firework photos on Flickr

Here are four firework images, two primary photos accompanied by two art variations which mashup the two photos. The fireworks were on the Fourth of July, on the South Mall in Albany, New York. In the two primary photos, the fireworks are exaggerated by special effects created by shaking and zooming the camera.

To do this technique, exposures are set to 1-2 seconds (or whatever you want to try). The firework is tracked through the viewfinder, At the moment you anticipate the explosion (or at any other time depending on which scene or moment you wish to capture), the shutter release button is pressed. You then have a second or two (or whatever shutter speed you set) to create the special effects. Swirling and flowing effects are created by shaking the camera. The camera and lens are kept generally centered on the firework, but they are shaken or swirled around the center as much as you choose and as long as the shutter allows. The shaking can be small and jittery or broad and sweeping, slow and arcing or fast and staccato. Zoom and perspective effects are created by zooming the lens. If the zoom on your lens is a rotating ring (as most are), you will have to rotate the ring back and forth while the shutter is open. For these two examples, the lens was a Vivitar 200mm zoom telephoto which has a sliding barrel instead of a rotating ring, a feature particularly useful for these creative firework images. The best effects come from shaking and zooming simultaneously. Combining zooming and shaking with the intrinsic forms, trajectories, colors, and other visuals of the explosion can create fascinating images.

The two art variations are mashups of the two fireworks. In the first, the white radial and the red swirly images are superimposed on each other for an entirely different effect. It suggests a comet or fireball, and to enhance that concept, the second variation adds a true fireball to the center. The round object is the sun, a photo from SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, a satellite sponsored by NASA and ESA, studying the sun and monitoring solar weather since 1995.

Companion files:

Firework by Jacob Spinks

4 1

Taken at Scaldwell Firework Display.

Firework by Svenja Berger

Feuerwerk

Sonnenwendenfeier Önsingen

17. März 2012

firework by ypchua81

Firework at Showa Kinen Park by nakashi

Tachikawa Festival Showa Kinen Park Fireworks

煙火。Firework by TACO Huang

Firework-1 by Sanjay Saha

2

On the eve of Poush Songkranti in Laksmibazar, Dhaka

Firework by B.Heutte Photo

2 2

Firework by luke Jones

Was taken in the Kenilworth bonfire display.

FIREWORK by Yannick Bardagi

2 4

Fireworks.

Pink night

Firework Friday by CL Photographs

5 6

There are very few decent firework shots from my most recent trip to the World, this being one of them. The highlights are so blown out by the inferno barge that it makes the lamp look like it is hovering or lifting off like a rocket. Maybe it really enjoyed Mission Space? I don't know, haha.

Thanks for lookin' and have a magical day!

Illuminations Reflections of Earth

World Showcase Lagoon

Epcot

Walt Disney World Resort

Orlando, FL

Firework rose by Lynn Cadger