Almost a month since Mike Lazarri asked his "fireworks" question with Arnab
asking follow-ups.
As luck (??) would have it a local pro and friend called me in a near panic
as he had committed to shooting the local fireworks to get some fresh pix
to one of the sponsors, and then discovered the date for them had been
pulled back to the preceeding Saturday (June 30th) instead of July 4th. He
also had booked a wedding the same Saturday night. I went out and did them
for him using Fuji Reala (100), one of the fine-grained color negative
films I could get my hands on in a small town within 24 hours. Usually I
use Kodachrome, but they needed prints quickly. Didn't think I would be
doing any this year. :-)
Used the OM-1n with cable release on tripod with 35-105 Zuiko Zoom set at
f/8 and exposures ranging from 3-8 seconds (based on how many bursts there
were. Approximate focal length was almost 35mm, just slightly pulled back
from the 35mm zoom/focus ring position. This is the approximate method
recommended by a number of list members for sky displays.
Finally got my hands on the prints for some scanning (I gave the
unprocessed film to my friend). The three best are here (full frame,
uncropped and un-retouched save color balancing):
http://johnlind.tripod.com/oly/gallery/om88.html
http://johnlind.tripod.com/oly/gallery/om89.html
http://johnlind.tripod.com/oly/gallery/om90.html
There are some other good ones including green and blue colors, but these
were the best overall compositions. I always get nervous about fireworks
shots as composition is somewhat unpredictable. It can be hard to tell
where a burst will end up in the frame and whether it will burst outside
it. I take an entire 24 exp. roll during a half-hour show (sometimes more)
and hope for a half-dozen good ones.
Hope this helps those who try this in the future with what they can expect.
-- John
At 00:10 6/27/01, Arnab wrote:
Hi John,
Thanks - well explained and now it sounds simple.
However - using this method wouldn't you get streaks
of light (since the firework is exploding and the
shutter is open for that duration)
How do you get those sharp firework pictures that they
have on all those tourist brochures ?? (even at 1/125
second, my firework picture had streaks...)
Thx,
Arnab.
--- "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxx>
I wrote:
> >Hi!
> >All this sounds complicated.
And John replied...
> Actually it's not. It does require a tripod and
> cable release. Set on
> manual operation, set aperture (for film speed), set
> shutter to "B," listen
> for the "whoomp" sound of the mortar firing a
> skyrocket and open the
> shutter. ............
> > -- John
>
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