Shot some fireworks that went on tonight in Jacksonville. This is the first time I’ve successfully shot fireworks, granted the last time I tried was last 4th of July, but having a year in between shoots gives you time to think about how you’ll do it.
I was basically exposing for the fireworks. I set ISO 200 at 2 seconds and f/20 manually focused on approximately where the fireworks would be. All this is done on a tripod of course.
Next was to figure out how to handle the foreground. 2 seconds isn’t really enough at those specs to pick up anything besides black. That is, unless you have a strobe. I triggered the camera manually then manually hit the strobe before the shutter closed. After some tests I found that 1/4 power provided the best exposure.
So I figured out how I was framing the shot then repeated till the show was over to make sure all the variables came out correctly.
Comments
5 responses to “Jacksonvillians do it a day early”
They shot fireworks off here last night too. Not sure why. I didn’t go because I am boring and an old hag and needed to do laundry and get renters insurance. BLAH.
You nailed that first one. That takes some luck and skill. Good job dude.
Awesome shot of the fireworks, Josh!
These are great.
Okay, Fireworks. Very simple. (I have done this hundreds of times with eyecandy goodness)
Tripod. Shutter Release. ISO 100-125. f/11-f/16 ish. Turn high-ISO NR off. Wouldn’t go past 2 or 3 bursts.
Listen for the launch, open the shutter, wait for a couple of shells to go off and volia.
awesome shot of the couple on the motorcycle! also, what is a blongoball?