double g Loc: Oklahoma

You failed beautifully! Nothing wrong with these to my eye.

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

My failure was another display. I felt much happier w these results. Thank you very much.

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

Thank you Earnest.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

Wisdom from the gifted creator "...I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work..." He also mentioned "The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time..." Thomas A. Edison. Mastery of the craft (and art) of photography is oft said to be for those who persevere in the face of epic failure...

Fabulous series Sue... love your "Fav" of this enchanting collection... it has by far the most charismatic sparkle of all!

And thanks for doing the field testing for others who would follow...
So wise to research your vantage point and get there early...
ISO 80 worked very admirable... great for wide dynamic range..

Your D850 and TAMRON SP 24-70mm F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 was certainly up to this task albeit only after your tamed it's 24mm focal length with a prudent and optimum f/8 ... Wise move to use a cable release and tripod along with your ND 3 filter to allow for a "civilized" time exposure (ranging from 3 to 14 seconds on the final display)

Absolutely stellar beauty latent within the fabulous aquatic reflections in second iteration... which take this entirely to the next level.

I'm humbled by your astonishing success here...

What might be an option to enhance? Whenever I'm faced with captures of extreme wide dynamic range I have found HDR to be an absolute god send... Three exposure iterations of the RAW capture (over-under-normal) in post then processing with Photomatix Pro (https://www.hdrsoft.com/) can (and will) provide extended dynamic range far beyond even the most advanced sensors on the market today... Yes it can be used on a single capture.

However please be advised that while high effective this type of post processing is more advanced, and does have a steep learning curve... very steep... I've been using it for over a half decade and I'm only now getting comfortable with some of its capabilities...

Ok, now that you have your magnificent fireworks imagery to add to your portfolio maybe it's time to take your expertise entirely to the next level with Lightning Strike captures (cloud to cloud and cloud to ground). Pretty much the same technical scenario however finding an ideal venue and/or event is the major challenge in this equation...

Or maybe cheat a tad with a Van de Graaff generator... lol

Thanks again for your inspirational fireworks endeavors... I have seriously benefited from efforts here...
Looking forward to more of your creative artistry Sue...

rich1hart Loc: Chicago suburbs

The first three shots are very good. I agree that the last shot is a little overexposed, but it is still a great shot. It IS a matter of trial and error. I recently acquired a new camera and am still learning that I have to make adjustments.

14kphotog Loc: Marietta, Ohio

Glad you came to Marietta, OH. Friends of ours have a house by the river on the West Virginia side. Shot from there for the last 2 years. Use a good wide angle lens, stopped down to f-16 and get great pictures. You should enter the contest. I have won 2 times, and had a picture used in their brochure for 14 years. Forgot to add iso-100, tripod, black poster board to cover lens front between displays. Looks like you were near the fountain on the corner.

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

"black poster board to cover lens front between displays..." great advice 14kphotog! This thread is becoming a treasure of Fireworks wisdom... Many thanks!

nanaval Loc: Cornwall

Very good..

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

I like them all! Good job! I've had some success in the past photographing fireworks on film, but I've not tried doing it digitally.

custodian Loc: New York

Look great to me !! Good job

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

[quote=Thomas902]Wisdom from the gifted creator "...I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work..." He also mentioned "The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time..." Thomas A. Edison. Mastery of the craft (and art) of photography is oft said to be for those who persevere in the face of epic failure...

Fabulous series Sue... love your "Fav" of this enchanting collection... it has by far the most charismatic sparkle of all!

Thank you very much! I will look into your suggestion for the HDR and see where that path takes me. As for the lightning, I plan to try that soon enough. I am much closer to understanding what it will take to accomplishing that than in year past.

Your kind words, attention to detail and encouragement mean very much. Thank you!

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

I was told about the poster board idea as well, just have not tried it, yet. Key word, yet. I will do that yet. I was not by the fountain, on some of the property owned by the army core of engineers... where the non sternwheel boats were docked. We could not hear the band where we were. I did not stop down as far as you recommend for the sake of more depth to the light strings, but all the rest were used. Our first trip to Marietta in July, we met one of the official photographers for the city, visitors bureau, etc. He also shoots with a D850, I think his name is Bruce. When we were waiting for the fireworks, we met other friends of his who he has graciously been helping to tutor in photography. Small town! (I relate, my town is even smaller.)
I would enter the contest if I was there, but for me, it means getting the prints, disks, mailing it all down, etc. If it was simply a matter of sending a file, I would be all for it.

That all said, we loved the festival, it was well done. I submitted some postings to their event FB page, and added their #ORSF19 to my postings on FB for them to find too.

Thank you for the tips, much appreciated!

Sue

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

Thank you, David.

justhercamera Loc: NW Michigan

Thank you, very much!

woodweasel Loc: bellingham Wa

Darn nice recovery