Fireworks Photography

Ok fellow photographers I kinda need some help on this one ok. Well this fourth of july I planned on shooting some fireworks at the park and i was just wondering if any of you have done this before and have some good advice on the film speed and the aperature and shutter speed and my equipment that i am going to be using is a Nikon FE camera with either a 35 or 50mm lens on it. I was just wondering what you guys have done in years prior. thanks and i also have a 70-200mm lens also if that helps in answering my question. thanks again and see ya

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Originally Posted by Thabird689

Ok fellow photographers I kinda need some help on this one ok. Well this fourth of july I planned on shooting some fireworks at the park and i was just wondering if any of you have done this before and have some good advice on the film speed and the aperature and shutter speed and my equipment that i am going to be using is a Nikon FE camera with either a 35 or 50mm lens on it. I was just wondering what you guys have done in years prior. thanks and i also have a 70-200mm lens also if that helps in answering my question. thanks again and see ya

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I've shot fireworks with my 28-70mm, my 50mm, and my 70-300mm @ 70mm. Which lens you use will depend on how far away you are. I have found that I prefer my 50mm for shooting fireworks, at the distance I shoot them at. I would recommend that you start with your 50mm, and carry your other lenses just in case. Watch the first few fireworks through the viewfinder to decide where to point the camera and what lens to use. Then lock it down on your tripod and shoot. I find that 4 seconds at f8 works well.

Here are a couple of my more popular ones.

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Originally Posted by Speed

I've shot fireworks with my 28-70mm, my 50mm, and my 70-300mm @ 70mm. Which lens you use will depend on how far away you are. ...

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just wondering - what ASA/ISO did you use?

megan

My favorite film for fireworks is Kodak E100VS slide film. Since I don't have any in the fridge, I'll probably try both the Provia 100F and Velvia 50 that I have. With 100ISO film, I use f8 (some use f5.6) and expose for several bursts but exact exposure time isn't really that critical unless you have a lot of buildings and city lights in the shot. You can use a black hat to cover the lens between bursts - that way the lens stays open for more bursts but the actual exposure time isn't too long.

I've got an example I'll post later from last year. Never tried digital for this but probably will for a few frames. I've heard film is still better here so I want to find out for myself. This year, I'm going to shoot from a 5-story parking deck to get an overview of downtown in the shot. I'll use my spot meter and figure out how long my exposure will be at f8 for the buildings in the shot, and expose the fireworks for that length of time. Actually Provia would be better here because of reciprocity failure. Works in theory, we'll find out the actual results though...

Edit: Here's a link to my shot from last year: http://www.rockrivertimes.com/index....cat=13&id=7376

It was shot on E100VS with a medium format camera and 50mm lens - about a 28mm equivalent in 35mm format. Hint: start with a lens wider than you think you need...

I suggest you use the search feature in the future, questions like this get asked all the time.

Hope this helps you out:

http://forums.photographyreview.com/...ead.php?t=3620

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Originally Posted by Speed

I've shot fireworks with my 28-70mm, my 50mm, and my 70-300mm @ 70mm. Which lens you use will depend on how far away you are. I have found that I prefer my 50mm for shooting fireworks, at the distance I shoot them at. I would recommend that you start with your 50mm, and carry your other lenses just in case. Watch the first few fireworks through the viewfinder to decide where to point the camera and what lens to use. Then lock it down on your tripod and shoot. I find that 4 seconds at f8 works well.

Here are a couple of my more popular ones.

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That I forgot the film I use! I used Reala, which is a 100 speed film, for my fireworks shots. Reala gives gorgeous colors, and I love it for fireworks. I don't have any Reala on hand this year, so maybe I'll try some Provia 100 this year.

Also, from my position (ie, distance from the fireworks), when I hear the cannon fire, I open the shutter. Depending on light levels (Havelock started shooting at dusk last year), any buildings, lights, etc, in the frame, you may want to adjust your exposures to be shorter or longer. If you have dark skies and want multiple bursts in the frame, open the shutter longer. It's a hit and miss proposition, and experience will help you fine tune your technique.

Either Reala or ProviaF 100.. f5.6 or 8 seem to render the best results. My exposure times would vary with the number of bursts desired in the frame.

I'll try and see if I can find any of my shots from last year or the year before so I can share them as well.
~Brian

Nikon Samurai #3

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Originally Posted by Kokopeli

Either Reala or ProviaF 100.. f5.6 or 8 seem to render the best results. My exposure times would vary with the number of bursts desired in the frame.

I'll try and see if I can find any of my shots from last year or the year before so I can share them as well.
~Brian

Nikon Samurai #3

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Reala or Provia 100.

Hehehe.

They also shoot Nikon!

;-)