davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Muting the light gave a different effect with fireworks this year. A 3-stop ND filter was used. Only the brightest trails were recorded, no smoke is seen. The explosion of each shell is recorded and most of the shell's climb also shows. Each photo is a composition of several shells that were not all seen at one time. I thought film was easy to use shooting fireworks but digital offers so much more creativity. Anticipation played a key role in making these. This was my first attempt from a distance. I would much rather be shooting immediately under the show. The noise, heat, and flying newspaper shreds are terrible but the resulting photographs can be spectacular.

Novicus Loc: north and east

Well Done !...care to explain technique , why the ND-filter instead of higher shutterspeed/ smaller aperture / lower ISO ?

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

that was a smart thing to do!! I may try that next year.... I can see how it overcame some of the things I had to tweak in PP.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

For these exposures I wanted the shutter speed to be as slow as possible. While they rely on explosions and speed fireworks are actually series of slower motion that are coordinating the overall effect. The architects who design the shells know exactly what they want the shell to do. Most shells do not go boom and flash an explosion. They are many smaller explosions that occur in sequence with each other. The better shells are those that last through several seconds of multiple explosions. The bottom photograph is a good example of this as the bottom portion of the shot was a few seconds later than the upper explosions. With the ND filter the lower portion looks as if it is almost smoke when actually it is simply muted flash from a later explosion. The muted effect is is a powerful tool when applied to fireworks, it allowed me to superimpose one explosion on top of another. When viewing these shots later that evening my companion asked what show I had seen. The ND filter allowed me to edit the shots and create images that had developed over time. Please keep in mind that a good pyrotechnician is actually a glorified light-painter working on a gigantic canvas in the sky. The really good ones are geniuses at their trade.

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

These shots are SOOC. The ND filter allowed me to forego any PP. For more information concerning ND filters use for fireworks see the Digital-Picture-com, Bryan Carnathan and his team offer excellent tips.

Novicus Loc: north and east

Thank you for the clarification david.

bertloomis Loc: Fort Worth, Texas

I like them.

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

I took some firework photos last night using a 3stop ND filter, I was very close to the explosions, but it was blocking too much light. I didn't want to blow too much time trying to fix it, so I removed the filter and shot as I had success in the past. So now, I am curious, as I usually shoot about ISO 100, f8 to f11, and 8 seconds (average)… what it was you did to get more light in... if you increased ISO.. or Fstop, or some combination thereof. Would you mind sharing your settings?