How to photograph fireworks: Part 2
Photo by Scott Secord
How many times have you witnessed the “Celebration of Light” fireworks down at either English Bay or at Kits Point and wondered how they do that? Have you ever thought about capturing those bursts onto film for posterity? Contrary to what you might think, the process is not that difficult. Capturing all that excitement and pizzazz, is achievable when your photography is guided by the following tips and technicalities.
Note: These
pointers are equally valid for both traditional film cameras and the
high-end
SLR type digital cameras that provides the photographer with customized
options.
TRIPOD:
First of all, use a tripod
and
cable release! You
must stablize
your camera. There’s
already enough
moving things to look at without having to worry about moving your
camera. Do you ever
see all those squiggly lines on
your prints? That’s
called camera
shake. On the other
hand, if you want a
more abstract shot, go for it!
Exaggerating handheld motion while photographing the
bursts, may yield
some interesting patterns.
SMOKE:
Watch out for which way the wind is blowing. If the smoke is thick and
it’s coming your
way, forget it! Just
pack your stuff,
sit back and watch the fireworks.
NO AUTOMATIC:
Take your camera off automatic and do everything manually! That’s not as scary as it sounds because if you’ve setup your camera in advance, then all you have to worry about is composition.
(a) Manual Focus: Focus at infinity and forget about it! Everything you’re shooting is going to be a couple of miles away anyway. So everything happens at infinity.
(b) Exposure: Forget about that too! Just set your aperature for as wide as it goes and forget about it. Remember, you’re capturing very bright lights against a black background. You’re gonna get an image. There’s no depth of field to worry about. Because you don’t have foreground detail to worry about. Everything is black. Foregrounds come out as silhouettes.
(c) Shutter Speed: Set your camera on bulb and use your cable release for maximum control. Depending upon the situation at the moment, I may set my shutter anywhere from ¼ of a second to up to about 5 seconds. But do keep in mind that the longer the exposure, the greater the likelyhood of your shots becoming “too busy”! The longer exposures introduce extraneous elements and events such as secondary bursts.
COMPOSITION:
This element is critical! You must decide in advance where you are going to aim your camera. One helpful tip to remember is that most shows are preceeded by a single micro-burst at the 15 minute mark before the show starts and again, just 5 minutes before the show. Pyrotechnicians use these marker bursts to pre-judge the wind direction and velocity.
You’re gonna get some messy shots! Guaranteed. Because you’re dealing with unknown events, that are virtually random. Well, at least they may seem random to you the viewer, but the pyrotechnicians have choreographed the whole sequence weeks in advance. Because each shell (e.g. bomb), is hand crafted, there are variations. No two bursts are identical. There’s a lot happening at the same time. There’s 3 barges in English Bay.
So, because there is a lot of stuff happening at the same time, don’t try to capture everything. The best thing to do is learn to anticipate! Just aim your camera in the general area and hope for the best. I try to watch for the mortar shell that is ascending from each barge, and I use that as my guide.
But the most important thing to know is this.....
YOU MUST OPEN YOUR SHUTTER BEFORE YOU SEE THE BURST!
IF YOU SEE THE BURST AND THEN YOU EXPOSE, IT’S TOO LATE!
Enjoy
the show!