RE: Independence Day for the US - Please share your firework photos in this thread...

[AgentDrex]

So July 4th is coming upon us soon and I am so excited to try my hand at some firework photos, I've never tried this before...I've got some thick black cloth I plan on bringing along...I have my tripod and a remote cord...I plan on switching to bulb...expose for the foreground (haven't scouted locations yet but will this weekend), place black cloth over lens until just at the moment of explosion so I don't get a bright flash...what aperture should I use? Also, how will I know I'm focused correctly, should I skip on the first couple explosions and use them to focus first then start shooting...I plan on having multiple explosions in one photo...so I plan on moving the camera a tad for each explosion to fill frame...I'm getting more excited minute by minute...I know they won't be award winners...but I love being behind that camera and experimenting...

Please, if you could, share some of your own firework photos as I could use some pointers and inspiration. Thank you so much in advance to those that are willing to share their creations.

 

[AgentDrex]

Which focal length shall I use as well? I have everything between 28mm to 300mm but I use a cropped-frame sensor.

 

[AgentDrex]

Never mind....questions answered in a way in a different thread...

 

[12sndsgood]

im definatly no expert on photography but below i added a couple shots i took at disney last year. it was my first time attempting fireworks shots and they came out pretty good. i used aa 35mm prime lens but really i think what lens you use will be determined by location and where the fireworks are compared to you. shutter speed was only around 4-6 seconds long. and shot with a tripod. i would use the remote but for these i had left the remote back at the room. for focus we just got there before it got too dark and i focusted on the back ground and then switched it to manual once i had it setup.

DSC_0210_1 by Sndsgood, on Flickr


DSC_0107 by Sndsgood, on Flickr


DSC_0231 by Sndsgood, on Flickr

 

[Josh66]

Here are a couple I did a few years ago:
4th of July 2008 - a set on Flickr
(There are only 6 in that set.)

They were with a 350D and 18-55 @ 18. I wish there was something interesting in the foreground, but it was at a lake - just a bunch of water for a foreground (and the lake wasn't really big enough for reflections).

I have a ton more, but I think they're on Photobucket...



Focal length depends a lot on how close you are going to be... For me, wider was better - especially on a crop sensor.

For focusing, if the AF in your camera is good enough, you might be able to use the first couple to focus on. Manual focus might be easier though. (You'll want to switch over to manual focus anyway, once you have it where you want it.) Zoom in on the LCD to check your focus. If you have live view, that might work good too...

F/8 sounds about right...

 

[AgentDrex]

Thanks O|||||||O, I shoot old glass on my 1000d so manual only anyways...the widest I can go is 28mm which on my crop frame will resemble around a 40mm...I hadn't thought about the reflections...I'll be at a lake as well (Bemidji Lake to be exact) and I just moved to a new place about a two minute walk from the events center that was just built so if I get there earlier enough I should be able to get a really good shot or two...one would be great...but since this is my first...I don't really expect even one to come out...we'll see...

The palm tree from that flickr set is awesome...nice job!

 

[Josh66]

Thanks. It's not actually as hard as it sounds.

Your first couple shots will be checking focus, checking composition, stuff like that... 28mm will probably be fine. If it's a big lake and you're on the opposite shore, you might actually need to go with something a little longer.

It would be cool if you were able to get the reflections in the water too. The lake I was at had a lot of little 'fingers', and the actual distance over water from me to where they were launching from was pretty short.

I did those in Bulb. Using the remote I opened the shutter when they went up, then closed it after one or two of them blew up. I didn't try moving the camera between explosions though - that might turn out pretty good.
The only thing I would watch for covering the lens with black cloth is that the exposure doesn't get so long that you start getting noise from it.

I guess it might not be much of an issue though. It's easy enough to test. Take some long exposures with the lens cap on and see how long it can get before you can see noise.

 

[lyonsroar]

I think we need the 482 separate threads like last year...and the year before...year before...before (extrapolating)

 

[Ryan L]

One thing I didnt see mentioned was that you actually want to get those first few fireworks as the rest are going to be filled with smoke. The first few will have a nice clear sky.

 

[Josh66]

You'll only see the smoke if there's a lot of ambient light. (Which you may or may not want - depending on what kind of foreground you have.)

 

[Ryan L]

The fireworks I go to are over Lake Michigan, ambient light is extremely low, but the show has enough fireworks to illuminate the sky pretty well thoughout the entire display. Just saying, the better chances for clear shots will be in the beginning.

 

[AgentDrex]

Good points! Thank you so much. I would have thought of that at some point...probably around the time I'm shooting and noticed the smoke...glad you guys are here to warn me...I'll try to get a couple keepers at the beginning and then go nuts with experimenting...noise or no noise...since I'm a little odd...I kind of like noise in photos as long as the exposure and composition are there...