Every rush out of the house and forget something? While I would never forget my camera – I have forgotten to take a tripod on vacation. This may not seem like a big deal – but when you want to photograph fireworks, it is. So sometimes you need to punt. Luckily for us, the 4th of July fireworks last year in Orleans were postponed to the day after we got there and that meant – we could go! I missed the fireworks at home because I was booked on a wedding. So this was a nice treat. Until I realized I forgot the bag with the tripod. And the bag with sheets for the kid’s bed too – that was an easy fix. There was a TJ Maxx nearby. The tripod was another story. Too late to get the tripod. So I improvised. I dug my heels into the sand and steadied the camera on my knees and leaned up against, I’m not sure, spouse? And was able to grab more than a few clear shots even tho the shutter speed was 2-4 seconds! Not too shabby! Remember, you need three things to make a photo – the aperture, the sutter and the ISO. When shooting fireworks – it’s the shutter that is most important. Because you want the streaks of light. You need a longer shutter speed. No other way to do it. Not too shabby! But now the tripod is the 2nd thing to be packed after the camera…