THought I would toss in FIREWORX

[JohnClark]

I had some trouble with this one, but I have about 350 more if anyone cares to see them, This is the first time I have ever shot fireworx and let me say that position is half the battle.

This shot was taken in Tucson, Az @ A mountain for anyone familiar with the area.

Anyways, I cheated the picture but i am sure no can really tell. If anyone cares this is what i did all in PHOTOSHOP CS:

Photograph two images, one with a lower exposure and one with a higher exposure. Ensure that the position of the photos are identical by placing the camera on a surface or tripod. Open (Ctrl+O) the image with a lower exposure.

Place the image with a higher exposure (File> Place).

With the top layer selected, add a layer mask (Layer> Add Layer Mask> Reveal All).

With the layer mask selected, use the Apply Image tool (Image> Apply Image) to apply the following properties:

Layer: Merged
Channel: RGB
Invert: Checked
Blending: Normal
Opacity: 100%

With the layer mask selected, use the Brightness/Contrast tool (Image> Adjustments> Brightness/Contrast) to tweak the image.

Here is the pic....

[DanStephens]

Great job with the merge...definately helpful with fireworks shots! Great job.

[r2d2]

Love it!! HOw did you manage to get them so sharp? Mine are so blury...although i did not use a tripod...just set the iso really high..perhaps that is my problem :)

[Richard51]

Nice work. Mine are also rather "undefined". (I hate "blurry") lol

[JohnClark]

Mine are so blury...although i did not use a tripod...just set the iso really high..perhaps that is my problem :)

That is the problem, you need to use a Tripod, and you need a remote, you set the camera to "bulb" so you can do a timed exposure,3 secs max. I also took my time to focus the camera, i was about 1000 meters away from the fireworks so i had a pretty good advantage. I am also an avid lightning photographer so I have to foucs on something in the distance and make up and other spot to that the lighting come up clear.

You have to do this by eye really, you see the blast of light you let go, you don't want to hold on to long because you get a blur, and to much light and the picture will look like curd, you should also shot in .raw you can do so much with it.

here is some Exif data:
Make Canon
Model Canon EOS 20D
Exposuer Time 2 Sec
Shutter Speed 2 Sec
Expouser Program Manual
F-Stop F/5.6
Aperture Value f/5.6
ISO Speed Ratings 100
Lens 17.0-40.00
Focal Length 28.0
Metering Mode Pattern

you get the idea, shot this the other night had a nice storm

[Michaelmjc]

Wow the lightning is awesome! The firworks look really good too.

[xryx]

I do believe that lightning shot made the hair raise on the back of my neck. Thanks for the tips and great photos.

[JMHPhotography]

I just posted some of my fireworks from the 4th. The best thing I can tell you that you haven't heard already is use a high aperature setting... I used F22. And use bulb setting because you will have more control over what you record. I shot all mine on film and later scanned them. If you want a series of bursts on the same frame, you could merge them as was suggested before, or hold the shutter open for a series of rocket bursts. Just be careful not to get too many in the shot at the same locations or they start to look too cluttered. 2 or 3 bursts on one exposure is plenty if you want to capture them that way. They are too unpredictable as to where they end up to do any more than that. If you want to merge them in later artificially, you can obviously do alot more as you can put them where you like. Here is an example of a single burst and a set of bursts in one shot. The first photo was taken at f22 and I held the shutter open from the time the burst happened to the time it disipated. I missed the intial explosion on purpose which is why there is a noticable void at the center. The second shot I shot also at f22 but I held the shutter open much longer and was able to capture 3 bursts in one exposure. All photos were taken with ISO 400 film. Also, I used a remote shutter button. Long exposures like this are challenging enough without having to worry about camera shake. Which unless you are steady handed as hell, it's hard to avoid when you touch the camera to press the shutter button... OHHH and if you're using an SLR, COVER THE VIEWFINDER!!!!! lol. Stray light can enter the viewfinder and reflect off of the mirror and cause very interesting things to your exposure. On my camera I did forget this on a couple of exposures and I got a nice exposure with a reflection of the film I was shooting on. It was pretty neat, but not when this happens to every exposure on every roll. I couldn't tell you what you'd see with a digital SLR. Good luck with it and I hope the information I gathered from experts and applied myself will help you.

[jfrancho]

Using a higher aperture is good advice, since delicate focus issues will be resolved by the long DOF high AV settings give. I found that f/22 was a little too extreme, settling in the neighborhood of f/11 - f/16. I will note that I was using the dreaded kit lens, so inherent sharpness, or lack thereof, may affect results. I chose the kit lens for my fireworks shots because of the "star-like" flare it demonstrates on pinpointed light sources when stopped down. You can see my fireworks pictures here (http://plan-b.smugmug.com/gallery/637893/1/27186056).

[JMHPhotography]

I just looked at your pics and they are nothing short of amazing... However keeping in mind that you took these at an ISO equivilency of 100, so I think f11-f16 are more appropriate than the setting of f22 which I used, which was because I was shooting ISO 400 film. I also took some shots at f16 just for the sake of taking them to see which I liked better and they were somewhat overexposed if not completely blown out in some spots. I think next time out, I will be using ISO 100 film and the aperature settings you used. I like the way your shots came out better. It also looks like you had greater variety of fireworks to work with as well. lol.





Using a higher aperture is good advice, since delicate focus issues will be resolved by the long DOF high AV settings give. I found that f/22 was a little too extreme, settling in the neighborhood of f/11 - f/16. I will note that I was using the dreaded kit lens, so inherent sharpness, or lack thereof, may affect results. I chose the kit lens for my fireworks shots because of the "star-like" flare it demonstrates on pinpointed light sources when stopped down. You can see my fireworks pictures here (http://plan-b.smugmug.com/gallery/637893/1/27186056).

[jfrancho]

That ISO bit didn't even register when I read your post. That makes sense. You offered another bit of advice which seems crucial, yet I didn't do: cover the eyepiece. I had intended to do so, but spent some much time aiming the camera to anticipated spot (it was breezy that night) I just plain forgot. I suppose I was luck to be behind any stray light sources - not planned.

[JMHPhotography]

Oh yeah... lol. If you're behind any light source you're ok. I happend to have a building with nice bright floods behind me. I should scan and post the pics I had with the film being reflected off the mirror and back onto itself. It's pretty neat. Luckily I noticed the eyepiece only after 8 or so shots.

That also reminds me of another piece of advice... for those who need it. It's obvious jfrancho is quite informed of this. Autofocus and long exposures at night generally don't play well with each other. I found this out by the time I snapped my 3rd ever shot. lol. The focus will not find anything in the blank night sky, and thusly the shutter will not release until something happens (i.e. some light shows up) It's best to get a fix on where you're going to aim, then pull back on your zoom so that you maximize the sky coverage without sacraficing too much in the way of filling your frame. You can always crop yourself later. Turn off autofocus and manually focus the camera on a couple of rocket bursts. Don't worry about being dead on nuts in focus... just get it focused as best as you can... The longer DOF will take care of the rest.
That ISO bit didn't even register when I read your post. That makes sense. You offered another bit of advice which seems crucial, yet I didn't do: cover the eyepiece. I had intended to do so, but spent some much time aiming the camera to anticipated spot (it was breezy that night) I just plain forgot. I suppose I was luck to be behind any stray light sources - not planned.

[JohnClark]

Here are some more Fireworks, i think these are better than the one i posted

[JohnClark]

more, DERKA, DERKA!!!

[JMHPhotography]

John you sure captured some nice images. Very well focused and colorful.

[JohnClark]

thanx, i like your pictures to, you have a good vantige point, almost under the fireworks, looks good, gonna have to try that next year.

[JMHPhotography]

Thanks... actually yes I was so close to them I could actually hear the sound of the rockets coming out of the tubes. It was nice although I wouldn't have minded a shot with some skyline in them which wasn't possible from where I was.



thanx, i like your pictures to, you have a good vantige point, almost under the fireworks, looks good, gonna have to try that next year.

[canon2od]

Is focus set on manual and lens focused to infinity??

[jfrancho]

Is focus set on manual and lens focused to infinity??Not necessarily. I used http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html to maximize my DOF and get as much of fireworks in focus. If you plug in some realistic numbers, you'll see that the hyperfocal distance is a little shorter that infinity, usually. The calculator can reveal some surprizes at extreme focal lengths, or settings.

[canon2od]

Thanks for the quick reply JF

[AngelaS]

Wonderful job!

[centuryegg]

Hey saw your photos and they are simply stunning! Posting a pic I took recently, Im a beginner having just bought my first camera a Canon A520. I would really appreciate if you could give pointers to how I could improve. Thanks

[jfrancho]

A lot of advice has been posted in this thread already. Though I am not sure how much applies to your camera. You might start a thread in the Compact Forum. You can go to my gallery (http://plan-b.smugmug.com/gallery/637893/1/27186070) and look at the "more photo details" links to view the EXIF, if that helps. I just don't have any experience with your camera.
(http://plan-b.smugmug.com/gallery/637893/1/27186070)

[JohnClark]

nice shot, i would get a cable for the shutter if they make one, try fireworks mode or bulb and manual focus take your time. have fun.

[centuryegg]

Thanks no worries.. appreciate it.