Fireworks

[Vinod Menon]

We had our annual fireworks show in our neighborhood and I got quite a few shots. All taken with the D70 and 18-70 kit lens. Manual focus at infinity. There are a few more at http://www.vinodmenon.com/gallery/Fireworks
Comments welcome.

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[Gilles]

#4 is my favorite

 

[eng45ine]

Vinod...what did you set your WB at? Beautiful images!

 

[Vinod Menon]

Thanks Gilles and Frank!
Frank, I used Daylight white balance (actually daylight -2)

 

[Gale]

vinod,

they are all very beautiful. Some of the best I have ever seen.

 

[Riki]

Dear Vinod,

I have seen your post on the dpreview forum about the spot metering and was really very impressed. Your website along with pictures of your lovely daughter are a complement to your talent. keep up the good work. Wonderful shots and capture. Please post more.
Riki

 

[obelix]

Vinod

Great colors and capture. You have nailed the exposure, which is the most difficult aspect.

If I may nitpick, I would have loved to see a foreground subject that gives context of place. In your case it may or may not have been possible though.

 

[Vinod Menon]

Thanks Gale and Riki for your very kind comments

 

[Vinod Menon]

Vinod

Great colors and capture. You have nailed the exposure, which is the most difficult aspect.

If I may nitpick, I would have loved to see a foreground subject that gives context of place. In your case it may or may not have been possible though.

Anand, thanks. I feel any foreground subject becomes too distracting. But I agree about the context. Ideally, you would like to take fireworks over a skyline or something. In my case, I was too close to the fireworks, you can see some of my shots were at 18mm and I had to point up to the sky.

 

[Pa]

Great shots! How did you hit on the 4 seconds at f/16? Trial and error?

 

[Vinod Menon]

Great shots! How did you hit on the 4 seconds at f/16? Trial and error?

Hi Pa, yeah it was sort of trial and error. I knew I wanted at least 2 secs and f/8. Then I took a couple of test shots and adjusted based on blinking highlights. I was shooting in manual mode, so once I got the right exposure, I left it there and concentrated on timing the shots Thanks for your comments.

 

[JerseyJay]

Vinod,

Great results.

Are you pleased with the outcome ? Would you change anything next time ? Would wider angle help ?

Did you setup your camera on timer or did you use remote control ?

I'm getting ready for July 4th

 

[Gale]

Vinod,

thanks for the info.. I kind of think this is like shooting the moon.. I use almost the same settings...

Thanks. I would sure like to try. My moon turned out great.. Did the elcipse. My first was just a full moon, so had some idea. I also used the shutter release and locked up the shutter.

Yeah ??????

 

[Vinod Menon]

Vinod,

Great results.

Are you pleased with the outcome ? Would you change anything next time ? Would wider angle help ?

Did you setup your camera on timer or did you use remote control ?

I'm getting ready for July 4th

Thank you Jay! Considering where the fireworks show was held, I am quite pleased with the results. As to changing anything next time, I did think about it and couldn't think of anything I would do different for this fireworks show. I shot the same show a couple of years ago with my Coolpix from my backyard and although the shots came out ok, I had the neighbors roof in all my shots :roll: I didn't like that too much. I could have tried going a little further away from fireworks but I was afraid I would get too many roofs and trees in the way!

I set up my camera on a tripod and used the remote...it helps if you can see when the fireworks are launched so you can time your shots better.

Good luck for July 4th...looking forward to seeing your pictures.

 

[Vinod Menon]

Vinod,

thanks for the info.. I kind of think this is like shooting the moon.. I use almost the same settings...

Thanks. I would sure like to try. My moon turned out great.. Did the elcipse. My first was just a full moon, so had some idea. I also used the shutter release and locked up the shutter.

Yeah ??????

Hi Gale,
I guess the main difference between shooting the moon and fireworks is that with the fireworks timing is more important. The moon doesn't move around much . Having said that, the moon does move and I have found that a very long shutter speed will usually blur the shot a little. It's been a while since I shot the moon...gotta give it a try some time soon.

 

[JMartin]

wow

Vinod,

Those are incredible shots! You could have posted any of them from your web site and gotten the same reaction. They are all equally beautiful.

With the 4th coming up I am going to have to find a good spot this year to try and get some shots. I am not sure if it's me or what, but none of the fireworks I have seen since moving to Florida seem to compare to what I used to see when I lived up north.

Joe

 

[Terri French]

These are so good. We are having our fireworks display on Monday and I was wondering what kind of setup to use for my camera. I'll give f16 and 4 secs a try. Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures.

 

[Vinod Menon]

Joe and Terri, thanks for your comments. Good luck with your fireworks display, look forward to seeing your shots.