fireworks

Photo Results : New Years Eve Seattle Space Needle Fireworks

Note: This post was started, but never finished, several years ago and references an event that occurred on January 1, 2017. Due to the lock-down, I have lots of time on my hands. As a result, I’m working on finishing some of the incomplete drafts.

I love fireworks. They always bring a smile to my face and are something that I find really enjoyable to photograph. Over the years, I’ve managed to get a collection of fireworks images that I am really happy with, and I’m always happy to share my go-to settings. They are iso200, f/8.0, 3.0 seconds.

In my previous post on this topic, I mention what settings I used for shooting fireworks.

I also have a post on my Instagram where I show my setup for photographing the Space Needle on New Year’s Eve.

The image I shared showing my cameras as setup for NY Eve Fireworks

Now with that shown, many people may realize that shooting through a glass window will create some really nasty reflections. So, here is what it actually looked like.

What my setup actually looked like for the NY Eve Fireworks

While it is certainly a lot less ‘gramable’, it works a lot better to keep the reflections down that would otherwise occur with shooting fireworks through glass. Maybe I’ll write more on this later.

With the background finished, let’s look at some of the results from each of the 3 cameras. When you get your settings just right, you don’t need a lot of changes in Lightroom, aside from whitebalance, crop, rotate.

Fireworks on the Space Needle ring in 2017

This was my favorite photo from the night. This was also from my primary angle, shot on a Nikon D750. The reason I like this shot is because it puts you right in the action, while keeping the sense of place. This is easy enough to guess ahead of time because the fireworks show always has rockets launched from the top of the needle. Plus, since I’d seen multiple shows from this same vantage point, I could guess about where show would be and pre-position, pre-focus, and pre-setup the camera. For me, getting the framing so it felt like you were inside of the show really helps to capture the energy of the fireworks. The show is exploding outside of the frame, which makes the viewer feel like they are right in the action.

Fireworks over the Space Needle, but a wider angle than before

Another photo I really like from the evening was from my wider angle. Since I’d seen the fireworks displays in previous years, I was able to guess about where the top of the display would be. Normally, you wouldn’t want the top of the fireworks off, and would want to have a bit of breathing room at the top, but in this case, I think it works.

A tip: when shooting really wide, make sure to include more of the sky than you expect to use in the final image. This is because often the image will need to be rotated slightly. Rotating often includes a small crop, and you need to account for this when shooting.

For my third angle, I went with something that was more of an experiment than the others.

Based on the results of a previous year, I tried to really zoom in on one side of the Space Needle to give a new perspective.

Here is the previous year’s image on the left, and the new for 2017 image on the right.

I wanted to experiment with such a tight framing. Since I was also using an older camera and old lens that I rarely use, if the experiment failed, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

This is a really interesting and unusual way to frame fireworks. But it is really difficult to pull off. The reason this was even possible, is because the launching point doesn’t move. When fireworks are launched from the ground into the sky, it is much more difficult to get these really tight frames. This image also works because the fireworks are exploding close to the launching point, which is also a fairly well-known landmark.

This was one of the last images from my old Sigma lens and one of the last images from my D300. At some point after this photo was taken, but, before I found it after my move, the focus ring has become difficult to turn. It was originally purchased around 2004 and was a surprisingly good example of a Sigma lens from a time when Sigma lenses were very hit or miss.

As another experiment on this post, I’m adding in a gallery of a other photos of the New Years fireworks.

-Brad

Useful Tips : Photographing Fireworks and Getting a Result

Happy New Year everyone! This is going to be a quick post about photographing fireworks, and making the best of what you get. It also includes some tips for people who just want to go to bed early.

Tip #1 – Arrive early. In most places, there will be a lot of competition for places to view and photograph the fireworks. If the fireworks are starting “when it gets dark enough”, like the 4th of July in the USA, you want to arrive about 2-3 hours before dark and set up. If it is at midnight, like New Years Eve, you want to be in place at least 3 hours ahead of time, depending on how popular the spot is.

However, if you are photographing from a place you own or rent, you are fine. I like to use my apartment window because #1 – I can set up during the daylight, and #2 – January is cold, and I want to sip my champagne in peace.

Tip #2 – Fireworks are a big light source. This light will bounce around and can create reflections or illuminate things you don’t want seen. If you are shooting through a window, the fireworks can light up your room and cause reflections in the glass. Use a black cloth to eliminate this reflection as much as possible. I like to tape the cloth around the lens and to the glass, if possible. If you don’t have something that is black, use the darkest color available.

Tip #3 – Find your settings early. My go-to is iso200, F/8, 3 seconds. I like 3 second exposures.

Tip #4 – If you can leave your camera, use a self timer. I prefer to use the internal timer when possible (my D800 and D750 both have internal self timers). My older cameras do not. So I set the camera to iso200, F/8, 3 seconds, and set the self timer to start a 35 minute exposure starting at about 11:55 and ending around 12:30. The camera thinks the shutter is being held down and takes back-to-back 3 second exposures, and I get to enjoy the fireworks or sleep. In general, I like my self timers for purposes like this (they also work great with sunsets when you want to photograph them and watch them – this lets you enjoy the event with your significant other). Self timers are also great when you can set things up early, then enjoy some adult beverages which may otherwise prevent you from taking the images.

Tip #5 – If you are trying to take the lazy aproach, be prepared to work with what you get.

Expanding on Tip #5, 2 years ago I set everything up on a self timer, taped a dark cloth to the window, and went to bed. When I woke up, I had about 300 photos, only 100 of which had fireworks. But, the tape I was using didn’t hold, so the 100 fireworks images all looked like this.

Crap.

While it was disappointing, the right half of the image turned out, so there was hope. Since I knew that the D800 has a crazy high resolution, and I can make big prints from even a vertical crop of a horizontal image, I did just that.

This cropping was able to save my image

I like the results. Especially considering the non-ideal situation that caused these to be my only options. I am setting up one of my cameras for the fireworks this year to try to get something similar.

As I write this, there is about 9 hours remaining in the year. I’m going to spend the next few hours getting 3-4 cameras set up and ready, then probably sit down for a relaxing day. Once the cameras are set up, I’ll make a post on Instagram with what the setup looks like.

Happy New Year! And best of luck in 2017.

-Brad