At 19:38 6/23/02, Dean C. Hansen wrote:
Hello OMers,
Maybe this question gets asked every year about this time, but what
are a few suggestions for taking shots of the upcoming July 4th
fireworks displays? Focal length, exposure time, ASA speed? Many
thanks.
Dean
Dean, it does get asked in many fora each year :-)
Here is my method:
Equipment required:
a. Sturdy Tripod
b. Cable release
c. Camera body:
requires a "B" (bulb) or "T" (timed) shutter speed
d. Camera lens:
modest wide angle about 35mm usually works best;
also used the 35-105/3.5~4.5 near the wide end
e. Film:
daylight ISO 50 to 200;
64 or 100 usually works best
Procedure:
1. Mount lens on camera and set aperture for film speed used
ISO Aperture
50 f/5.6
64-100 f/8
125-200 f/11
250-400 f/16
2. Set shutter speed to "B" or "T"
3. Attach to tripod and do rough aiming
4. Attach cable release
5. Use first couple of sky bursts to fine tune aiming
6. Hold shutter open for several sky bursts,
but no longer than about 8-10 seconds.
More than one can be more interesting,
but too many in one frame will be cluttered
7. Recheck aim occasionally
There is an element of luck in this as sky rockets are somewhat
unpredictable, even if you know in advance what they will use and their
general trajectory. I listen for the soft "whump" sound when they are
launched and open the shutter when I hear it.
"B" (bulb) shutter speed:
Shutter opens when shutter release is depressed
and stays open only as long as it remains depressed.
"T" (timed) shutter speed:
Found on some older cameras.
Shutter opens when shutter release is depressed and
remains open even if shutter release is not held down.
Shutter release must be depressed again, or some other
switch activated to close shutter. Handy for very long
timed exposures if cable release lacks a "lock" to hold
shutter open in "B" position.
These are based on Kodak's recommended methods, those used by others, and
what has worked well for me in the past.
-- John
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