Fireworks - Thank you for all your help

[2Tiggies]

Hi guys
After a lot of advice from you all, and help with my seemingly endless questions, I ventured out last night for my first attempt at shooting some fireworks.

We had reserved seating, so I knew that I would not be facing the castle straight on, as you would from Main Street and that the fireworks would appear to be more to one side. However, this was an experiment and I needed to build my confidence.

I promised to share so here you go I am going back to try again next week, hopefully from a better spot so any advice and / or criticism would be appreciated.



Wishes by 2Tiggies, on Flickr


DSC_0745 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr


DSC_0744 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr


DSC_0743 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr


DSC_0742 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr

 

[havoc315]

They look amazing. If you want starker contrast, you can play a bit in post processing, but that's totally optional. They look great. What was your shutter speed?

 

[2Tiggies]

They look amazing. If you want starker contrast, you can play a bit in post processing, but that's totally optional. They look great. What was your shutter speed?

Thank you

I had the camera on bulb mode so the shutter speed varied. THere were some where I didn't quite get it right. I did have a ND8 filter on the lens and I think the aperture was set around F16 or F18. I know the EXIF info is all on there but wow, is this wifi slooooowwwwww at WDW

I hear you on the stark background - post processing is something I still have to get my head around. My only regret is that because I am no good at it, I forgot to shoot in jpg and raw and only shot in jpg so if I ever do want to go back and really play around with it I'm going to be very limited. However, that is one of several things I learned from last night's experience.

I did Illuminations last week and still need to upload those photos to Flickr but I don't have the patience for the length of time it's taking at the moment onsite with Disney wifi so they shall follow later. I am very open to criticism as the whole point of this is a learning experience for me. I got a few things wrong when I went to Illuminations the other night but it was so worth it for me, because I know what I did wrong ..... which means next time I can fix it

 

[havoc315]

I don't think you did anything wrong.
My posted Illuminations pics were also shot directly into jpeg.
Depending on what you use for post-processing, it doesn't have to be daunting. Even the post-processing built into flickr would work -- Just a matter of playing around with the brightness/exposure/contrast. Darken the darks. Maybe boost saturation or vibrance, to make the color... more colorful.
Completely not necessary --- The photos look great at they are. But sometimes you may find an overall image even better with a little fine tuning.

Also, don't fret the failure to be straight-on the Castle during the show. Instead, enjoy the opportunity to get different angles. Not that there is anything wrong with the straight-on angle, but it's been done millions of times (without exaggeration). Enjoy getting some perspectives that may be a bit less common.

I got to photograph Illuminations a couple times on my last trip, but didn't get a chance to do Wishes. If I had the chance to do Wishes, especially more than once, I think I'd find a more unique viewing angle than being in front of the castle at all.
Stealing from someone else -- Fireworks rising over Haunted Mansion.

www.flickr.com/photos/thhphotography/5986871527/

Here are some examples of fireworks as seen from Mad Tea Party:
www.disneyphotographyblog.com/fireworks-over-a-mad-tea-party/

So instead of looking for the perfect straight-on-castle-angle, you may relish the freedom to go find a completely different angle. And that may give you the advantage of being in a less crowded area, where you can set up you tripod without being shoulder-to-shoulder with the crowd.

 

[havoc315]

Examples of unedited, and then after post-processing:


20120905_479.jpg by Havoc315, on Flickr


20120905_479-2.jpg by Havoc315, on Flickr

 

[VikingInMouseEars]

Very nice!!! I am hoping for shots like this in a couple months.

 

[mom2rtk]

You did great 2Tiggies! Isn't it fun to see it all come together?

I'd just try to get a spot over near Main Street when you get another chance so you can get more of the castle in. Shoot wide so you have the latitude to straighten the horizon with a crop if needed.

Congrats on some great shots!

 

[2Tiggies]

You did great 2Tiggies! Isn't it fun to see it all come together?

I'd just try to get a spot over near Main Street when you get another chance so you can get more of the castle in. Shoot wide so you have the latitude to straighten the horizon with a crop if needed.

Congrats on some great shots!

Thank you and thanks for the advice to shoot wider for straightening. i wouldn't have thought of that. Sorry I've not been back on to thank you all for your comments. Wifi at WDW is hit and miss for me (mixed reviews it seems) but last week I ended up getting terribly sick so I didn't get my chance to go back to MK and shoot Wishes. We are going back tonight but I'm not sure I will get there in time to get a good spot. BUT ... I am taking my tripod to MNSSHP tomorrow and going to have a go at shooting Hallowishes as compensation to myself for all my lost days here.

Any advice on party fireworks locations and time to be there ahead would be great. I will check the DIS on the laptop though - wifi here does not really want to play nice with my phone so I never even saw any of these posts until now

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Usually, the specialty day fireworks are what they call the perimeter show. There are more fireworks on the sides than the normal show which requires a wider shot to get those in. Unless you have an UWA, you may need to find a spot that is far enough away from the castle, but still close enough to not cut off the sides.

BTW, your shots look great! Good job.

 

[Luvscrappin]

Thank you and thanks for the advice to shoot wider for straightening. i wouldn't have thought of that. Sorry I've not been back on to thank you all for your comments. Wifi at WDW is hit and miss for me (mixed reviews it seems) but last week I ended up getting terribly sick so I didn't get my chance to go back to MK and shoot Wishes. We are going back tonight but I'm not sure I will get there in time to get a good spot. BUT ... I am taking my tripod to MNSSHP tomorrow and going to have a go at shooting Hallowishes as compensation to myself for all my lost days here.

Any advice on party fireworks locations and time to be there ahead would be great. I will check the DIS on the laptop though - wifi here does not really want to play nice with my phone so I never even saw any of these posts until now

I will be there tomorrow night with my tripod as well! Good luck with your shooting the fireworks. I'm a newbie on this fireworks stuff, but have been reading up for months! We were there in August and Wishes was cancelled due to lightening that night. This is a last minute and Unexpected trip...I am so excited for a second chance! Good Luck!

 

[photo_chick]

Thank you


I hear you on the stark background - post processing is something I still have to get my head around. My only regret is that because I am no good at it, I forgot to shoot in jpg and raw and only shot in jpg so if I ever do want to go back and really play around with it I'm going to be very limited. However, that is one of several things I learned from last night's experience.

You're only limited by your editing skills. You can get all the same end results with jpeg that you can with RAW, it's just more difficult and requires a different approach. But it can be done if you ever decide to go down that road.

 

[2Tiggies]

Usually, the specialty day fireworks are what they call the perimeter show. There are more fireworks on the sides than the normal show which requires a wider shot to get those in. Unless you have an UWA, you may need to find a spot that is far enough away from the castle, but still close enough to not cut off the sides.

BTW, your shots look great! Good job.

Thank you so much

I have a Tokina 11-16 mm lens. I had thought wide angle would put me too far out but I will take it along with me if that is the better option. We've done quite a few parties over the last few years but never watched Hallowishes from in front of the castle so I will take your advice as I haven't had the opportunity of getting a feel for the area my lens would need to cover. I can only try and if I don't get it right, I know that I will still have learned something from it, which makes it worth the effort

You're only limited by your editing skills. You can get all the same end results with jpeg that you can with RAW, it's just more difficult and requires a different approach. But it can be done if you ever decide to go down that road.

I know, it's limiting me and it is my next challenge: to get started with some form of editing as I think I will eventually become frustrated by the limitations of not knowing how to 'tweak' my photos

 

[mom2rtk]

I glad you're feeling better and will get a chance to shoot Hallowishes.

I'll just caution you about using the UWA. I shot Wishes up near the castle with my Tokina once and wasn't happy with the results. I thought it made the castle shrink too much. I'm sure there's a way to do it well, but my way wasn't it. I was up in the hub fairly close to the castle. I'm thinking I needed to be a little farther back. I liked my results a lot better shooting in front of the Plaza restaurant with my 17-55 lens. I couldn't get the perimeter fireworks, but I was happier with the overall effect.

 

[JediMasterMatt]

You're only limited by your editing skills. You can get all the same end results with jpeg that you can with RAW, it's just more difficult and requires a different approach. But it can be done if you ever decide to go down that road.

This is not true about results with JPEG vs. RAW. Especially when it comes to fireworks. With a JPEG you are limited by the dynamic range displayed in the photo. By their nature, fireworks photos are perhaps the most dymanic your sensor will ever capture. With RAW you have headroom for shadows and highlights. Depending on your camera, you may have 1 stop or more recovery. RAW gives you a significant advantage with shadows and highlights, along with the luxary of applying WB, sharpening, and noise reduction after the fact.

The best results for fireworks is to shoot in RAW using UniWB so you can get a true representation of what the sensor is actually seeing on the histogram. Since there are 2x as many green photosites on the sensor as their are red and blue, it is really easy to clip the green channel if you are not careful. Exposure is always calculated after WB is applied and then the historgram is calculated based on the embedded JPEG (even with RAW).

Oh, and regarding trying to capture the perimeter fireworks - it is a challenge and is only worth it for a few photos per setup as they are only a small percentage of the show. The challenge is make sure you have an interesting compostion as you need get enough sky to fit them in and doing so with a UWA will expand the space and really shrink the castle. When in the park, I always leave the castle as the focal point and use the fireworks as garnish to the image.

What I don't like about the special event firework displays is that the two extra northern launch locations east and west of the castle aren't spaced out the same. The one to the east is further away from the centerline than the one to the west by a little bit and throws off centering the composition.

 

[2Tiggies]

Well I'm back after nearly 3 weeks away. Still not 100% well but I did go and shoot Hallowishes with questionable results. It started to rain again just before they started so I had a few issues with rain spots on the lens on a few pics which messed them up

I took my wide angle lens with and couldn't decide whether to get closer to the castle with that and try get all the perimeter fireworks, mentally wrestling with the different advice based on varying experiences. I had decided to go wide angle, but as I was walking up Main Street, I saw the perspective of the almost spooky looking buildings on either side and did something completely different - I backed up and went back down Main Street - quite a way back. I knew I'd lose ALL the perimeter fireworks and then some, but I got something a little different (at least they are different to what I had before which is what I wanted). I will upload the few that I saved and post them.

 

[2Tiggies]

Oh and my cabled remote shutter release decided to suddenly stop working after one test shot so the rain was just one more thing to deal with

You can see a rain spot on this first one

DSC_1136 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr


DSC_1128 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr


DSC_1127 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr

I only managed to keep these and another two. A lot of time was spent trying to keep the lens clear of rain which seemed to be coming in straight onto the lens, but I am glad I tried. I don't have the awesome photos I hoped to - but I have learnt SO much about my camera this last trip and every mistake I made was so worthwhile because I know what went wrong and in many cases I had an opportunity to correct my mistakes on another day.

Never taken (and deleted) as many photos in such a short space of time as I did the last few weeks but I had a blast. I am so grateful to everyone for all the help, encouragement and advice on here.

 

[Hockeyman]

Oh and my cabled remote shutter release decided to suddenly stop working after one test shot so the rain was just one more thing to deal with

You can see a rain spot on this first one

DSC_1136 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr


DSC_1128 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr


DSC_1127 by 2Tiggies, on Flickr

I only managed to keep these and another two. A lot of time was spent trying to keep the lens clear of rain which seemed to be coming in straight onto the lens, but I am glad I tried. I don't have the awesome photos I hoped to - but I have learnt SO much about my camera this last trip and every mistake I made was so worthwhile because I know what went wrong and in many cases I had an opportunity to correct my mistakes on another day.

Never taken (and deleted) as many photos in such a short space of time as I did the last few weeks but I had a blast. I am so grateful to everyone for all the help, encouragement and advice on here.

Your being modest because all these pictures came out great

 

[2Tiggies]

Your being modest because all these pictures came out great

Do you really think so? That is such a compliment, having seen some of your work!

It wasn't at all what I was hoping for but as I deleted all but these three (plus two "I'll think about it" shots) I had to remind myself that I had set out with a goal to bring back at least 2 good ones from each session

 

[Hockeyman]

Do you really think so? That is such a compliment, having seen some of your work!

It wasn't at all what I was hoping for but as I deleted all but these three (plus two "I'll think about it" shots) I had to remind myself that I had set out with a goal to bring back at least 2 good ones from each session

Of course those are great shots . And whats impressive is that this was your first time out shooting fireworks and did rather well, that and your photos look great without any or very little post processing . My first and only time was pretty much a disaster lol.

My work is average at best lol, I do luck out sometimes and will get a pretty nice shot but I still consider myself a beginner by a long shot.

 

[2Tiggies]

Of course those are great shots . And whats impressive is that this was your first time out shooting fireworks and did rather well, that and your photos look great without any or very little post processing . My first and only time was pretty much a disaster lol.

My work is average at best lol, I do luck out sometimes and will get a pretty nice shot but I still consider myself a beginner by a long shot.

I just wasn't brave enough to post my disasters That said, I am hell-bent on learning and improving and had I not figured out myself why the fails didn't work out, I would have posted them on here to find out why. I have to say, mistakes and all, it's been the most amazing photography learning curve I've ever had (except the first trip I did when I got my first DSLR a few days before we left that came white boxed with no instructions .......)

Thank you so much for all your encouragement