How I shoot fireworks (Page 2): Hi. Grandpaw, thanks for simplifying the fireworks issue. BTW, I always admire your wonderful bird photos. If I recall, you shoot with a Nikon D500. Is...

linelink

Hi. Grandpaw, thanks for simplifying the fireworks issue. BTW, I always admire your wonderful bird photos. If I recall, you shoot with a Nikon D500. Is that the camera you use for fireworks, AND, may I ask what lens are you using for fireworks. Get well.
Thanks in advance,
Jim

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

stevesf wrote:

Let me give you something to think about. Lenses, in general, are sharpest around two stops in. I use Reikan FoCal to determine lens sharpness at different apertures. With my lenses, not only is that two stop generalization true, but past f/11 or so, the lenses are very much less sharp.

Questions: When you say 'two stops in' do you mean two stops from the smallest aperture? Does 'past f/11 or so' mean in the direction of larger apertures?
Thanks

Good questions. Apertures and shutter speeds are ambiguous. Two stops in from the iris being all the way open or the smallest numerical value. My lens is 24-70 mm, f/2.8. Just double 2.8 and you get f/5.6.

Next question. Stopping down means smaller apertures. f/5.6 is sharper than f/11 which is sharper than f/22. I hope this answers your questions. Let me know if you need more.

To change the subject, as another general rule, you will be at infinity. As OP said, set the distance, switch to manual focusing and forget it for the rest of the evening. In any event, you do not have time to focus. Fireworks can be fun and easy to shoot.

grandpaw

linelink wrote:

Hi. Grandpaw, thanks for simplifying the fireworks issue. BTW, I always admire your wonderful bird photos. If I recall, you shoot with a Nikon D500. Is that the camera you use for fireworks, AND, may I ask what lens are you using for fireworks. Get well.
Thanks in advance,
Jim

Yes I use my Nikon D500 with a Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 lens.

grandpaw

If you read my original statement I didn't say anything about f16 being sharper than a wider f stop would produce. What I did say is that the streaks of the fireworks as the are going up into the sky would be more defined smaller streak of light. A larger F stop or opening will produce a fat fuzzy steak of light as apposed to the more defined streak with the smaller f stop. Not saying this for arguments sake, I am only trying to clarify what the reason for a smaller F-stop is and the effects it has on the fireworks. There are many combinations that will work to get fireworks shots, I am just sharing what works for me. You could cut the time to 8 seconds and the f-stop to F11 or f14 and it still work. I like the ten second because everything that happens in that time period will come out on a single image and be more colorful and exciting.

One more very important thing is to make you get a spot so that at the last minute someone can't come and stand in front of you and blow your whole setup. Some people have no respect for others.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

grandpaw wrote:

If you read my original statement I didn't say any... (show quote)

I think we are close on this. What you call fat and fuzzy, I call overexposed so that you see the rocket's exhaust and that is annoying. I think we would be agree that you need to test your exposure. You can manage the exhaust in post-processing but not having it in the first place is better.

As for exposure time, I stick to my method. Open the shutter as the burst starts and keep it open until it dies down or another rocket explodes. We both agree the actual time does not matter.

Enjoy the fireworks tonight. I enjoy two hobbies tonight. First, I play in a concert band regaling the crowd. I put away my clarinet and music stand and then take out my camera and tripod to indulge in my other hobby.

grandpaw

abc1234 wrote:

I think we are close on this. What you call fat a... (show quote)

I played clarinet and saxophone myself for years until I trimmed off my two smaller fingers on my right hand with my table saw while I was building my bathroom cabinets. I have a Pete Fountain
LaBblanc clarinet with actual silver keys (not nickel plated) setting in my closet that hasn't been played in years.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

I am not sure that was a good tradeoff. I had that model too. Silver-plated and the articulated g-sharp/c-sharp key. That key was great. You would be surprised how far clarinets have come in 40 years.

grandpaw

I worked all summer to earn the money to buy my clarinet. It was a choice between silver or gold plated keys and I choose the silver. I was fifteen years old and bought it myself that was 52 years ago. The first clairinet I had cost $50.00 brand new with a case and was purchased from the Singer Sewing Machine company’s catalog. They use to sell almost everything just like a Sears catalog did. I had a Conn brand in between the two. At that time that was the most expensive music instrument they had ever sold at that store. Ahhh a trip down memory lane! 👍👍

I guess I hijacked my own thread. Thanks for the memories. 😄😄

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

grandpaw wrote:

I worked all summer to earn the money to buy my cl... (show quote)

Fun. I never knew Singer had a Sears-like catalog. Talk about inflation. You do not want to see horns go for today. As an aside, many professionals now play plastic reeds. One brand in particular is a vast improvement over cane.

grandpaw

I remember I was first chair clarinet in my high school band and I would take the second chairs clarinet and drop a penny in the joint of the barrel and watch him trying to figure out why his horn wouldn't work. After he figured it out he would take the mouthpiece off and look to see if he could see light through his horn to check it. that's when I switched to cellophane so the light would shine through when he checked it. Those were the good times. I guess we need to get this back on topic.

abc1234 Loc: Elk Grove Village, Illinois

grandpaw wrote:

I remember I was first chair clarinet in my high school band and I would take the second chairs clarinet and drop a penny in the joint of the barrel and watch him trying to figure out why his horn wouldn't work. After he figured it out he would take the mouthpiece off and look to see if he could see light through his horn to check it. that's when I switched to cellophane so the light would shine through when he checked it. Those were the good times. I guess we need to get this back on topic.

Ooo, you are big meany. Very funny.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

grandpaw wrote:

Things you will need…. Any camera that will shoot in manual mode, A tripod, Flashlight,and the knowledge of how to change shooting modes and settings on your camera. Don't wait until you get to the show and it is about to start to try and figure out how to change the settings on your camera because it is too late at that point.

I have been taking fireworks photos for many years and if you follow my instructions I guarantee you will come away with a bunch of exciting and colorful images even if it is your first time.

Choosing your location… Do you want to capture just the bursts of fireworks in the air or add a foreground element, such as some trees or buildings. Once you have made that decision we can work on getting the settings where you need them on your camera.. Whether you are near or far from the action of the fireworks they will cover a very wide area so make sure you bring a wide enough angle lens to capture as much of the color and excitement as you can. It is easier to crop out dead space than cut off half of the fireworks.

These are the settings that I use and they never fail to produce great images. Manual mode, ISO 100, F16 and a 10 second exposure. When the first blast goes off I take a shot at maybe 1/30 of a second and check to make sure my focus is spot on. At that point I switch to a 10 second exposure and what that does is allows me to get several blasts in one image, making it more interesting and colorful. I press the shutter down and at the end of ten seconds when I hear the shutter click I just press it again and start my next exposure, and repeat this during the entire show. This will give you about five exposures a minute so if the show is about 20 minutes long you will end up with approximately a hundred images.

Using ISO 100 will eliminate the grain and give you the best color. Using F16 will give you much more definition in the streaks and bursts. Using a 10 second shutter will give you more blasts in each image and eliminate you having to time your shots. Remember this is all done on a tripod.

Hope this helps. Sorry I didn't post it earlier but I have been in bed sick all week.

Things you will need…. Any camera that will shoot ... (show quote)

Great advice, and get well soon!!!
Smile,
Jimmy T Sends

deanfl Loc: Georgia

grandpaw wrote:

Things you will need…. Any camera that will shoot in manual mode, A tripod, Flashlight,and the knowledge of how to change shooting modes and settings on your camera. Don't wait until you get to the show and it is about to start to try and figure out how to change the settings on your camera because it is too late at that point.

I have been taking fireworks photos for many years and if you follow my instructions I guarantee you will come away with a bunch of exciting and colorful images even if it is your first time.

Choosing your location… Do you want to capture just the bursts of fireworks in the air or add a foreground element, such as some trees or buildings. Once you have made that decision we can work on getting the settings where you need them on your camera.. Whether you are near or far from the action of the fireworks they will cover a very wide area so make sure you bring a wide enough angle lens to capture as much of the color and excitement as you can. It is easier to crop out dead space than cut off half of the fireworks.

These are the settings that I use and they never fail to produce great images. Manual mode, ISO 100, F16 and a 10 second exposure. When the first blast goes off I take a shot at maybe 1/30 of a second and check to make sure my focus is spot on. At that point I switch to a 10 second exposure and what that does is allows me to get several blasts in one image, making it more interesting and colorful. I press the shutter down and at the end of ten seconds when I hear the shutter click I just press it again and start my next exposure, and repeat this during the entire show. This will give you about five exposures a minute so if the show is about 20 minutes long you will end up with approximately a hundred images.

Using ISO 100 will eliminate the grain and give you the best color. Using F16 will give you much more definition in the streaks and bursts. Using a 10 second shutter will give you more blasts in each image and eliminate you having to time your shots. Remember this is all done on a tripod.

Hope this helps. Sorry I didn't post it earlier but I have been in bed sick all week.

Things you will need…. Any camera that will shoot ... (show quote)

I hope you are feeling better. Thank you for your post. I tried your method last night and will do a separate post. Up to now I used bulb mode, f/11, and timed the bursts. I was happy with the results, but decided to try something new to me. Your method is definitely more straightforward....and I liked results also.

rmm0605 Loc: Atlanta GA

grandpaw wrote:

Things you will need…. Any camera that will shoot in manual mode, A tripod, Flashlight,and the knowledge of how to change shooting modes and settings on your camera. Don't wait until you get to the show and it is about to start to try and figure out how to change the settings on your camera because it is too late at that point.

I have been taking fireworks photos for many years and if you follow my instructions I guarantee you will come away with a bunch of exciting and colorful images even if it is your first time.

Choosing your location… Do you want to capture just the bursts of fireworks in the air or add a foreground element, such as some trees or buildings. Once you have made that decision we can work on getting the settings where you need them on your camera.. Whether you are near or far from the action of the fireworks they will cover a very wide area so make sure you bring a wide enough angle lens to capture as much of the color and excitement as you can. It is easier to crop out dead space than cut off half of the fireworks.

These are the settings that I use and they never fail to produce great images. Manual mode, ISO 100, F16 and a 10 second exposure. When the first blast goes off I take a shot at maybe 1/30 of a second and check to make sure my focus is spot on. At that point I switch to a 10 second exposure and what that does is allows me to get several blasts in one image, making it more interesting and colorful. I press the shutter down and at the end of ten seconds when I hear the shutter click I just press it again and start my next exposure, and repeat this during the entire show. This will give you about five exposures a minute so if the show is about 20 minutes long you will end up with approximately a hundred images.

Using ISO 100 will eliminate the grain and give you the best color. Using F16 will give you much more definition in the streaks and bursts. Using a 10 second shutter will give you more blasts in each image and eliminate you having to time your shots. Remember this is all done on a tripod.

Hope this helps. Sorry I didn't post it earlier but I have been in bed sick all week.

Things you will need…. Any camera that will shoot ... (show quote)

Thanks for the super tips! Get back to bed and heal!

pdsdville Loc: Midlothian, Tx

Pretty much the same except I like to capture the burst just after the point where the bloom bursts giving a halo effect to some of the shots. I don't use a set shutter speed, choosing to use the bulb setting which allows me to capture individual bursts. That cuts down on the post processing to isolate individual bursts. I may use a two second exposure on one burst and a twenty second on the next, maybe for a grand finally.