Shooting fireworks on Canada Day [and other days]

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Mike Kennedy

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In 7 years of fairly serious photography I have never photographed fireworks. I am usually with non-camera types and in the midst of a seething mass of humanity.Not a good place to set up my tripod.
This year I have hooked up with 2 other shooters. We plan on setting up our gear (35mm) on the old train bridge,now part of our local walking trail system. We will be approx. 1/2 mile from the display and shooting 100 speed color print film.
I realize that there are a number of web sites that deal with the topic but I always like to go to the source (APUG). Any advice on lenses or technique would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in Advance,
Mike
 

naturephoto1

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Hi Mike,

I have normally used 50mm or 60mm lenses to photograph aerial photos of fireworks. I can also see perhaps 90mm lenses as well. The narrower the angle of view however the more difficult to record. Most of us do not have the score regarding where, the kind or the height of the fireworks to be launched.

I have an old Kodak book on Existing light and have normally shot fireworks on either Kodachrome 64 or Fujichrome Velvia 50. I have had good success following the guide for multiple bursts relying on f8 for K64 or Velvia 50. I would suspect that Velvia 100 would require between f8 and probably f9.5 to possibly f11. The old book lists exposure of f8 for Kodacolor II (ISO 100).

When you set up to take the photos try to initially frame (in the viewfinder) the area that the bursts are exploding. Try to estimate several bursts in multiple seconds perhaps up to 4 or more for composition.

You can see the 2 that I have in my gallery (though I have hundreds):

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

I hope this helps.

Rich
 

Pinholemaster

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Remember fireworks are bright as daylight, so your f/stop will be f/11 or 16 depending.

Try to include something in the foreground to give the display a sense of place. Your time exposure should be long enough to expose what you want in the frame at f/11 or 16.

For example, in DC the monuments are always 15 seconds at f/11 with 100 ISO film. Pretty easy.

That's about it.
 

srs5694

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I've shot my town's 4th of July fireworks for two years in a row now. Both times I used ISO 200 film and f/11 or f/16, IIRC, with good results -- at least, in terms of the exposure for the fireworks. Framing and other problems prevented either of these from being great sets of fireworks photos.
 

Jim Jones

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A popular site for fireworks information is NYIP. A google search for fireworks photography will give you much information. Here are some hints in addition to the NYIP article.

The Jim Jones rule for exposure when shooting slides is to set the aperture to about the square root of the ISO rating. Long ago I shot a lot of fireworks on Kodachrome 25 at f/5.6. Daylight transparancy film gives good results. Film faster than ISO 100 has little advantage in shooting fireworks. For color print film I'd open up a stop over the square root setting. For black & white open up two stops. Light meters are useless for fireworks. Exposure of fireworks isn't critical, as long as the shot isn't underexposed. This rarely happens. Major fireworks displays might require a smaller aperture than I've recommended. Some one-hour printers may have a problem with fireworks, so evaluate the negatives rather than the prints.

In small town displays I usually leave the shutter open for many bursts. The maximum time is usually determined by the brightness of the sky. The exposure can be long enough for the sky illumination to barely expose the film. A little skylight in the image helps define any horizon or foreground. Remember, the sky may brighten during the exposure due to the accumulation of smoke, or darken as twilight deepens.

Using a sturdy tripod is helpful. Contrary to what NYIP said, mirror lock-up has little advantage in shooting fireworks. Some people may even like the squiggley trails of fire from a hand-held camera. Holding the camera very tightly may induce more tremors than normal relaxed hand-holding. Try it for at least one shot.

Try to find a site with no bright lights on the ground beneath the display. Fireworks reflected in water can be beautiful. This also eliminates some distracting foreground and lights. If you are at the edge of the water, people can't get in front of the camera. Shooting from a distance can reduce problems with a crowd and give you more control over the fixed lights on the ground. It may also let you make a fast get-away to avoid the traffic jam after major fireworks displays. Since it is impractical to frame every burst just right, set the camera so it includes most of the sky where the fireworks are displayed.

Capping the lens between bursts reduces the sky glow in the picture. I prefer a piece of black cardboard maybe the size of a sheet of typing paper. This can also be used to block bright lights on the ground. When this is done, keep the cardboard moving slightly to eliminate a recognizable boundary between the blocked and unblocked areas. One can usually hear the propelling charge and see a spark rising into the sky. Keep the lens capped until you are sure that it will be a photogenic burst, not merely a distracting blob of bright light from a bursting charge. When the display fades, recap the lens and wait for the next one. In a large display, there may be no wait. When you think you might have a nice grouping of bursts, cap the lens, advance the film, and try again. Fireworks photography is chancy, so shoot lots of film.
 
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Mike Kennedy

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Beauty shots Rich.Thanks J.J for the detailed methodology.
Now that I am properly armed with info. I can give it the ole'college try. Even if my results are below par I shall still have a great time out with friends (Mary,Cat,Nikon).

Thanks All
Mike
 

edwardkaraa

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I recently shot fireworks on Velvia 100 and the best frames were exposed between 15-30s at f/11-16. I guess it all depnds on the ambient light.
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Just giving this one a bump before someone asks.
 

mabman

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Interesting. I tried this on Canada Day myself with a roll of expired Agfa Ultra 50 (50 ISO), and a 28mm lens (35mm camera).

Just for kicks I tried approx. 30 second exposures at f/8. That was too long, and in particular I got a lot of blow-outs due to the initial shell explosion. Also the 28mm lens was way too wide - something in the 50-90mm would have worked better.

I think in future the strategy of catching the bursts but not the initial explosion is a good one - I have an Agfa Clack that has a cable release thread, bulb mode, and no double-exposure prevention, so I might try that in future (although it might be a bit wide). I'm concerned that I'd disturb the camera using a hat or dark cloth/paper, but that should also work if you're careful.
 

FredW

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I usually use a slide film, 50-100 ISO, set the lens to hyperfocal at f11-16, set the camera to bulb, and try to imagine what is on film, so my exposures vary from 15-30 seconds.
 
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