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Last year, I missed out on the Independence Day Fireworks in Washington, D.C. It was a real bummer.
This year, I was determined to see them and get some nice photographs, too. My wife and I met up with another couple, Meredith and Tyler, in Crystal City for some usual 4th of July food before getting over to our spot for the fireworks. Burgers, beer, guacamole, chips, and more beer. Did I mention there was guacamole?
Unlike my first time seeing this display in our nation’s capital, we would be heading over to Gravelly Point Park which was much further and perpendicular to the viewing angle on the National Mall. The only thing I knew about the park was that it was adjacent to Reagan National Airport along the landing path of airplanes. Cooool.
Great BBQ and now fireworks AND planes?!? I basically turned into a little boy.
Since I wasn’t sure where we’d end up, I brought three lenses to cover my bases:
- 16-35mm
- 24-70mm
- 70-200mm
The Washington Monument was small in the distance, so I ended up using only the 70-200mm lens because it gave me the ability to zoom-out for context, but zoom-in close enough to fill the frame with fireworks if I wanted. I squatted my tripod low for additional stability and used the Live View mode to reduce vibrations caused by the mirror slapping up … and I didn’t bring my cable release (face palm).
However, the setup allowed me to wrap one arm around my wife and keep the other hand on the shutter-release. Next time I’ll just hook-up a cable-release or PocketWizard to trip my camera so I can better embrace the person who saved me a spot on the beach towel we shared with Meredith and Tyler.
So, a few photos back, I got a 4-second exposure of a plane coming in for a landing. By the time the next plane came through, I was ready. This is one of the unique opportunities photographing from an atypical position. While a lot of great, great photographs show the usual landmarks of Washington, D.C. I made a shot that said something of where I was during the show.
Fireworks Tips:
- Arrive early. The roads and public transportation will be near unusable in the 3 hours or so before the show. You’ll also have time to pick a spot and set up your gear.
- Bring a tripod. This is a mission-critical tool. Spread the legs wide apart and even weigh it down for maximum stability. I suggest squatting it low so as not to obstruct the view of the people behind you by standing.
- Use a remote or cable release & Live View or Mirror-Up mode. When doing long exposures, you want as little camera shake as possible. Pressing the shutter with your finger — even carefully — shakes the camera, causing blur and squiggly lines. These vibrations are very noticeable with telephoto lenses.
- (optional) Tether to a laptop. If you don’t have a remote release, you can connect your camera and use software like Capture One Pro, Lightroom, or even your camera manufacturer’s tethering application to control and trigger your camera. That way you don’t need to touch your camera to adjust settings, thus removing camera-shake.
- Low & Slow. To get the light trails from the flares, you’ll need to set your camera to it’s lowest ISO and a slow shutter speed. You’ll also need to use a small aperture. A good starting point is ISO 100, 4sec, f/11. That’s good for one or two bursts. For multiple bursts, a 10-second shutter at f/16 or f/22 is a “sweet spot”. These settings will vary depending on the amount of ambient light, the brightness of the bursts, and your camera.
- Watch for haze. As the show goes on, smoke will haze up your image and cause hotspots and blow-outs. Simply close-down your aperture to help fight it.
- Shoot RAW & Tungsten. Shooting in RAW will give you the most latitude in post with regard to color and dynamic range. Also, fireworks burn closer to the color temperature of an Incandescent/Tungsten bulb, even though they’re colored. If you shoot in Daylight or AWB, the fireworks will look too orange and the color separation won’t be there. If you shoot in JPEG, nail your exposure and your WB because there is little room for error with the compression.
- Enjoy. Once you got the framing you like, sit back and enjoy the show with your eyes, not through your tiny view-finder or LCD. This is especially true if you’ve got a loved one with you.