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New Year Fireworks Thread

sonictksonictk Registered User regular
edited January 2008 in Artist's Corner
Yes I know there is a photo thread but I feel that perhaps this should have a seperate topic of its own.

Why you ask? Well it's the goddamn new year fireworks and they can be absolutely beautiful.

So we all know the end of 2007 is nigh. I am assuming too that most of you will be able to watch fireworks in your area once the clock hits midnight on that special day.

Is it wrong then to assume that most of you will be behind a camera viewfinder during said event?

340521949_66d3561131.jpg

This thread, then, is sorely for everyone to post their favourite fireworks pictures of the new year's celebrations.

Leading up to such an event, I am sure some people are probably thinking that NOO I HAVE A SHITTY CAMERA AND CANNOT TAKE BEAUTIFUL PICTURES OF FIREWORKS

Well fear not such people, for this thread will also be for everyone to share their experiences and tips on how to make your exposures seem alive during that special moment.

For the more experienced shutterbugs, don't just take those perfect exposures and call it a day. Try something different! For example, in my photo above I rotated the zoom ring while taking a long exposure, causing the trails of the fireworks that you see. This may not be very innovative, but believe me when I say that I had never heard of it before and it was something I just decided to try out last year when photographing fireworks back then.

For the newbies who just got a new camera for Christmas, here are some simple guides to start you off with:

http://www.photocritic.org/2006/photographing-fireworks/
http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/how-to-photograph-fireworks/

Remember, you don't need a 2000 dollar dSLR to take awesome pictures, just know what your camera can and can't do.

Merry Christmas/Boxing Day everyone, and good luck with your new year fireworks photography!

sonictk on

Posts

  • sonictksonictk Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    Well, even though this thread didn't exactly get any appreciation...

    http://www.marinabaycountdown.sg/photo_intro.php
    The prizes are as follows:

    1. 1st prize: $2000
    2. 2nd prize: $1000
    3. 3rd prize: $500
    4. 10 merit mentions: $200 each
    SOUNDS GOOD TO ME

    So, who else thinks it would be a bad idea to try my F-301 (film) with my 70 - 300 4/5.6 for this event? I've always wanted to try fireworks and film, if only for the reason that you can't afford to fuck up.

    I think most likely I'll be sticking with my D50 though, but I'll bring it along just for shits and giggles. It's going to be tough to handle 2 cameras with the goddamn crowd around, though.

    sonictk on
  • sonictksonictk Registered User regular
    edited December 2007
    HAPPY NEW YEAR

    Ok, I'm pretty sure this thread will start exploding soon, right?

    My New Year just ended about 2 hours ago though (finally got home through the crowd and took a shower) and here's my first offering from the camera:

    dsc0002rq7.jpg

    This year instead of being stuck on a road surrounded by light pollution from the street lamps, noise pollution from the public, and foam spray from...the public, my mom got me a real sweet pass to the rooftop of one of the nearby buildings (the Esplanade, for those of you who've visited my homeland before). It was awesome, with free flow of drinks (mmm apple juice), chocolates and other assorted condiments to keep me happy until the special hour.

    I wasn't too happy with my shots, though, compared to last year's. I know there's a little element of luck involved in judging where the firework might explode, but seriously this year I seemed to be always off-target. Also I keep trying to grab too many bursts in with the "open, close" method and ended up overexposing a lot of my attempts.

    EDIT: wow fuck you lightroom and your prophoto > sRGB profile gamut clipping making my fireworks look so much less impressive =\

    EDIT: WACHO another one from my 49 photospree selected at random god my eyes I can't keep them open
    dsc0034zo0.jpg

    Finally, tried a new technique and ended up with something totally unexpected that, for once, didn't seem too gimmicky.
    dsc0039iz9.jpg

    sonictk on
  • bsjezzbsjezz Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    here are a few i got from the missus' office - they ended p a bit grainier than i'd hoped and a few were wonky. ah well - there's always next year

    nye0801.jpg
    nye0802.jpg
    nye0803.jpg

    bsjezz on
    sC4Q4nq.jpg
  • sonictksonictk Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    Ahh, overexposure. I was struggling with balancing that against capturing more bursts of fireworks in the same exposure all night. This year I seemed to be performing worse for some reason, though.

    Here's another: same angle, different lighting.

    dsc0003no2.jpg

    UPDATE: Ah, and my personal favourite from the night because my idea for this actually worked out! Lightroom, you really do not do this shot justice. I hope you're ashamed of yourself.

    dsc0010vu9.jpg

    sonictk on
  • erisian popeerisian pope Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    Those are some pretty shots, Sonikt. And BSJezz - I like the 2nd picture. It's not a traditional fireworks shot by any means, but the colors and the boats on the water set an interesting mood.

    I didn't see any fireworks at all over New Years.

    erisian pope on
  • (ohms)Crunchy(ohms)Crunchy Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    Bsjezz, it looks like someone is blowing the shit out of that area. Jealous.

    (ohms)Crunchy on
    14e9iqh.jpg
  • ApathyKillsApathyKills __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2008
    sonictk, where do you live?

    ApathyKills on
    deleted courtesy orikae
  • sonictksonictk Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    Singapore, why? Do you recognize anything?

    sonictk on
  • sonictksonictk Registered User regular
    edited January 2008
    I have finished post-processing on my fireworks batch of photos!

    Obviously, I am not going to post all 49 of them even though each and every one of them is spectacular.

    Instead, I shall show the results of my experiments.

    But first, will 'o the wisps!

    dsc0012fs4.jpg

    And now, said experiments!
    dsc0023cx5.jpg
    A sharp jerk of the zoom ring at the end yielded this. Flaring at the ends of the trails. Interesting.

    dsc0025af0.jpg
    I think I must have hit the camera so that it vibrated a bit at the end of the exposure. I think it looks like techno.

    dsc0015sp1.jpg
    Fireworks shower! It's a little messy, but I think I like the way it looks like a shower of droplets.

    dsc0031sx6.jpg
    I kind of like how they look like flowers in this one. Fun fact: Did you know fireworks in Chinese, literally translated, is smoke flower?

    Finally, to round it off, a somewhat normal shot:
    dsc0024hn7.jpg

    Also, guys, come one, surely me and bsjezz aren't the only ones to take shots of this year's fireworks around the whole goddamn world?

    sonictk on
  • frrserfrrser __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2008
    wow, so beautiful

    frrser on
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