[rbefly]

Here's a pre-4th of July sample of fireworks photos. The city of Littleton (South of Denver) had a town 'Block Party' with the old downtown Main street closed off, earlier this month. Several bands playing, street buskers, food vendors and lots of attractions for grown-ups and kids.
And TWO firework displays, 8:45 and 9:45 pm.
I went early and found out the display would be launched from the West end of Main street, which meant I'd be shooting over and around the trees that line the street. Next year I'll try to find a more open view, but I did manage to get part of the street activity (blurred by the slow shutter speed) in the wider shots.
Because of the tight viewing angle, a short zoom seemed like a good choice, although I normally use primes when I can.
Here's a few samples, all taken with the DA 16-45mm. This lens worked out perfectly, the wide end for the street view and 40-45mm was just long enough for the firework display. All shot with a K-7, aperture priority with -7/10 compensation, all f/8.0, shutter speeds about 4-5 seconds at ISO 200, 1.5 to 2.5 seconds at ISO 400. Tripod, cable release. I pre-focused the lens to infinity, then switched the setting to manual focus, so no 'hunting'.
Ron

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[GibbyTheMole]

Those look great! I haven't gotten around to shooting fireworks yet, but I may have a go this 4th of July. :-)

[rbefly]

Hi Gibby,
Thanks for the compliment,
I've been refining my night shooting techniques over time. I previously shot fireworks in Bulb and counted '1 thousand one,.." for 4-5 seconds. That works fine also. But you have to keep track!
It's much easier to use Av and dial in -1/2 to -1.0 stop compensation. Depends on whether you want some background detail (lighter, less comp.) or near-black background, which I prefer.
Just chimp the first few displays, and adjust the compensation for the dark/light ratio you like. Then you're free to click away!
About the only thing I change during the show is the ISO. Usually 400 for quick 1- rocket displays, then lower ISO to 200 or 100 for multiple-rocket displays, typically near the finale'. Lowering the ISO means the shutter is open longer (but same exposure value) so you get more rockets in the same frame. When you do this, it's handy to zoom out, since the multiple displays are wider in FOV.
Hope you try it, it's really fun!
Ron

[grhazelton]

I wish I could find the shots I made of a display in Charleston, WV. I used my LX with a 19mm Vivitar set to probably f5.6 or so, a 400 speed C 41 film, tripod mounted, of course. As I recall after framing the shots I "wasted" a few frames setting the aperture to keep the shutter - set on "Auto" - open long enough to catch the trajectory of the rockets or whatever. Since I had a winder I didn't have to worry about disturbing framing and could take "sequence" shots of the final extravaganza. Naturally I was operating on "faith" and experience, but the results were pretty good. I still have the negatives - somewhere! They had been scanned in but the files were lost in two "educational" computer problems. Multiple backups are vital, my Brothers and Sisters!

[ecruz]

Just came across this post. Perfect timing, as our fireworks were rained out and rescheduled for this Thursday (2 days from now). I've taken notes and will try out your settings. Hoping for some good shots.

Thanks

[rbefly]

Hello ecruz, Welcome to the Pentax Forum!
Good luck with the fireworks, they're a lot of fun and make for dramatic photos. Many of the techniques used are the same as other night photography, timed exposures can be used to show (moving) car lights creating a 'river' of light on a road, moving water can be smoothed out to look like fog and even people, pedestrians can be made to look ghostly if the shutter speed is slowed down properly.
Generally, a sturdy tripod, cable or wireless shutter release, a wide angle lens pre-focused to infinity on the area where you expect the displays to be launched (then turned to manual focus, so no auto-focus hunting), f/8.0, ISO 100 and either bulb mode, count off 4-6 seconds for each frame or Av mode and slight exposure compensation, Ev -1/2 stop to -1.0 stop. Check the first few frames and adjust as needed.
Have fun and enjoy the show!
Ron