Fireworks over the harbor

eoren1

Last year, I shot the fireworks from closer to the lighthouse and got a number of people in the frame. I found that I liked having them there for the added mood/perspective and chose this year's positions with that in mind.

Early in the show


The grand finale

moose135

Cool! I really like that first shot, having the foreground elements adds to it. I don't know that I'm crazy about the second one, though - I think the tree blocks too much of the fireworks for me. I do like that you are being creative with them, though!

Richard

I also like seeing other elements in fireworks pics, though it makes the exposure problem a little harder. I agree that the tree in #2 is blocking too much, but I also love the way the people are backlit by the glare. I think maybe cropping the left of that one till just before the fireworks start would improve the composition. The tree would be less smack-dab in the middle. I'd also straighten the horizon in #1.

eoren1

Thank you both. I had found the finale of most fireworks shows to be impossible to shoot well - especially with the aim of including any foreground element. The number of shots leads to horrible overexposure of the explosions at usual settings of f/8 and 5 seconds. The tree was my attempt to block the brightest parts of the explosions while capturing the trails and, therefore, illustrating this was the finale.
I'll take a look at a different crop.
Really appreciate the comments.