Small Town Fireworks

PixelRabbit · Jul 1, 2012

For Canada Day we went to a small town near by for the fireworks

I was pretty much limited to shooting almost straight up at them and they lasted about 5 minutes so as soon as they started I shot and prayed lol. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to get any scenery etc into the shots but I am generally happy with how they turned out for my first try.

Here are my two fav's, C&C always welcome and appreciated!

Frequency · Jul 2, 2012

They are good....really good

AlanE · Jul 2, 2012

Wow... Nice shots.

tmjjk · Jul 2, 2012

Awesome! I'm going out tomorrow to try my first fireworks... Would you mind posting your exif data as a guide? Thank you

PixelRabbit · Jul 2, 2012

Thanks Frequency, Alan and tmjjk

Here is the rest of the keepers.

Shot settings:
Tripod
2 second delay/2 second exposure (since I didn't have a trigger to use the Bulb method.)
F11
ISO320

3.

4.

5.

6.

Frequency · Jul 2, 2012

They continue to be attractive

TheKenTurner · Jul 2, 2012

That first one <3 did you do anything in post to make the sky perfectly black?

-Ken Turner

PixelRabbit · Jul 2, 2012

Thanks again Frequency

Thanks Ken, I love the first one too! The only post I did was cropping, sharpening and saturation.

Joel_W · Jul 3, 2012

WTG Girl. two very nice sets. I've never shot any fireworks, but you sure seem to have nailed it 1st time out. I prefer the ones with the smoke residue in the 2nd set.

PixelRabbit · Jul 3, 2012

Thanks Joel

It was easier than I thought actually, the hardest part was getting the timing right. I wish I could have gotten a bit wider but we were so close (across a ball diamond). Next time around I'm going to be much, much further away lol.

dxqcanada · Jul 3, 2012

Yup, fireworks don't take much.

Camera on tripod. Bulb exposure (or 1-4sec).
Aperture controls how thin the lines are ... f8 is a good start.
When firework is lit ... press shutter and hold ... then let go when you feel like it.
Change focal length if required to get it firing up and exploding.
Just go for it ... I used to do that with 100 ISO film in the old days.

It gets a little more complicated with large fancy firework shows.