Waikiki fireworks as viewed from our hotel room. Please give me some advice... I used a tripod, had it on bulb setting but I'm not really happy with how this turned out. The light isn't sharp and crisp. What did I do wrong?? I had it on auto focus after trying manual without success.
Fantastic shot! I love the effect you captured here. Did you use a remote or just held it during bulb setting? I know sometimes if I just hold mine and don't use my remote I will get light trails that look a bit like this. Cause even though I swear I didn't move or shake the camera... it does move a bit. But honestly I love the way you captured it :) Well done! It looks like you had an outstanding vacation! :)
Looks like the camera was still slightly shaking, were you using a remote or pushing the shutter to open and close it? The one time I've shot fireworks, I used a set shutter speed of several seconds or more and then used a remote to fire the camera. Or you could use bulb if you had a remote that was set up that way. Another way around not having a rock-solid support is to use a 2 second mirror lock-up. But then you can't time it like you did here. Don't know what tripod you are using, but some of them are sturdier than others. And if the tripod is on carpet, it won't be as steady (was shooting some macros tonight with my camera and tripod resting on carpet. I was using live view to focus and I could see the movement as I made adjustments. I was very glad I was using the mirror lock-up timer to take the actual picture, it was enough for everything to stop shaking). Anyway, those are things to think about for next time.
I had a gorilla tripod which felt pretty solid but it was on a flimsy glass patio table. I didn't bring my remote so I had to push it down manually. I tried to be as still as possible but there was obviously some movement. Thanks for your ideas.
Not sure why you are unhappy with this shot. I think it's splendid. I normally prefer seeing fireworks with something else in the shot, a building, landscape or crowd of people, but you captured a really nice multi burst.
Nice firework flower you've taken! Those snaky lines only adds to the whole composition. As for advice - every were mentioned by our friends and you rightly determined the reason - an unstable glassy support and a manual pushing on the release button - it is sufficiant for unsharpening. Sometimes it gives interesting effects ,just like in your photo, and I like it!
I agree with the unstable surface theory. Whenever I am faced with that possibility, I always put it on timer, that way it has a chance to settle down between me pushing the release, and the shutter opening. That being said, I think this is a fantastic shot!
The other thing it may be, though this seems like it's a lot of wiggle for this explanation, but if you have some kind of image stabilization (I think that's VR on Nikons... you'd know better than I would) turned on while on a tripod, it can sometimes cause the camera to try to "stabilize" the image when it shouldn't. Not sure of what lens you're using but if it's a VR lens that's something else to think about.
Honestly though, I think the wiggles look pretty awesome. Any chance they're just wiggly fireworks?
Reminds me of my favorite Mitch Hedberg joke:
"Maybe Bigfoot IS blurry - it's not the photographer's fault. There's a large, out of focus monster roaming the countryside."
Great shot nonetheless Kim. I took some firework shots under similar conditions in November. I held my hand over the lens while I depressed the shutter and then took it away and this seemed to avoid the problem that you have here.
I like it, no matter what - and agree fully with those who are thinking that stability must have been the issue. I remember shooting fireworks all set up with the tripod, the remote, etc. and still being disappointed - finally realized that I was using my gigantic 50 - 500 mm lens without its special tripod arm and the weight of the lens was actually pulling at the stability. . .(shame-faced to admit!). I also know that it is usually recommended to turn the IS feature off when using the tripod. Hope you'll get another chance to try again soon!!
Was it windy? That could've moved the camera a bit. I saw a great tutorial on fireworks where the photog zoomed during the exposure. The shots came out very spiky and looked cool.
hi settings that have worked for me is f8 or there abouts , manual focus to infinity, iso 100, tripod, on bulb setting with remote and hold down few seconds or however long suits - I like the shot you have taken :)
January 4th, 2013
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
@mtngal
I had a gorilla tripod which felt pretty solid but it was on a flimsy glass patio table. I didn't bring my remote so I had to push it down manually. I tried to be as still as possible but there was obviously some movement. Thanks for your ideas.
Reminds me of my favorite Mitch Hedberg joke:
"Maybe Bigfoot IS blurry - it's not the photographer's fault. There's a large, out of focus monster roaming the countryside."
@grizzlysghost thanks fir the tip, Aaron.