First Attempt At Fireworks Photography

The two-week long Petchaburi Street Fair has just finished here in Thailand. During this festival there was a firework display at 9pm every evening which we could see and hear from our house, although the view is a bit distant and not that great. However, a ten-minute stroll takes us to a place with an open view of the show with the backdrop of the illuminated Khao Wang (Palace Hill). This is still about 2km from the actual fireworks but is a nice convenient position to enjoy the display without getting stuck in crowds.

For photography, having the lit buildings on the hill in the frame made it easy to check the right exposure before the fireworks actually started.

Unfortunately, I only decided to try some photography of the fireworks on the last evening. I like the results but found some problems that I probably could have solved if I had started sooner. The 10-minute show wasn't long enough for me to work out how to do it better there and then. Oh well, there's always next year.

For example, close to us were some annoying street-lights that meant I had to cut off the left side of many of the fireworks. Also, my tripod was not quite sturdy enough to prevent some shaking so the lit buildings on Khao Wang are not sharp. Then there was the woman who parked her motorbike facing us but left her headlight on - she had a young child so I didn't want to shout at her and just put up with it.

However, for a first attempt I am pleased with the results. Using a half- or full-second exposure worked well, and Photoshop helped me clear out some of the other distractions. I also made the following two composite images in Photoshop.

This one was an accidental experiment where I knocked against the tripod leg. I like it, and next time might try some more of this abstract style through some camera movement or perhaps active zooming during exposure.

But the thing is, I don't really like fireworks. I think they are too loud, too gaudy and too disturbing to the local wildlife, so I usually ignore them. My appreciation is always a bit reluctant. Maybe photography will make me start to look forward to them again.