The “Dump and Burn” at the very start of Riverfire 2008.

Two days of planning went into making this image. The Friday afternoon before the event was spent scouting this location, while trying to plot the path the RAAF F111 jets flew during their test flight. Day two was the ‘hurry up and wait’ game. I arrived at around 7am to secure the desired location, setup a tripod and waited for the crowds to gather. As dusk fell over the city I began shooting some test exposures, two minutes, three minutes etc. and had calculated that by starting the exposure when the F111’s were approx. three 2 minutes away I’d capture them, the fireworks, Brisbane City and the foreground lights. This was truly a ‘one off’ event, as the following years resulted in increased security, damage to the safety fence, followed by the flooding in 2011 which washed away the docks, not to mention the retirement of the RAF F111’s.

It’s been called the greatest ever Pyrotechnics Show seen in Brisbane as Foti International Fireworks produced a grand spectacle of colour and excitement for QBE Riverfire 2008. The show which was simulcast on Triple M 104.5 Brisbane and Channel 7 was fired from 18 locations comprising 6 barges stretching from Story Bridge to Victoria Bridge plus 9 City Rooftops and 3 bridges including Brisbane’s famous Story Bridge.

Designed by award winning pyrotechnics choreographer Fortunato Foti, the powerful and emotional pyrotechnics show was synchronized to a 25 minute soundtrack that fused contemporary, modern and classical music. The show was also complimented by an F111 Dump and Burn at the beginning and just before the grand finale of the show.