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rickcolvin

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July 4th celebration in the small town of Florence, Oregon

July 4th celebration in the small town of Florence, Oregon
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Canon EOS 5D Mark IV

settings

Aperture 10/1 ISO 200 Shutter 7/1 Focal Length 70/1

location

Oregon, US

upload_date

Sep, 2023

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Same photographer See all Behind The Lens

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Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken during the Fourth of July fireworks celebration in the small coastal town of Florence, Oregon. I was standing on the pedestrian walkway of the US Highway 101 bridge that crosses the Siuslaw River. This spot gave me an excellent view of the launch area and the part of town that faces the river.

Time

Of course, the best time to shoot fireworks photos is at night! I arrived at my spot a good hour before dark so I could set up my shot, set my focus, and be ready for that first "boom." About 10pm the excitement began...I took this particular shot around 10:30pm--plenty dark enough to get the fireworks and the lights of town.

Lighting

In my opinion, fireworks by themselves are pretty but have no perspective. I wanted my photos to include the town lights so the viewer could have an idea of the size of the fireworks, so I wanted to include some foreground elements. I kept my aperture set at f/10 to give me sufficient depth of field.

Equipment

This photo was shot with a Canon 5D MkIV, 24-70mm lens at 70mm, f/10, set on a tripod. I set the shutter speed on "bulb" and used a remote shutter release. As soon as I saw a rocket launch, I opened the shutter and held it until...well, until I thought the best colors had dissipated. In this case, the shutter was open for 7 seconds.

Inspiration

My inspiration for this photo, really for all my fireworks photos, is seeing those shots around New York City and other major cities in the world. Well, I don't live anywhere near those places (which isn't necessarily a bad thing...), so I had to make do with the little town of Florence, Oregon (pop. 9,396), where I live. While there might be other places to get decent shots of the fireworks, I thought a spot on the bridge would give me the elements I wantd: good view of the launch area and decent foreground.

Editing

I did minimal post-processing. I cropped the photo some, darkened the sky a bit, and reduced the hightlights, all using Lightroom.

In my camera bag

I keep most of my stuff in my camera bag at all times. At the time of this shoot, I had my Canon 5D MkIV, 25-70mm zoom, 300 mm prime and a 14mm wide angle. Plus assorted polarizing filters and ND filters. And my remote shutter release, extra batteries, a few extra memory cards, some tools for tripod repair/maintenance. I also have a rain cover (I'm on the coast...it might rain) and a kneeling pad (easier on the knees).

Feedback

Hmm...first, find a dark location that gives you an unobstructed view of where the fireworks will be set off and that has some type of foreground. Arrive early (i.e., before dark) to get everything set up. Use a tripod and a remote shutter release (You could use your camera's self-timer, but even with a 2-second delay, you'll miss a lot). Then, when the action starts, start shooting and don't stop until the final boom!

See more amazing photos, follow rickcolvin

rickcolvin

rickcolvin

Celebrate!

July 4th celebration in the small town of Florence, Oregon

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow rickcolvin

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