redshiftimages
FollowSmall village Le Praz and Courchevel ski area, fireworks as seen from the distant mountain village.
Small village Le Praz and Courchevel ski area, fireworks as seen from the distant mountain village.
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Contest Finalist in Night Wonders Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Our World At Night Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in The Night Photo Contest
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Contest Finalist in Freshmen 2016 Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in World At Night Photo Contest
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lemessin
February 29, 2016
OK, this is simply amazing combination! How far/high did you climb to take this shot? :)
redshiftimages
April 01, 2016
Well not very high :) I've just had a 200mm zoom lens and cropped sensor camera... And some patience :)
wideopenspaces
June 20, 2016
There is actually a place like this ? Amazing-to both the location and the picture.
redshiftimages
June 21, 2016
Yes, indeed, it exists :) There is aboundance of places like this in France...
SamuelGraley
February 05, 2017
This is a tremendous shot! I love how the fireworks light up the mountain!
csabaczirko
January 11, 2019
This picture is breathtaking! All the depths, the lights, the whole moment. It would have been really special to be there.
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Behind The Lens
Location
It was in a small beautiful village Champagny en Vanoise in French Alps.Time
The blue hour just ended, so it was around 8:00 PM, and I was already ready to finish my shooting for that night, as I thought that the beautiful light is already over. Then suddenly I spotted fireworks over the distant village with the beautiful mountains in the background. I grabbed my 70-200mm Nikkor lens and mounted it to D7000 camera, as I wanted to zoom it as much as possible. I was already standing in the freezing cold for 2 hours, and at that moment nothing could warm me more up then the scene that just appeared :) So I left there half en hour more until fireworks ended...Lighting
The light was just amazing, even though the night has already fallen, because the fireworks just nicely did light up the mountain side. I was able to make those photos with F5.6 and exposure time 30 sec.Equipment
This was shot with Nikon D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm F4 lens. I had my Benro (MeFoto) tripod with me. It was amazing that the tripod did the great job even though that at that time I did not have the lens collar on my 70-200 Nikkor, so the camera was fixed at the camera body which is not very stable because of the long lens. Still the tripod fixed it very firmly!Inspiration
The French village where I've been at the time was very picturesque, an old village with the mountain sides all around. And everything was up the hill, so I could have a beautiful perspective with roads - leading lines, old houses, and mountain peaks in the distance. A weather was suddenly very nice, with some clouds that add up to the dynamics.Editing
With this photo I did the post-processing as I always do, and usually I can spend more days for just one photo. But for this one all I did was related to Lightroom adjustments and dogging and burning on the mountain sides. The exposure was just perfect and I did not have much problems in the post. Many people think that this is a composite as the fireworks can not be that clean with 30 sec exposure. But I've made like 20 photos, and only a few appeared clean. At this photo, fireworks appeared just a few seconds before the end of exposure time, which explains the mystery :)In my camera bag
I have usually 2 bodies, Nikon D750 and D7000. I use cropped sensor (D7000) when I want to reach more. Lens Tamron 24-70 F2.8 is normally always on my D750, and in my bag are Nikkor 50mm 1.8 and Nikkor 70-200mm F4. For landscape (capturing details) photography I think 70-200 F4 is a must, it is light, the IQ is fantastic (in the same range as Nikkor 70-200 F2.8) and you do not need F2.8 - I use mostly F8 or F9. Sometimes I bring Nikkor 105mm F2.8 Macro lens with me. Tripod is Benro (MeFoto) for the standard work, and I have a small Velbon tripod for shooting from the ground. Flash Nikon SB 700 and 910 and bendable flash diffuser for fill-in light.Feedback
In this case the shoot is made without any plan. I did not know about fireworks, it took me by surprise. So my general advice is - be ready for unexpected :) The best things happen without a plan... The advice would be also to bring cropped sensor camera with you. It is lighter and has more reach, in this case I was able to get very close to the scene and have just perfect composition without any cropping. Also, a great zoom lens 70-200 F4 - light, sharp, accurate, F2.8 is not needed for landscapes. Also buy a lens collar for it :)