Article by Steve Hynes. This article first appeared in the Autumn 2005 issue of Olympus User, the official publication of the Olympus UK Camera Club.
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Olympus E-1, 14-54mm lens,
f10, 2 secs on B setting, ISO 100

Fireworks pictures are essentially time exposures – the shutter is opened before a firework explodes and held open until it has finished. The entire display will then be captured as light traces across the sky.

Successful time exposures traditionally rely on a camera with a B shutter setting, allowing you to hold the shutter open as long as you like, and a steady support for the camera to prevent it moving during the exposure. I also recommend a cable release, allowing the shutter to be held open without risk of moving the camera.

If using a compact camera, try setting it to manual exposure and selecting a long shutter speed of four, eight or even 15 seconds. The results may be a little more difficult to predict but, as with many fields of photography, much of the enjoyment is in experimentation.

You’ll also need a fairly wide lens, the equivalent of a 24mm or 28mm on the 35mm format being ideal. Choose manual focus and set the lens to infinity. The displays will explode at anything from 80 to 300 feet up and the infinity setting will keep everything sharp, given the focal length and aperture that you will be using.

Your camera’s meter will be useless under these conditions, so to select the right aperture you can use guesswork and experimentation, or draw on the experience of others. The latter is a good choice. All fireworks displays tend to be of the same brightness, so what works on one display will work on another.

If you are shooting at ISO 100, an aperture of f8 to f11 will give good results. At ISO 200 use f11 to f16 and so on. Here’s a handy tip: set the aperture to the square root of the film speed – f10 for ISO 100, f14 for ISO 200 etc. There’s little point in using high ISO settings; use the lowest setting and let the camera deliver optimum quality.

Olympus E-1, 14-54mm,
f10, 4 secs on B setting

Two displays can be captured on one frame by keeping the shutter open and covering the lens for the time in between.

I held a black baseball cap over the lens between the bottom display and the top one to capture this combined image.

There’s a bit of luck involved as both displays can fall in the same area of the frame, which results in a bit of a mess. But when you get it right the result is worth it.

 
Olympus  E-1, 14-54mm, f10,
6 secs on B setting, ISO 100

Olympus E-1, 14-54mm lens,
f10, 2 secs on B setting, ISO 100

You can’t afford to wait for the composition to form in the viewfinder before opening the shutter. By then it’s too late.

Compositions like this have to be anticipated in advance and you are not going to get it right every time. Just shoot plenty of frames while you have the chance. There isn’t much time – even a fairly big display will last only about 12 minutes, so be well prepared in advance.

There are a few cues to watch for. If there’s a pause in the action something is about to happen very soon, so open the shutter in readiness.

The larger rocket displays are fired by a shell and you can hear the boom as it sends the rocket on its journey. That’s the moment to open the shutter.

Firework displays always build to a climax at the end and that’s when you are likely to get some of your best shots.

The big rocket displays are invariably the last, so don’t run out of card space before the best part.

Olympus E-1, 14-54mm lens,
f10,  4 secs on B setting, ISO 100

Olympus E-1, 14-54mm lens,
f10, 2 secs on B setting, ISO 100

Most of the displays are a wild fury of billowing colour, but some are simple and elegant.

Try to capture some of these to give variety to your coverage.

Keeping the camera steady is very important.

The slightest movement would render these smooth light traces as wiggly lines, ruining the picture.

Use a tripod or beanbag and operate the camera via a cable release.

 
Olympus E-1, 14-54mm lens,
f10, 2 secs on B setting, ISO 100