Fourth of July, a photo from Virginia, South

Photographer's Note

This is my first fourth of the July post I took about a month ago. This was taken in a community relatively close to Fredericksburg, VA called the Lake of the Woods. Every year they put on an impressive fireworks display. I took this on my tri-pod of course and I had just added the new Nikon MC-36 remote release to my photographic arsenal right before I took these pictures. I had my camera in bulb mode and all I had to do was hit the shutter and hold down the remote release after the firework fired and held it down until it was over. As shown by the retreating sunset and blue hour sky this was one of the first ones I took. Taken just after 9pm a month ago.

john_c, edytungkal, JPlumb, feather, Emile, plimrn, mumek, Xalkida, batalay, jhm, Jeppe, Tue, Didi, alvaraalto, maphoto, danielswalsh has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Cormac (26565) 2007-08-08 17:26

Wow, very nice fireworks shot! The exposure is very good, so we can see the colour of the fireworks, but also the colour in the sky, which I think looks much better than a black sky. Great work!

chpp (4283) 2007-08-08 17:58

Hi,
Very nice sharp and colourful shot of the fireworks.
Nice details and POV
cheers
Christian

ninanic (69) 2007-08-08 18:24

I'm impressed by the crispness of the fireworks. I'm wondering if it would be even more impressive if you cropped in vertically? Especially since you captures that long tail stretching back to the ground.

jjbach (9326) 2007-08-08 18:27

Hi Steve,
You caught a wonderful moment. Excellent composition with amazing colours and perfect light management. Splendid work!

Regards John

quantabeh (5205) 2007-08-08 18:57

hi Steve,
nice firework display shot. Looks like the 5 seconds has done a fine job of exposing. I actually like this against the still blue and pink skyline. It distinguishes it from the usual dark backgrounds.
B

edytungkal (4551) 2007-08-08 20:54

Hello Stephen,
A fantastic fireworks captured, the colours so beautiful with the nice BG. Nice one...
Thanks :-)

daniel

JPlumb (3159) 2007-08-08 23:27

Hi Stephen, nicely timed, and nicely cropped for this presentation. The early shot with the sunset as a background adds to this composition.

So I have an equipment question. Are you happy with the MC-36, i.e. having used it would you buy it again?

Thanks, John

PixelTerror (0) 2007-08-09 1:12

Hi Steve,
and belated happy july 4th to you !
I see you also went shooting fireworks, I like yours, very festive in colors well exposed and not polluted by smoke.
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

feather (51130) 2007-08-09 3:00

Good to see a new post from you Steve. That sounds like a useful bit of kit for night shots. The blue hour sky is perfect and unusual for fireworks shots. Excellent spectacle you have captured so well.
Kath

danyy (0) 2007-08-09 3:04

Bonjour Stephen,
je me suis donnй il y a 3 semaines avec mes amis belges, aux photographies de feu d'artifice. Pas facile, les techniques sont multiples, tant en argentique qu'en numйrique.
Ce temps de pose de 5 secondes semble кtre parfait pour cette fusйe.
Best regards.
Daniel.

carper (96) 2007-08-09 3:06

it is a good photo Steve.
for my self I have never try a shot like this one, and I think that you did do a very good photojob here, congratiolation.
gr. jaap

Standa (1877) 2007-08-09 5:17

Hi Stephen,
well choosed exposure time.
In Brno city (not far from my home) is every year an international fireworks festival. This year I tryed to photograph there so I can appreciate this shot :)
Best regards,
Stanislav

john_c (24666) 2007-08-09 7:41

Hi Stephen,
You really hit the mark on this one. The minimalist foreground is perfect for leaving the eye to enjoy the wondrous sky with scintillating fireworks effects. The explosion of light is just enough off centre to satisfy the sense of balance. Great work, Stephen...Demain.
John

Emile (20352) 2007-08-09 8:53

Hola Stephen.
Very good exposure giving you this magnificent capture, great work with your new Nikon MC-36 remote release control. Good to see the trajectory of the firework from the beginning to the explosion in beautiful colors. Excellent work.
Well done.
Best regards.

plimrn (21344) 2007-08-09 10:04

Hi Steve,
WOW!! perfect detail and color!!
Thank you for the excellent details of the workings of the remote release. Do you think this would work for capturing lighhtening in a sky that isnb't black?
HLJ, Pat

cessy (13647) 2007-08-09 13:03

very nice fireworks, Stephen !
great timing with the blooming fire creating like giant flower in the sky
very well done

mumek (20226) 2007-08-09 14:41

Hi Stephen!
To take this kind of the photo, must be a good camera and a person with excellent photographic skills. Very impressive work Stephen! Congratulations.

fayeulle (27827) 2007-08-09 20:57

Hi Stephen
Happy to see you back. Most of firework shots have a black sky. It not the case here, this is the end of the sunset. I just bought also the wired remote control for my D80 and a new carbon tripod. I think these devices are necessary. For this picture it's a firework classic image. I like the perfect exposure.
Cheers
JP

jemaflor (147046) 2007-08-10 3:00

Hi Stephen,
Well captured these lights, nice colours on this still clear blue sky.

Xalkida (11744) 2007-08-10 5:10

Hi Stephen,

Wonderful job. You have captured this fine moment with the right way. Excellent colors.

jhm (211736) 2007-08-11 0:39

Hello Stephen,

Very well done with the 5 seconds this gives a wonderful long image with the line to the explosion of the fire-work.
Your background beneath is very nice with the pink colour.
Very well done. TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

Jeppe (18654) 2007-08-11 0:49

Hi Stephen
For a moment did I get the impression that you launced the firework as well ;-)
Great firework capture which gives us the complete "flower" - a fine sky as well - but it was properly quite dark when you took the shot.

Jeppe

poulinp (4528) 2007-08-11 5:31

Hi Stephen.

The difficulty with this kind of shot is to push on the button at the right moment, and you did it. Time exposition seems to be perfect too. Well done.

Tue (92312) 2007-08-11 16:00

Hej Stephen,
A very successful capture of the fireworks. It looks really beautiful, especially against the blue sky. The clouds are a nice addition too. Well done and thanks for sharing!
Regards,
Lars

dsidwell (9783) 2007-08-13 8:19

Hi Stephen! It is rare to see so clear an image of fireworks. So many colors and against such a lovely sky! The dark ground at bottom really adds some weight to the image and "grounds" it (pun intended). It's so good to see your work again!

Didi (61589) 2007-08-13 10:10

Hi Stephen
I don't see any UFO in the sky :))
Very intersting shot for your first experience.
It's possible to add another one for the next time.
Cheers.

nwoehnl (122) 2007-08-14 8:20

Hi Steve, I hope that all is well. Good rendition of the fireworks details in this one, and the 5 sec turned out to be a good exposure choice to render the "bouquet" of colorful light trails in a pleasant way. The low-placed silhouettes provide a reasonable add in the lower area of the frame.

alvaraalto (42804) 2007-08-14 12:21

Hi Stephen,
Up till now I never succeeded like you did here to make an successful picture of a firework. At New Years Eve it is always to cold and the neighbors want to toast with us on the new year.
But I will continuing trying.
Groet Rob

maphoto (8082) 2007-08-15 14:54

Very nice picture Stephen, I like the trail of the firework and the line it creates, the long exposure gives a wonderful sky and great colors, well done !

PJE (20758) 2007-08-17 20:09

Well Stephen I can see that the F8 and holding the shutter open for the burst of light turned out excellent. With good clarity in the fireworks and deep blue sky with the setting sun, I would say you were happy with this one. Good work. I recall reading up on a site on the settings for fireworks. Using F8 seems like the best setting here. Thanks for sharing!

danielswalsh (13597) 2007-08-22 19:24

Yet another superb fireworks shot Stephen;

I like the tumbling effect of the lit wick on the mortor as it's shot into the sky with the explosion iminent...

Sharp detail once again- and the colors are just superb.

Well done,
- Dan

Kenny10pin (19301) 2007-08-27 7:38

very good fourth of July shot, very good use of the tripod, well done