Let freedom fly!
A photographer who doubles as a pilot was the highest in the Manhattan sky on July 4th — and The Post obtained his breathtaking aerial photographs of the 49th Annual Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks show taken from a staggering altitude of 7,500 to 8,000 feet.
Filip Wolak captured the stunning spectacle — as 80,000 shells launched from four barges on the East River — from above the controlled airspace, which is at 7,000 feet.
“What makes it special was I was the only guy out there. I got the best seat,” Wolak, a native of Poland, told The Post Saturday.
The astounding images reveal the brightly colored plumes of pyrotechnics forth from the river, surrounded by the panorama of the city.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the fireworks and of course, they’re the best here. And I don’t necessarily like crowds, so I find a way of watching from that point of view.”
While fireworks themselves are “quite challenging to photograph,” especially while flying a plane, he does have someone seated beside him to watch for traffic and altitude, he said.
“It’s a high level of stress, but it’s a good stress,” he said.
“And when I take photographs from the sky, I slow down the airplane to the minimum flyable speed which allows me to capture images that are not blurry.”
Wolak snaps the Independence Day pyrotechnics every year, but thought he wouldn’t be able to this time around because airspace in the tristate area had been closed at 10:30 p.m. when President Trump visited the area.
“I thought there was a chance I would not make it because the president came to town last night and they basically shut down the whole airspace,” he said.
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