November the 5th is Guy Fawkes Night here, a celebration of the downfall of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. I am beginning to wonder if now it’s just an excuse to get together as a community, gather round a bonfire and watch some fireworks. Which is awesome, and why not?
Fortunately for us we live just off the local park where our town’s firework display is held. Our balcony produces an excellent view of the show – and easy access to warmth! I must admit to not being much of a fan of standing outside at night at the beginning of winter, bonfire or no bonfire.
This year I decided to try and take some photographs, having such a good vantage spot.
f/3.5 Exposure 1/8 secs ISO 200 Focal length 18mm
I used my Pentax DA that came with my camera, simply because I couldn’t decide on a different lens. I’d read some articles (listed below) about what to use, but uncertain about where exactly to focus, I went with old faithful. Next time I want to experiment more, I’m sure my prime lens could get some fantastic results.
More pictures and tips after the jump!
f/3.5 Exposure 3 secs ISO 200 Focal length 18mm
I kept my f-stop the same (which I would probably play with next time) and just experimented with shutter speeds. I had the camera on a tripod, in the same position the whole time. I did zoom in at one point, but was unhappy with the results.
Having it on a tripod allowed me to photograph the finale in such a way as to fade it all together in the above slideshow. I wish I’d got the end properly as I feel it ends too abruptly, but another lesson for next time. I probably would have put the camera on continuous shooting mode had I thought of it so I could just hold the shutter while I wanted it to take the pictures. This would have worked much better than taking the picture and then waiting for it to store it.
Exposure - all 1/2 sec except the bottom right which was 6 seconds. I adjusted the contrast slightly to remove light pollution. f/3.5 ISO 200 Focal length 18mm
I really liked these, they don’t look like normal fireworks to me, just weird and pretty explosions.
f/3.5 Exposure 1/6 secs ISO 200 Focal length 18mm
Not so keen on the shorter exposure, would rather have the longer trails, but did like these pictures for the colour.
Exposure - all 1/8 sec except the bottom right which was 1/3 seconds. I adjusted the contrast slightly to remove light pollution. f/3.5 ISO 200 Focal length 18mm
I loved the pictures and can’t wait to experiment again!
Useful Links
- Digital Photography School – How to Photograph Fireworks
- Pioneer Woman – Breaking the Rules: Fireworks the “Wrong” Way
- Just Fireworks flickr Group
- Firework Mutants flickr Group
