Events

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British Firework Championship 2011 - Part II

Finally I have finished the photographs of the British Firework Championships 2011 held in Plymouth on the 16 & 17 August. It's taken much longer that I had hoped to get them done, the portfolio is here.
Sadly we were only able to make it to the night of the 17th, so we only saw three of the six displays.
The companies that took part this year were:-

I took a position closer to the water to get away from the crowds, (to reduce the risk of someone tripping over the tripod) and the fun fair, (to not have to worry about light from the rides). This position also allowed me to compose a more level shot with the harbor, sea and boats in the foreground.
Like all night photography there is a fair amount of experimentation with shutter speed and aperture, and my conclusion is that the type of firework your currently trying to photograph has a big part to play in this calculation. Fireworks with longer visible trail effects, (Chrysanthemum and Palm shells for example), seem to capture better with a longer exposure, while a shorter exposure appeared to better capture the initial explosion of the Peony type of shell. A good depth of focus is needed due to the large radius of the effects.

It was an experience for me, as it was my first real attempt to photograph fireworks, and it was a spur of the moment decision to do so. I would be great to get some comments, tips and pointers from anyone with any experience photographing fireworks.

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Brisish Firework Championships

Lazing in front of the TV I catch the local news, the British Firework Championships are on in Plymouth, having quickly checked there website, (British Firework Championships) we know we can make it before the first of three displays of the final night starts. Excellent, I love a good firework display and haven´t seen one in years.
We jump in the car and get there with plenty of time to park and pick a good spot, I even managed to grab a camera on the way out the door, (which hopefully will end with some photographs in the gallery in the coming weeks), and we are so glad we made the spur of the moment decision to go as three amazing displays follow, congratulations go to MLE Pyrotechnics for a spectacular show that won them the 2011 completion.