Top Class International Firework Display

Unfortunately I'm not a top class international photographer.

These were "salvaged" from a poor shoot. Managed to blow highlights big time and missed the most impressive sparks waiting for timer and long exposures.

Doh! Feel free to kick em to death. Any advice,critique welcomed.

regards
Ned www.visitblackpool.com/events/blackpool-...championships-p45090

Those are great! and I don't think the English are quirky...except Benny Hill......

Thanks Ernesto and Benny Hill was one of my favourite slap stickers, a national treasure really, clever humour.
Regards
Ned

beautiful shots Ned- I love fireworks and city skylines together

Erm, when I look closely at the beach part, these appear to be separate left and right photos, butt spliced up against each other?

cross eyed

Easily and well spotted that man.

The original compositions were worse than my editing lol. We didn't know where the fireworks would be, just the general direction.

We viewed from central pier towards the north pier. The sparks went off at the end of the pier and didn't balance with the tower from our viewpoint. Hemmed in and on a busy pier its difficult to relocate. We will next time.

So I hamfistedly compressed the length of the pier.

Here's one that hasn't been stitched.

the photos look good and if you are to be believed then the editing is great

sree2472 thank you for taking time to view and comment.

Kelly has a very sensitive eye and keen love of photography. Many experienced people who deal with images would not be fooled either. If you increase the brightness of any image to extreme it will reveal all sorts of things but especially on this type of "dark" shot if any cut and pasting has gone on.

So far the shots I've submitted have been clumsy manipulations in as much as they don't stand up to scrutiny. Stock sites employ their own image analysts who check for quality before they accept. One of the first things they do is brighten the image. Don"t be fooled by some of the jaw dropping firework shots you see they have been chopped and changed. Not all there are some excellent real images out there.

It all goes to show that preparation is important, so instead of trying to get away with composite images, we should get as much right in camera and on site as we can. The shots i have posted are my first attempt at a large firework display of this sort. Any manipulations are part of my form of learning and practice. I don't recommend it for anyone else. Try and get a one off good shot. If not then try again.

Here's another firework shot, can you tell if this image is a composite or not? also there is a pre firework shot to illustrate the site. We didn't know where the fireworks would be. In previous years they have used the sand mid frame and sometimes the pier. I think on my next visit I'll try off the beach, provided the tides out.

I was using a Sigma 18-50mm lens which is a good range for landscaping but it was at its longest for the fireworks.

Cheers
Ned

Man, the gloom of night sure fools us on distance. In the original shots it looked to me like the fireworks were a great distance away (almost to the horizon). But in your nice sunset shot that pier is clearly a lot closer than that. So I'm left confused about whether the fireworks were over the pier, or much more distant? In any case, the illumination for that tower is really nice.

blinky

Sorry for the late reply. Blinky

Yep the distance can be misleading during dark. The fireworks were actually on the pier. I tried a few shots without the tower but the compositions were bland. So i needed a better view point and closer methinks so i would have the option of just close up fireworks or include the tower but better balanced against the action.

I got some better sunset shots earlier but learnt a bit about firework shooting and had a good time. Some of the advice i got about 30 second exposures wide open seem to be misleading, I know each shoot differs and you have to assess as is but some internet advice was f5 for 30 seconds or even bulb!

I won't give up till i can get some good shots without pi**ing about in PS. I just need more displays than most folks to practice against!!!

Cheers
Ned

It's been many years since I shot any fireworks, but 30 seconds does sound way too long. One of the fun things about fireworks is that they are bright enough for shooting with a telephoto lens, if you can find the right vantage point of course. Some very creative things have been done by moving the lens zoom or focus during a fireworks exposure. Enjoy!

Kelly