Crazy red light of Lewes Bonfire

After three years as an official photographer for one of Lewes’s Bonfire societies, this year I had intended to experience the celebrations as a spectator. At the last minute I grabbed my camera bag. I couldn’t stop myself. It is hard to resist photographing the extraordinary spectacle of Lewes Bonfire, though the lighting conditions are extreme, to say the least, as is the challenge of dodging exploding bangers. The one disappointment is that a still image can never capture

the overwhelming smells and sounds of the experience. For the full impact you need to be standing in the crush of Lewes High Street as hundreds of wildly, crazily-dressed people stream by holding flaming torches and setting explosives alight. For those of you who have never been here on the 5th of November, I offer this photograph as a mere hint of the full-body experience of the night itself. More photographs of Lewes Bonfire can be found here.