Taking Photos of Fireworks With a Digital Camera
From several Internet sites I have found the following information that I employed in taking the photos shown here. First, it is essential to have a tripod because the length of exposure and shaky hands do not work together. Second, it is extremely helpful to have a remote camera release in order not to shake the camera as you trigger the exposure. Third, the camera must be set to manual focus (on infinity) rather than automatic because the camera does not have time to search and snap. The Internet references suggest an exposure time of one second and an aperture of F/16. To set these on a digital camera you must use the "M" or Manual option. The Internet references also suggest an ISO of 200 or 400. Timing is everything with these shots. I trigger the remote just as the rising rocket appears to be ready to burst. For on-going, show climax explosions, I snap numerous times or hold down the remote for continuous shooting. The trails result from the relatively long exposure of one second rather than the normal fraction of a second. With all of this, the useable shots are about 80-90% of all attempted.
-ET
