Firework Displays

It's getting towards bonfire night which means that there are firework shows on aplenty. This year I'm going to watch the University display that I've always missed before. And as ever I'll be taking along my camera to capture some, hopefully, great shots. The question is how to take them.

Bournemouth 04
Two years ago I went down to Bournemouth and caught some great shots from a tripod, experimenting with leaving the shutter open and repeatedly uncovering the lenses. That worked well and generated some lovely trailing shots.

Tripod shot 1

Tripod shot 2

Winchester 05
Last year I went to the Winchester Firework Display after a hillwalking daywalk from Shawford to Winchester. Having been walking meant I didn't have my tripod, but the following are a couple of samples from the evening. I was actually very pleased with what I got and rather like the freeze frame approach to fireworks.

Hand held shot 1

Hand held shot 2

But what about this year? Well sadly my tripod broke this summer so the decision is partly made for me, but the question is how to get a new take on these standard shots. It will depend on the style of the fireworks themselves - the big bang ones really require a longer exposure caught from a tripod to capture the expanding trail. Whereas displays with more frequent smaller intricate fireworks (my preference, though technically less 'impressive') probably work better with short speed shots.

I'll post up some of the best over the weekend.