Yashmat United: July the Fourth Be With You

Thursday, July 4, 2013

July the Fourth Be With You

Happy American Independence Day to all.

I used to be one of those guys who loved to shoot off fireworks. As I've gotten older, and money has become more important, I've turned my back on watching my cold hard cash turn into sparkles in my face. I shall once again, fourth year running, be making the trek to a prime viewing location to shoot pictures of fireworks at the Happiest Place on Earth, sometimes aka The Mouse House or its very under used name that probably not many people know of, Disneyland. There is no other company on the planet that can match the skill in fireworks of Disney.

Here are some basic tips for shooting pictures of fireworks

Make sure your flash is turned off,
Your ISO needs to be set as low as possible, like ISO 100
Have a higher aperture, Try f11 or f16
Set the shutter speed to 1/2 or slower.

If you find that you are getting blurry pictures, you might want to bring use a monopod or a tripod. When looking for usable stands, most people make a mistake in thinking they need expensive equipment. A very inexpensive and light tripod will do everything you need.

Last but not least, Get there early and scout your zone. Composition is still an important factor.

Have Fun, and drive safe, and have a blast!

Further Refference:

http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-fireworks

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/photographing-fireworks/

Comments (6)

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deleted7205728 94p · 613 weeks ago

I should have read this BEFORE venturing out yesterday. I did change my aperture and my shutter speed. I will have to show you my first attempt at photographing fireworks/crackers.

The fairpark puts on a show but they generally shoot them so far up the Santa Maria cloud coverage covers up the good parts. Luckily people round these parts like to get their hands on illegals one and those make for some pretty nice explosions of light.

Until next year, I will continue to attempt more night time shots to make full use of my under-appreciated camera.
My recent post Wasting Money

1 reply · active 613 weeks ago

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hardkoretom 84p · 613 weeks ago

Yeah, we had the whole illegal mortars shooting off near where I live also. Car alarms galore! At least you got out there and attempted it which is whats important. You found out what didn't work. One tip I forgot to put was to set the lens in Manual because you only need to focus once for the most part, and the program mode will screw ya up.

I have a post coming with my shots this year. I got a great vantage point and was able to secure a good haul this year.

Great job Susie, and keep it up :-)

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Chris B 113p · 612 weeks ago

Very cool!!

Happy 4th!

Where can I buy illegal mortars?

1 reply · active 612 weeks ago

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hardkoretom 84p · 612 weeks ago

I remember seeing them in Arizona on the Indian reservation. EVERYONE is shooting those off these days.

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Billy · 612 weeks ago

We've got some serious fireworks shows here in Tokyo during the summer, but the crowds usually keep me away. Took some shots a few years back of the show over Tokyo Bay and they were horrendous. Maybe I'll get out there this summer as it'll likely be my last here...
My recent post Fun With Recursion

1 reply · active 612 weeks ago

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hardkoretom 84p · 612 weeks ago

I can imagine how big the crowds are. i would love to catch some tokyo fireworks. They always look interesting anytime I see them on a tv show.