steve: stunning picture!
8.11.10, 2:07AM Evonne Wong: It kinda looks like an illuminated palm tree. Love it!
7.23.10, 12:50AM Howard Haby: Amazing photograph!! And Handheld!! Even more amazing.
7.20.10, 10:10AM Jennifer: you are absolutely amazing. this photo is just outstanding, words can't express how much I love it.
7.20.10, 2:58AM stef: handheld for 8 seconds?! amazing! jessica you are great!
7.18.10, 10:53AM hope: very cool!
7.16.10, 1:11PM karissa: Thanks for the tip! I have a fireworks display in my neighborhood this weekend. I'm excited to try it out! 7.12.10, 5:17PM
digital camera for sale: Now, I got the idea.. It's time to implement.. This shot looks so nice and very professional.. :)
7.11.10, 9:30PM Natalie: This isn't rocket science!
7.11.10, 3:11PM Lynn Duvall: I am a friend of the mother of the groom and your photographs capture such great happiness and love. I especially loved the persian photographs. It was indeed a fairy tale wedding. 7.11.10, 8:54AM
ri: thank you soOOo very much for the tip!
7.10.10, 1:44PM Jeanett: Oh my god, i LOVE this one!
7.7.10, 9:54PM Jen Anway: I can't believe this is handheld!!! I am thoroughly impressed.
I've always done my fireworks with the following settings: ISO 100 (keeps the sky/smoke dark), f/11-ish, and use the bulb option to fire between 4-15 seconds, and of course, camera on a tripod. I also use a shutter release cord so I don't move my camera, and so I can watch the fireworks without having the camera attached to my face! The bulb option also allows you to choose how many fireworks you want to expose on one frame. 7.7.10, 8:58PM
Gregg Shaw: you gotta love places that still let you shoot off your own fireworks! as a fireman i'm supposed to tell people how dangerous they are, but it just brings back so many great memories as a kid of lighting fireworks out in front of our house every fourth. why do we have to change the laws to cover for the idiots who don't know how to take responsibility for themselves!!!! Oh well. Great pic Jess.
7.7.10, 7:24PM Liz: Jessica: This is a fantastic photo!! Congratulations.
You are very generous to share your settings. Thank you :)
I love your work
7.7.10, 5:12PM Kelli: Beautiful! 7.7.10, 4:32PM
Julie: I'm lucky to live in Washington DC to shoot the fireworks each year. I could not do handheld because the fireworks go off in multiples so you would certainly notice camera shake. So I used a tripod at GS-10 for 5-6 seconds at ISO 100. I even impressed myself this year. 7.7.10, 4:31PM
Christa: LOVE this shot ;) Thanks for sharing
7.7.10, 4:19PM September: I just love taking firework pictures! This is wonderful,. I found this site to help me.
http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-fireworks 7.7.10, 3:23PM
lrntn: Amazing photo! Thanks for the tip. I can hand hold for maybe 3 secs, but will bravely try this out sometime.
7.7.10, 3:10PM Erica Velasco: Bookmarking this post for next year!
7.7.10, 2:54PM Miz Booshay: It's beautiful.
You are super steady ;o)
7.7.10, 12:55PM kortnee kate and ted: This shot is so cool...it doesn't even look real. It is quintessentially American. A simple and yet magnificent image!!! :)
7.7.10, 11:53AM feuza: gorgeous
7.7.10, 11:31AM hillary: that's...pretty...amazing.
7.7.10, 10:34AM Jo: Jessica - This is magnificent!! It literally took my breath away! You are such an incredible photographer. If I could take just one fantastic photo in my life, I will be so happy. Simply beautiful. 7.7.10, 7:50AM
s h e r r y: SWEET shot. I can't BELIEVE you held it for EIGHT seconds. Steady hands!
7.7.10, 12:40AM Kelli: Okay, so I loved all of my fireworks shots until I saw this one! :-) This is beautiful! I shot all of mine with the aperture stopped down & 2 second exposure, didn't even think to try and capture some ambient light. Now I want to try this! Can I get a 4th of July do-over?
7.6.10, 10:39PM Patty Reiser: That is a pretty cool shot. I tried a new technique this year myself. I set my camera to "Bulb" and used my remote release. My photos were way better than the ones I took last year.
7.6.10, 9:45PM Vanessa Paris: This is a beautiful, amazing shot!! I did a photo of my son holding sparklers a while back and my settings were similar (higher ISO though maybe because I only have a 40D) - I hope it's ok to share it here:) http://vanessa-paris.com/blog/?p=556
7.6.10, 7:15PM Sarah SB: Simply STUNNING - I can't stop looking at it - YOU are AMAZING :)
7.6.10, 6:06PM Melissa DiLernia: THANKS for sharing!! I have a wedding this weekend with fireworks and was hoping to get some killer shots, so this helps, BIG time!! :) You're the best!
7.6.10, 5:46PM donna: that is one of the most beautiful pictures i have ever seen... 7.6.10, 5:06PM
Alice: Thanks for your insights, and of course, I love this image!
7.6.10, 3:51PM Katie Beverley: Jess, this shot is insaaaane!!! I want to hear all about this wedding!!
7.6.10, 3:31PM luanne: Oh I love the picture! Check out my site to see mine.. next time I'm going to try out your settings! Thanks for sharing!
7.6.10, 2:53PM Briony: so cool
7.6.10, 2:53PM Alexandra: This is such a beautiful shot! Wow :)
7.6.10, 1:57PM Girl with a Camer: THANK YOU!!! I've been struggling with the photos of fireworks. I had set my camera to the "no flash" setting on the mode dial and let the camera decide the exposure. The sky was a beautiful color but the rest didn't turn out the way I'd like.
Thanks for sharing your secret!!!
7.6.10, 1:54PM Walter: Wow, its amazing that you could hold the camera still, handheld, during a startling low explosion for 8 seconds showing no evidence of shake whatsoever in the trails of the sparks. Even on a tripod you can sometimes see sinusoidal waves in the trails from barely touching the tripod. You must not be mortal or you were resting the camera on something...
7.6.10, 1:48PM JamieY: Wow, beautiful!!
7.6.10, 1:41PM Melissa Papaj Photography: Beautiful shot! Love shoting fireworks! I wasn't able to see the fireworks this year because we had a wedding in Colorado on the 3rd and in Utah - because the 4th fell on a Sunday, they celebrated on the third, but we came home on the 4th so we were in Utah on the night of the 4th...kind of a bummer...
7.6.10, 1:05PM Danielle: I love this! It looks fairy like to me!
7.6.10, 12:31PM Lydia: Amazing picture! I skipped taking pictures this year because I felt like it was just the same old same old. Now I'm pumped to take more fireworks pictures and have to wait a whole year...or take a trip to Mexico!
7.6.10, 12:26PM stephanie: this is brilliant!
7.6.10, 12:16PM Becca: Oh wow - that's so beautiful! I will have to give your advice a try. Oh, and I'll stay off the caffeine beforehand!
7.6.10, 12:04PM Krissy: thanks for the tip and what a great shot!!!
7.6.10, 11:40AM Sara: Thanks for sharing the techy info. I'm so impressed you held the camera still for 8 seconds. Go you!
7.6.10, 11:39AM