[分享] July 4th Firework 12p

ssal

ssal

Yes, July 4th is Independence Day, which celebrates the 234th year independence from the British.

Simple technique which was difficult in film's days but relatively easy with digital. Set the shutter to Bulb with a shutter release cable. Set the aperture at f/16 and press the button as the firework goes up. Then you can check your LCD and understand your mistakes and make instant correcfion.

General mistake for firework is aperture too large (over exposed) and the firework turns white without color. Or you hold the button too long letting too many bulbs in one picture. Otherwise, you just shoot a lot and pick out the ones that's good.

Thanks.

ssal

A couple more, from another angle.

ssal

You can do it with 1/10th of a second. The firework from the start of the explosion to the time it needs to paint the blossom takes at lease 2-3 seconds. You may also want to open the shutter to capture it going up so there is a tail to blossom.

Most of mine opened between 3 to 8 seconds.

Thanks..

ssal

Maxfactor,

It is a very nice shot. I am sure you can use the perspective tool in Photoshop to stretch out the top and pushing the bottom in.

I think the black card method was great in the film days. With digital and Photoshop, it is so easy to transpose one explosion (blossom) from one picture to another. You have better control of the number, size and shape of each blossom. I prefer shooting as few blossoms in a single picture as possible because you can always ADD blossoms but it will be close to impossible to remove one.

I've seem Hong Kong firework from the Peak with the harbour and the city as backdrop. Those were gorgeous shots. But the problem with Hong Kong is that, you'll be fighting for a spot with another 2,000 people with tripods and camera.

I shot this series in a parking lot where I parked my car. I pulled the lounge chair and my cooler with beers and set up my tripod. A very relaxing 30-40 minutes. I did have to wait 45 minutes after the firework to get out of the parking lot though.

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ssal

While I am at it, this set was taken 4-5 years ago, again in July 4th. New York City has the most amazing firework sponsored by Macy, the department store.

ssal

A little Photoshop magic.