Arastan

Bouquet of Fireworks 2019

NIKON D810

settings

Aperture f/5 ISO 200 Shutter 13/10 Focal Length 850/10

upload_date

Jul, 2019

Views

165

Likes

+53

Awards

Judge Favorite

2020 Choice Award

Peer Award

+23

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Magnificent Capture

All Star

Top Choice

Superior Skill

Emotions

Impressed

Happy

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 2

Top 10 rank week 1

i`ve seen so many good fireworks pictures - but yours is definitly the best!

amazing picture

Wowza

Magnificent!

See all

Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

A cute little composite to make the scene more magical :)

A storm was on it's way, but not before the light could peek through the clouds

After being stood up by a client for a photoshoot, I ended up on a dirt road several miles south of home just before sunset. With my remote shutter an

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken in Colonial Beach, Virginia, overlooking the Potomac River. We were sitting at the community center to watch the annual 4th of July fireworks display. It was our kids' first time spending the holiday with their grandparents.

Time

Every year, I like to make a fireworks bouquet, so I had been planning this particular trip for awhile. We found a perfect spot across the river to set up, because I wanted to have some of the reflection on the water. We ended up getting to our spot an hour early to make sure we had the best position, and waited until sunset for the fireworks to start. But then, the clouds rolled in! I was really worried we might not get to see the fireworks with the clouds and the impending rain.

Lighting

Because it became very cloudy, the lighting was a mix of perfect and terrifying. It was dark, which meant the fireworks would be easily visible, but it was also hazy and cloudy, which meant they might get obscured. Not to mention the occasional bolt of lightning. I was scared of being struck! But when you are a photographer, the picture is everything, and so while my family ran to the car, I stayed and shot away! Most of my shots were taken with very slow shutter speeds to make for the perfect painted effect.

Equipment

For this particular composition, I used my Nikon D810 body with an 85mm f/1.8 lens. The river is very wide, and I new I'd need a longer focal length to get really good shots. I set up the camera on a tripod and used my remote shutter to trigger each take; this way there wouldn't be any shake or blur to the picture, even with the longer shutter speed.

Inspiration

As I mentioned, this bouquet has been a personal tradition. It all started in 2013 when I moved to a new state with my family. We had a new baby, and I was itching to get out alone. So my husband offered to stay home while I went out by myself to take some pictures. I set up on a hill overlooking our local community park, and took shot after shot of fireworks. When I got home and started to edit, I realized some of the shots made the fireworks look like flowers and I began experimenting with photo stacking. Since then, every year, I have chosen a spot and taken pictures of the fireworks with the intention to stack the images to create a bouquet. I was happy that I got so many wonderful shots this year and that the colors complimented each other so beautifully.

Editing

In Photoshop, I took the best shots from the night and began to stack them When I was taking pictures, I made sure to take them at different points in the fireworks' ascension and descension to get a good range of positions. And then some of them I moved around to get a nice balance on each side of the bouquet.

In my camera bag

I usually travel pretty light, in order to be able to move around easily. For this trip, I only brought my camera, lens, remote shutter and tripod. You need to be deliberate when you are planning a photography trip. Only bring when you know you will use, because you never know when you will have to make a split second decision.

Feedback

For fireworks, I always say experimenting is best. You have so many opportunities through the half hour show to be able to try different shutter speeds and apertures. See which image looks best and use those settings! I also like to get a before and after shot; meaning, I take a shot of the surroundings before and after the show starts so that I can use them in post production as a blank canvas. Think about your surroundings. Are you going to be shooting over water, or over a field? Will there be street lamps or cars or homes obstructing the light? Scout out a good place to set up. One year, I didn't plan ahead and there was a street lamp in the bottom corner of all of my shots that I had to later edit out. And don't forget the tripod! One year, I forgot my tripod, and had to do all of my slow shutter shots hand held. Now, I'll say the final product was a much more "artistic" version of my traditional bouquet because there was a little camera wobble. But you really want your hands free, so use a tripod and remote shutter; this way you can click away, but you are still watching the display live. I think sometimes we forget to enjoy something in person, and we spend our time watching the world through a screen or a lens. Don't forget to be a part of what is happening in the moment.

See more amazing photos, follow Arastan

Arastan

Arastan

Bouquet of Fireworks 2019

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow Arastan

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.