This marks the third year in a row that I’ve photographed the New Year’s Eve fireworks off the Space Needle, but I’ve shot from three different locations each time. This time I decided to shoot at the source instead of at a distance. I parked my car downtown and caught a bus to the Seattle Center where I joined hoards of others. The weather report said a cold front was moving in with possible snow, yet it didn’t seem that cold. I didn’t need gloves and I was fine in a jacket and sweat shirt and my obligatory TARDIS hat.
The countdown began and when the clock struck midnight the Needle lit up in all colors of the rainbow and more. I guess the entire ordeal lasted maybe ten minutes, but it was an impressive ten minutes. Then the second it all ended the skies opened up and let loose with everything it had. We got rain, rain mixed with snow, snow and snow pellets. As I walked back to the bus stop someone said the Space Needle was on fire. Sure enough, I turned around and flames were shooting off the Needle’s roof. Shortly after I heard sirens and assumed it was the fire department, though I was unsure what they could do. I doubt they had a ladder that would go up the 600 plus feet needed to reach the roof. Nonetheless, the flames were extinguished before I rounded the corner and my second wild night ended.
– Holly Homan
