Fireworks composite

[adamhiram]

I lucked out this year with an unobstructed view, a clear night, and no wind. This is a composite of 8 shots taken on a D500 with 17-55mm lens at 17mm, f/8, ISO 100. Shutter speed was on bulb with a wireless remote, ranging from 2-8s.


20190704-DSC_3292a by adamhiram, on Flickr

 

[smoke665]

Well done Adam!

 

[K9Kirk]

Nice pic/pics! If all goes as planned I'm doing my own fireworks tonight and hopefully get some shots as nice as yours.

 

[adamhiram]

Thank you both, and best of luck with your photos!

Some additional notes if anyone is interested

• Shooting at ISO 100, I found f/8 to be the sweet spot for a correct exposure, although f/11 probably would have worked well too.
• For the cleanest bursts shooting in bulb mode, I found that starting the exposure after the shell is in the air, just before it bursts eliminated messy trails, and ending the exposure before the embers start falling avoids too much streaking. I kept a few launch trails, but for most of them it didn't add much.
• Not much was needed in post processing - I set white balance to daylight (5500+10), reduced highlights slightly to bring back any overexposed colors, boosted vibrance and saturation a little, and reduced blacks for a cleaner background.