Fireworks: July 4th 2009

eoren1 · July 4, 2009

Can't remember where these threads usually end up but figured landscapes was a good home. Here are my top-3 from tonight's display. Shot in Marblehead, MA from 'the neck'. Used a 10-22 lens at 10mm to keep the lighthouse in the frame.
Please post yours as well.
E

thapamd · July 4, 2009

Very cool! I love fireworks shots and these are awesome!

Andy · July 5, 2009

Fireworks on the Hudson River at Peekskill, NY

Not too shabby for a $300 Point & Shoot and a Gorillapod, eh?

Click Piccie for exif.

Wil Davis · July 5, 2009

Very nice! So, care to share exposure information?

BTW I love the "hairiness" of some of the traces…

- Wil

moose135 · July 5, 2009

I've never been to the Macy*s fireworks display in NYC, but when I heard they were going to be held on the Hudson River this year, I decided to head over to Hamilton Park in Weehawken, NJ to catch the action with Manhattan in the background. It was a perfect evening weatherwise, and an exciting show.

As the last of the fireworks were shot, one of the fireworks barges caught fire. The fireboats hung back for a few minutes, and for good reason - not all the fireworks had fired, and after several went off onboard the barge, a fireboat came in and extinguished the flames.

Andy · July 5, 2009

Wil Davis wrote:

Very nice! So, care to share exposure information?

BTW I love the "hairiness" of some of the traces…

- Wil

Not sure which of us you were asking but I'll reply anyhow

EXIF.

Awais Yaqub · July 5, 2009

Great photos
waiting for more

torags · July 5, 2009

Lake Tahoe ,NV. It was a low budget show

Quzol1 · July 5, 2009

Hercules, California Had a small show.

This one I caught at weird time

silversx80 · July 5, 2009

A few out of around 250 clicks

hawkeye978 · July 5, 2009

Quite a coincidence. As E was shooting the Marblehead fireworks up close and personal, I was shooting them from across Salem Harbor. I was at Lynch Park in Beverly, MA which is across Beverly and Salem Harbor looking directly at Marblehead. We could actually see fireworks in Salem, Marblehead, Beverly, and Beverly Farms from this location.

Getting Ready...Looking across Salem harbor towards Marblehead with the Moon rising.

A series of shots towards Marblehead.

EXIF

EXIF

Thanks for looking...

d7freestyler · July 5, 2009

My first attempt at fireworks photography... and first time posting pictures on DGrin as well!

Sunset from our vantage point in Benson, NC.

fireworks

Then we made our escape...

bmann · July 5, 2009

My First Try at Fireworks
I was determined to learn how to shoot fireworks so yesterday afternoon I researched the topic on the forum and soaked it in like a sponge. These are two images I shot last night. They are straight out of the camera with no processing. How did I do? Be honest, I have tough skin..lol.

Tallboy · July 6, 2009

Another first time fireworks shooter here...I used the wrong lens I fear - my 10-20mm...I was actually fairly close - within a 150 yards or so. Lots of learning last night.

Unfortunately - the show was lakeside which locked me into having the moon to contend with...

the finale was a bit brighter...

to the rest of you...

...this was much more difficult than I'd thought...and I'd thought it was going to be hard to capture.

eoren1 · July 6, 2009

Tallboy wrote:

Another first time fireworks shooter here...I used the wrong lens I fear - my 10-20mm...I was actually fairly close - within a 150 yards or so. Lots of learning last night.

Unfortunately - the show was lakeside which locked me into having the moon to contend with...

to the rest of you...

...this was much more difficult than I'd thought...and I'd thought it was going to be hard to capture.

Nice job first time out! That second one looks really good in fact. I wonder if it would have helped to stop down the lens to f/16 and try turning that moon into a star

As for the 10-20 lens - I shot mine at 10mm as well but more out of necessity as my foreground object was pretty tall. You lose a bit of relative size by going that wide but I think you did a very good job overall.
E

eoren1 · July 6, 2009

bmann wrote:

I was determined to learn how to shoot fireworks so yesterday afternoon I researched the topic on the forum and soaked it in like a sponge. These are two images I shot last night. They are straight out of the camera with no processing. How did I do? Be honest, I have tough skin..lol.

A great first time out! I like the first one especially. Looks like the second was either at the end of the show or a long shutter speed as you caught a few too many fireworks and started blowing them out. Next year, I would aim for settings of iso 100 f/8 and shutter of 3-5 seconds depending on ambient light, foreground objects and the frequency of the fireworks. You might also want to start the shot immediately after a burst to try to capture a light trail up to the sky.
E

eoren1 · July 6, 2009

d7freestyler wrote:

My first attempt at fireworks photography... and first time posting pictures on DGrin as well!

Sunset from our vantage point in Benson, NC.

fireworks

Then we made our escape...

Way to start out your posts with a BANG! (sorry, couldn't help myself there). I especially like the two above. Very nice, clean fireworks display. Not much smoke in the shots which is really impressive.
Good job!
E

eoren1 · July 6, 2009

hawkeye978 wrote:

Quite a coincidence. As E was shooting the Marblehead fireworks up close and personal, I was shooting them from across Salem Harbor. I was at Lynch Park in Beverly, MA which is across Beverly and Salem Harbor looking directly at Marblehead. We could actually see fireworks in Salem, Marblehead, Beverly, and Beverly Farms from this location.
Thanks for looking...

Nice work Tom! You'll have to come out to the Neck next year so we can shoot together!
E

d7freestyler · July 6, 2009

eoren1 wrote:

Way to start out your posts with a BANG! (sorry, couldn't help myself there). I especially like the two above. Very nice, clean fireworks display. Not much smoke in the shots which is really impressive.
Good job!
E

Thanks for the kind words, E! I really appreciate it.

ront · July 6, 2009

It looks like this is is a thread for all to add to, so I will add a few.

First off, I want to say that there are some great shots in here!! I still have much to learn about shooting fireworks, but I got a few that I liked and I hope that you do too.

Ron

For the last several years, we have stayed out of the park and found a higher vantage point to view the firework display. It is a great place to watch them from. Here is a photo looking down toward Riverfront Park in Spokane, WA.

My daughter and I.

A few fireworks.

The really loud ones.

The others can be seen here: http://ront.smugmug.com/gallery/8812677_NyDW8#P-1-12

bloomphotog · July 6, 2009

Great work from everyone! Here's my FaveFive.

D700, 200 ISO, 20 second exposures, f/14, Nikon 80-200 2.8. Bass Lake, CA.

sixdaemonbag · July 6, 2009

Here's a few I shot. Never tried it before, but they came out Ok.

Tallboy · July 6, 2009

eoren1 wrote:

Nice job first time out! That second one looks really good in fact. I wonder if it would have helped to stop down the lens to f/16 and try turning that moon into a star
As for the 10-20 lens - I shot mine at 10mm as well but more out of necessity as my foreground object was pretty tall. You lose a bit of relative size by going that wide but I think you did a very good job overall.
E

Thanks - I got lucky with this one - the moon looks like one of the fireworks that is also present and blends in a bit better.

Elaine · July 6, 2009

Cool! I love looking at fireworks photos. I haven't had the chance to shoot big fireworks yet, but I enjoyed shooting the little ones we did in our cul-de-sac with neighbors. Hope it's OK to include those here...

bmann · July 6, 2009

eoren1 wrote:

A great first time out! I like the first one especially. Looks like the second was either at the end of the show or a long shutter speed as you caught a few too many fireworks and started blowing them out. Next year, I would aim for settings of iso 100 f/8 and shutter of 3-5 seconds depending on ambient light, foreground objects and the frequency of the fireworks. You might also want to start the shot immediately after a burst to try to capture a light trail up to the sky.
E

Thanks E! You're right the last one was at the very end.. I didn't know the finally was coming up and had set a slightly longer exposure to try something a bit different. Well, just my luck they decided to wind it up and do the finale.

I tried to cover up the lens to block out some of them but in the end it was still too much. Ahh live and learn eh?

Raina.Rae · July 6, 2009

These are a few from Washington DC show. Had a pretty good spot. I was using a Cannon Rebel XSI on a tri-pod. Unfortently I did not have a remote shutter release for the camera at the time, it didn't ship in time.

1.

2.

3.

4.

jobestein · July 6, 2009

Galeton Pennsylvania Fireworks
Great shoots everyone! Thanks for sharing. I love the variety.

First a question, then some pics.

What WB values did y'all use, and why?

Sunset over the hills:

That's a 6 shot stitch, but I'm sure you hawk-eyed photogs could see that in my ham-fisted PP.

And the fireworks, I liked tungten WB for these shots:

C&C Welcome.

eoren1 · July 6, 2009

jobestein wrote:

Great shoots everyone! Thanks for sharing. I love the variety.

C&C Welcome.

This one in particular is very well done. Love the perspective along with the perfect capture!
E

jobestein · July 7, 2009

Thanks for the props, eoren1. I got lucky on that shot considering I was just using the self-timer.

Justin

dwayne_bradley · July 7, 2009

Some of mine...
Here are a couple of mine from last Friday at our local YMCA:

3692602289_cd2f4f3b5a.jpg?v=0

And one more that is just a little different:

3692603483_ef4d3335b1.jpg?v=0

My entire set on Flickr can be seen here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bucketheadphoto/sets/72157621024142784/

DustyLee · July 9, 2009

Chattanooga fireworks
My three favorite firework shots from July 4, 2009. I don't have a remote so I set up on a tripod, set for a 2 sec delay on the auto timer, and hoped there'd be a rhythm to the fireworks. Thank goodness there was!

Olympus E-500

iso 100, f 11, 6 sec exposure.

iso 100, f11, 10 sec exp

iso 100, f11, 8 sec

Others can be seen at http://dustylee.smugmug.com/gallery/8819798_8hC4n/#584138488_MABUT

Fireworks: July 4th 2009

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