BetterPhoto Q&A
Category: New Questions

Suggestions on 4th of July Fireworks

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June 28, 2001

Assuming you are wanting to make photos of skyrockets, here is the method from Kodak's Pocket Photoguide and the one that has worked best for me:

1. Equipment required:
a. Camera body with "B" (bulb) shutter speed setting for long manually timed exposures
b. 35mm to 28mm short lens that can be manually focused
c. _S_l_o_w_ film; ISO 25 to 100 is best.
c. Sturdy, rigid tripod
d. Cable or remote shutter release

2. Method:
a. Put lens on camera (a 28mm or 35mm short lens usually works better) and focus it at infinity.
b. Put film in camera.
c. Set shutter speed to "B" (bulb).
d. Set lens aperture for film speed as follows:
ISO 25 - f/4
ISO 50 - f/5.6
ISO 100 - f/8
ISO 200 - f/11 (not recommended)
Film speeds of ISO 200 and faster tend to produce a gray sky; the slower films will tend to leave the sky darker and provide greater contrast.
e. Put camera on tripod.
f. Attach cable release.
g. Aim camera upward toward direction where skyrockets will burst; use the first two or three to aim properly.
h. When you hear the soft "whump" of the rockets being launched from their mortar tubes, open the shutter using the cable release. After one to three bursts or about 8 seconds (accuracy of this is not required), whichever occurs first, close the shutter.
i. Wind to next frame and repeat for more skyrockets.

Trying to do this hand held with a shutter speed fast enough for hand held work is _not_ recommended.

Manually control exposure; trying to do this using an AE or Program mode is _not_ recommended. It will blow out the fireworks and create a gray sky.

Using your finger on the shutter release to hold the shutter open is _not_ recommended. It causes camera shake.

-- John

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June 28, 2001

	2001 July 4th Fireworks #1 35mm lens; ISO 100 Fuji Reala; f/8 aperture; "B" shutter speed with several second exposure; tripod plus cable release John A. Lind

Did the shoot using the method described in my first posting. Used ISO 100 Fuji Reala and f/8 aperture with exposures varying between 2 seconds and 8 seconds (depending on sky activity). Normally I use Kodachrome 64 with the same aperture setting. Gave him the film the day afterward and just got to see the prints from it. Had several of them scanned. Even though posting them now won't help you this year, they will remain with the thread for future reference and perhaps they will others next year.

Hope yours turned out from this year.

-- John

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July 17, 2001