Fireworks Photos Taken by John Law from Atop the Golden Gate Bridge North Tower in 1987

In 1987, years before rooftopping and urban exploration gained notoriety on the Internet, Laughing Squid partner John Law climbed the Golden Gate Bridge to take these striking photos of fireworks over San Francisco Bay. He snapped the photos from the second cross member of the 746-foot-tall north tower.

I clamped my Pentax SLR to a catwalk railing and opened the shutter, holding my hat over the lens, darkening the exposure until a particularly good burst when I would remove the hat for an instant getting another layer to the picture. Time lapse photos taken this way during regular traffic times never came out good because of the constant and heavy vibration of the tower from passing trucks and cars. During the fire-fall, there was virtually no movement: nearly all traffic stopped!

photos by John Law