Independence Day Fireworks
Bob and I attended our hometown’s Independence Day fireworks. We watched the display from a different spot than we have in the past. Usually we watch from the park where the fireworks are set off. We are closer to the fireworks when we watch them from the park. We watched the fireworks this year alongside the Allegheny River. We were farther away from the fireworks; however, the reflections of the fireworks on the water added to the pleasure of watching the display.
I guess the grand finale wasn’t excitement enough for Bob and me. The most exciting thing happened as we walked back to the motorcycle, which was parked near a bar. We found the motorcycle surrounded by five police vehicles. I’m not sure what the commotion was all about. Our motorcycle, though, was safe and sound!
12 Responses to “Independence Day Fireworks”
Linda, the foreworks are just amazing especially those with the reflections on the water..Can you also share what settings you used for those? It will be a good learning for me…Ram
@Ram – Thank you very much! I read on the internet to set the shutter to bulb, use amoderate to high aperture (I used f/8 for the most part), and a low ISO (I used 100). I set my camera on top of a flat fence post (a tripod would have worked too) and clicked away. I attempted to leave the shutter open from the time a particular fireworks appeared to when it went away. When I processed the raw image through the Adobe Camera Raw editor, I set the white balance to tungsten (a few were set on daylight). The only other settings I changed were clarity (50), vibrance (15-30) and saturation (0-3). I cropped thephotographs and sharpened them as I saw fit. In regards to white balance, I shot in auto white balance because I forgot to check on the internet what was the preferred setting. When I came home I did a little research and learned that some internet sources said to use tungsten; others said to use daylight. I preferredthe cooler look of the tungsten in most cases. As you know the white balance is an easy change in adobe camera raw.
Your firework photos are great-thanks for the explanation below- i was going to ask you a rew questions.
Beautiful Pops of color!
We got some great shots also last night, Linda… But–we didn't have water nearby –so no reflections for us… Love your water ones the best (reflections)… Great job.Hugs,BetsyP.S. we should have used a tripod also… Oh Well..
I love your shots of the fireworks! Ours were pretty good too. Getting close is not easy, so we park in a grocery store parking lot which is really close. Many of the people who live on the North side do that too. So your motorcycle had a police detail, eh? sounds cool! 😉
Beautiful pics, especially the ones reflected on the water. Photography isn't my thing so i am real glad to be able to see yours!
Linda: Beautiful photos and wonderful reflections.
Nice job! Low clouds here :(Arne
Those fireworks pictures are amazing! Good job!!
Thank you for all of your comments!
Excellent…and even more special because of the reflections!