Photographing Fireworks

I always enjoy the fireworks on the fourth of July. We've been many places on the fourth of July so I've got many good memories.



I did not get to Old Settler's Park early because Thomas is home for the weekend and naturally I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.



I knew that it was easy to get to Round Rock's fireworks with plenty of parking. As I walked over to find my spot I enjoyed watching the families. Some were seated in lawn chairs, some on blankets on the ground. There were families with small children. There were kids and grownups throwing balls and frisbies - playing before the fireworks started.



As I set up my gear, I wanted to do some test shots. There was a momentary panic as my camera was acting funny. It would act like it was taking the shot but then there was nothing on the preview screen. I tried several things - turning the camera on and off, checking my settings, resetting the custom features, etc. I was getting disappointed since I had not gone out to do firework shots since Malibu in 2005. But I changed the camera card and all was well in the world.



I had glanced at one article about photographing fireworks, but it really didn't go into the settings. I had a pretty good idea what I wanted (which was why I was wanting to do the test shots . . . that the camera issue delayed.)

I knew I wanted to shoot manual with ISO 100 and f/stop 16 for good, crisp, clean images.

I started a f/16 at .6 sec - too dark so I adjusted to 3.2 sec



I shot some at f/16 and 4 sec.



I was using my 24-105 lens so I also played with the zoom trying to get both the distance shots and full frame shots.



When I knew the grand finale was near, I reduced the exposure more because I knew it would be very bright.



These are my favorites - hope you enjoy them and that you had a wonderful 4th of July weekend.