My First Fireworks Show
By Johan Hendrikse
7 July 2008
So, I haven't been doing photography for very long (since about November of 2007) and I only got my first SLR this past May of 2008. For this past 4th of July I was able to attend the Chevy Freedom over Texas fireworks show. In this story I will try to explain what I did to get the few captures I took and the situations that promoted and hindered my shots.
Equipment:
- Canon EOS 450D (XSi)
- Canon 18-55mm Lens that I purchased with the camera.
I chose this lens because I knew I would be relatively close to the action and I wanted a lens as wide as possible so I wouldn't have to change the angle at which I was pointing the camera very frequently.
- A stable basic Tripod
I really didn't have the money for a two piece expensive pro tripod, so I used a basic tripod that was very sturdy. It was relatively easy rotate the head on which the camera stayed, which ended up being very useful.
- A wired remote
I chose a wired remote because I did not want the 2 second delay associated with the wireless remote. This was one of the best things ever! It allowed me to remove at least some of the vibration associated with me pressing the shutter button, and also made the experience far more pleasurable.
- A tarp and a blanket
This was mostly situation based, but I had a tarp underneath the blanket I was sitting on so I didn't have to worry about having wet shorts.
The location:
I was fortunate in that I was able to enjoy the fireworks show from the Shell section at the fireworks show. It was located on a side of a hill, with the fireworks being shot from accross the street. I located myself at the top of the hill, just as it was about to descend. This meant that, even though I was sitting, the odds of someone being in front of me, and obstructing my view, was very low. I also can't stress this enough, GET THERE EARLY. If I would have showed up later, I would not have had the liberty of my location selection.
The set-up
I started my set-up about 2 hours before the fireworks started. I was fortunate in that I had great company and so boredom was impossible.
- The first thing I did was set up the tripod. I tried my best to make it level, but this was impossible without a level.
- The second thing was to select the lens that would best fit the situation. The choice for me was relatively easy, since I only have 2 lenses. I chose my 18-55mm lens and kept it as wide angle as I could.
- Third, in my research I read that people suggested that I keep the camera in Landscape mode so that focus is not a problem. I either couldn't figure out how to do landscape and control the shutterspeed, or couldn't accomplish this with my camera. What I did instead was the following. While it was still light outside, I focused on an object some distance beyond where the fireworks were sitting. I know most will not be able to see where the fireworks are shot from, but I am sure that focusing on anything near where you think the fireworks will be shot from will work. I then switched my camera from AutoFocus to ManualFocus. This left my focus where it was as long as I didn't change the focal length. With the focus taken care of all I had to worry about was pressing the shutter button.
- The fourth, was to use the mirror lock capability of my camera. This meant that I had to press the shutter button twice, but since that was really easy to accomplish with the wired release, I did not see this as a negative. One more thing I could have done was to turn OFF Image stabilization. I completely forgot about it.
- The fifth, was to shoot in Manual. I was originally going to shoot in shutterspeed priority but decided against it. By choosing to shoot in Manual, I could choose both the aperture and the shutterspeed. I chose a relatively smaller aperture (I think it was F/8 or F/9). I also originally started with a 2 second shutter speed. This (as my camera reminded me) would leave my shots severely underexposed, but that was ok. Since I would have nothing but the sky and the fireworks in my shot, I would lower the risk of overexposing my shots. After taking some shots and getting a feel for the show I ended up switching to 3.4 seconds exposure. I can't tell you what to do if there are buildings that you would like to include in the photograph.
The show:
Because of all the preparation prior to the fireworks show, there wasn't much left to do but take the photos. Here I was fortunate in that the show was long enough for me to change some settings to tweek my results. The show was relatively fast paced and so all I could do was try and time when I would press the shutter button twice with the fire works and hope that all my preparations had payed off. One benefit of all these preparations would be that I could also enjoy the show, and not have to be all crunched up behind my viewfinder. It also meant that I could swivel the tripod if some part of the fireworks show was more appealing than the other. The negative to this is that composing a shot becomes darn near impossible.
What I would do next time:
I will try my hardest to repeat everything I have mentioned above. I would also try to get a wider angle lens for the next time. This would mean that I wouldn't have to move the tripod as much. This is situation based however, and I might need a telephoto lens next time.
All in all, I was thrilled to see all of the fireworks I captured, I had about 50% of the photos I took that I liked. The shots became more usable toward the end of the show as I became more in tune with the sounds and predicting the fireworks. I hope that this story will help you in your next attempt at capturing the beauty of fireworks. Stay safe, and happy fourth of July.
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