.
Lighting display at the reflecting pool in front of the Williamsburg Inn.