Fireworks Sisters, originally uploaded by Allie.P.
These fireworks were part of Lansing, Michigans show on the 4th of July. Firework photography doesn’t seem like one of those “hit or miss” adventures, but rather I think that almost every single picture can turn out great… it just might not be your style.
I thought that since I did not have a tripod this 4th of July, that my firework pictures may not turn out as great as I had hoped, but actually, the slight added blur from my hand shake actually created a neat surreal effect that I like better than that ‘frozen in motion’ picture you always seem to see.
It seems like “blurry” isnt really an option for firework photography, but instead, it turns into “abstract.” So for any of you thinking you dont have the right camera or dont have good enough equipment to get those firework shots… think again, you may be surprised!
allison—–yes, i have concluded that i must use a tripod when taking aerial fireworks photos at night. some of mine are on the blog referenced above.
my first tripod use made all the difference in the results. about half of my shots were on target when it exploded and the rest were there before the explosion.
thanks, allison. tallpaul shelton, fireworks dad.
http://www.sheltonfireworks.com
http://www.sheltonfireworks.com/catalog.htm
http://www.sheltonfireworks.net
http://sheltonfireworks.blogspot.com
sheltonp@hotmail.com
I’ve hand held at Walt Disney World with good results only beacuse they have large displays with lots and lots of light in the sky.
For the ones I did this year, I used a tripod and pointed my camera in the general area of the firework explosions with a wide angle setting on my zoom (18mm). You can see the one I featured here: http://stphoto.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/view-28-4th-of-july/
What I do is put the camera to Blub shutter speed, press the shutter with I hear a launch, and close the shutter at the peak of explosion. Sometimes I leave the shutter open to get more than one.