A heart in the sky
Jun, 2015Views
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Contest Finalist in 350 Lights In The Sky Photo Contest
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo last year, in a village called Imqabba, in Malta. In Malta, we have the tradition of celebrating feasts to commemorate different patron Saints during the months of Summer. The 15th of August is the day of St. Mary, with 8 villages celebrating the feast. All the villages give a pyrotechnical show during the eve of the feast and this photo was taken during one of these shows.Time
The photo was taken at the night of the 14th of August 2014, precisely at 21:52 hrs.Lighting
The only lighting source in this photo was the one emitted by the firework itself. It is important to pay particular attention to the aperture settings in these kinds of shots, because the photo might end up being overexposed and hence losing details, given that the aperture is wider than needed.Equipment
I used my D7100, my 18mm - 105mm lens, a tripod and a shutter release.Inspiration
I am a great fan of fireworks. Fortunately, in Malta we can enjoy such displays during the months of Summer, each year, due to the various feasts that are celebrated around our island. They all have some sort of firework display. When I was younger, I used to go to simply watch and enjoy the fireworks, but as my passion for photography grew, I started carrying my camera and tripod whenever I visit such places and I always end up with some great and beautiful shots.Editing
I post-processed in Lightroom. I checked that the white balance is correct, did some basic cropping, and boosted the colors to make them stand out more.In my camera bag
I always carry with me my D7100, 24-70mm lens, which by far is my favourite lens, my Zoom lens, my wide angle lens, and my 50mm prime. Apart, I also carry my external flash light, just in case I might need it, my tripod, shutter release and batteries, loads of them. I am still investing on my gear, so up till now, that is all I have.Feedback
Carrying a tripod is definitely a must where long exposure is concerned. I take these type of photographs in BULB, and therefore, I definitely cannot hand-held my camera. A Shutter release is the second most important thing you should carry with you. The less touching the camera, the better, were long exposure is concerned. You also need to have fully charged extra batteries. Since long exposure might drain the batteries even more than fast exposures, you might need to change batteries half way over your session. White balance should be set to daylight and ISO should be set to the lows, 100 - 250 should be enough. Focusing should be manual. Usually I focus ones, at the beginning of the show, and keep it like that throughout the entire time.
