Pic of The Day: Fireworks

[zippyjuan]

Besides the Chalk La Strada last weekend, as I said I also went to the Pacific Beach Beachfest which climaxed with fireworks launched from the end of the Crystal Pier. I picked a spot on the sand away from other lights to try and get some pictures of them- first time with this camera so I was not sure what settings to use. I did use the wide angle portion of my zoom (equal to 28mm) since I was so close- they were going off right over head and the booms were echoing off the hotels and buildings behind me. I tried two different automatic settings- first aperature priority (which is where you set the f- stop and the camera will determine the shutter speed) at 5.6 and 8.0. This gave an exposure of 15 seconds (the longest that auto will do). Wasn't that excited by the results so I switched to shutter priority with the exposure eight seconds. The aperature varied depending on whether there was an explosion going off when the shutter was clicked, but the results were better than before. Lucky timing is important to getting good fireworks shots so take lots of pictures. A tripod is also important to hold the camera still during the long exposures. I include all this information in case someone wants to know how to do it. I am going to check what my settings were on this shot and include them. So enjoy!

[Burzhui]

getting a good fireworks shot is not easy. I applaud you for your efforts

[zippyjuan]

Thanks. I checked the settings and they were:
ISO 50 (this is equal to your film speed- the higher the number- the faster speed but usually granier results- sometimes also called ASA)
f/ 7.1 and the exposure was eight seconds. I should have also used manual focus at infinity but I did not think of that at the time- there is a delay as it tries to autofocus and in low light it sometimes has difficulty locking in- this is true of most digital cameras but digital SLRs handle it better.

[eSDee]

That's probably the best fireworks photo that I have ever seen. Great job!

[nickel]

That's probably the best fireworks photo that I have ever seen. Great job!

[Daversinger]

very nice very

[Devhux]

Congrats.

You may remember a while back I mentioned I was going to be at a fireworks display. Sadly I didn't end up getting any good shots because my tripod failed on me.

[zippyjuan]

Sorry to hear about that. I am sure you were very frustrated. I have a small tabletop one that I have had for years. I can stick it in my pocket. Sometimes you can look for something to set or brace your camera on. Some photogs carry a bean bag to support their camera when needed.

[Sirrich3]

Nice picture...

[surfer]

Awesome fireworks!

[tupacboy]

well done!