16 Easy ways to give your Independence Day fireworks photos pizzazz!

Whether using a Mirrorless camera, DSLR or Smartphone, you can make great fireworks photos, if you follow these easy to use suggestions.

In the U.S., Sunday is July 4, Independence Day. The nation's second president, John Adams, is in large part responsible for how it's celebrated. In his July 3, 1776 letter to Abigail, his wife, he said that the day should be celebrated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

The Pennsylvania Evening Post stated that in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, “The evening closed with the ring of bells and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets) on the Commons and the city was beautifully illuminated.”

Fireworks are extremely bright and persist for a few seconds, typically against an almost black background. Focus and particularly the exposure settings for fireworks' photos aren't straight-forward. If you're in the U.S. this week, here are my fireworks' photography tips for digital cameras and smartphones.

Photographing July 4th fireworks with your camera or smartphone

Thursday is July 4, Independence Day, in the U.S. The nation's second president, John Adams, is in large part responsible for how it's celebrated. In his July 3, 1776 letter to Abigail, his wife, he said that the day should be celebrated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

The Pennsylvania Evening Post stated that in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, “The evening closed with the ring of bells and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets) on the Commons and the city was beautifully illuminated.”

Fireworks are extremely bright and persist for a few seconds, typically against an almost black background. Focus and particularly the exposure settings for fireworks' photos aren't straight-forward. If you're traveling in the U.S. this week, here are my fireworks' photography tips for digital cameras and smartphones.

On July 4th, are you photographing fireworks?

The U.S. has celebrated its independence with fireworks in towns and cities across the nation since 1777. History tells us John Adams, second President of the U.S. is in large part responsible for the way we celebrate the Fourth of July. In his July 3, 1776 letter to his wife, Abigail, he said that the occasion should be celebrated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.”

The first Independence Day commemoration occurred the next year in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Evening Post stated, “The evening closed with the ring of bells and at night there was a grand exhibition of fireworks (which began and concluded with thirteen rockets) on the Commons and the city was beautifully illuminated.”

Photograph the July 4th fireworks well during your holiday vacation

If you're traveling to America’s birthplace, Philadelphia, the only UNESCO World Heritage City in the United States, during the long Independence Day Holiday weekend, you're in for a great concert at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with more than a half million people in attendance, followed by one of the largest, most spectacular fireworks displays in the nation.

All over the U.S. on the evening of July 4, there will be fantastic fireworks displays in large cities and small towns, in every corner of the country.

Even though it's not particularly difficult to make great fireworks images, many have a real trouble with it. Problems come because making fireworks images takes thought and planning, and because many don't understand that while it's dark outside, fireworks are extremely bright, so very long exposures only wash out the photos. An exposure of just 2–4 seconds is all that's needed to capture the light, including the fireworks' tails.

Intro to Night Photography: Cityscapes — Constraints and Equipment

At night in a city, virtually any city, the scene before you changes dramatically. In some locations the architecture and spirit of the city is merely enhanced, shown with a different, though recognizable look.

In other locations, the city at night transforms into a new place, sometimes brighter and more adventurous, sometimes more alive and mysterious.

Either way, making images of cities at night can allow you to often capture a “new city” with a different life than it has during the day. Making photos at night has its own challenges, but it's still subject to the same set of constraints as daylight photography; aperture, shutter speed and light sensitivity. The difference is, these constraints often push you and your equipment “to the edge,” compared to photographing the same city during the day.

Photograph fireworks like a professional

This week in the United States we'll celebrate our nation's birth. In Philadelphia, America’s birthplace and it's first capital, that means after a concert at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with more than a half million people in attendance, all will also enjoy one of the largest, most spectacular fireworks displays in the nation, with many more watching on television.

If you're in Philadelphia, look for me shooting the festivities and fireworks, just southeast of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Here are some of my tips so you can photograph the fireworks near you, like a pro, using your digital camera:

It's US Independence Day: Time to celebrate and photograph spectacular fireworks

Today, in the United States we'll celebrate our nation's birth. In Philadelphia, America’s birthplace and it's first capital, that means the annual “Philly 4th of July Jam and Grand Finale Fireworks” held at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art tonight, where more than a half million Philadelphians and visitors will enjoy one of the country's best Independence Day concerts. This year it will star The Roots, Ed Sheeran, Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Hudson, Aloe Blacc, Ariana Grande and Vicci Martinez performing live, with actor and comedian Marlon Wayans serving as host, followed by one of the largest, most spectacular fireworks displays in the nation.

I'll be there. If you're there too, look for me south of the Art Museum.

This year I'm going to continue experimenting while photographing the fireworks. I'm going to use a variety of neutral density filters to enable me to use longer exposures, and capture more fireworks' bursts in my images. I'll be experimenting with neutral density filters which add 1, 2, or 3 f/stops to my exposure. I'll explain below what that means in terms of shutter times.

Understanding and Achieving Image Focus and Sharpness: Part IV

Image sharpness depends on multiple factors including focus.
While it's true an image can't be sharp unless the subject is in focus, the converse is not necessarily true, that an image which is in focus, will necessarily be sharp. Image sharpness is fundamentally controlled by focus, but there are other important factors which enable in-focus images to be sharp.

In Part I we looked at how modern digital cameras autofocus (AF), and what factors influence AF systems' ability to focus quickly and accurately.

In Part II, we discussed choosing the best focus mode for a particular subject, manual or autofocus, or using them together, as well as single versus continuous focus, all to achieve a solid focus for a variety of situations common to travel photographers.

In Part III, we got to the nitty-gritty of using autofocus and manual focus, including looking at the different AF area and tracking modes, and focus locking methods.

In Part IV, below, we discuss photographer focus technique, and other factors which enable photographers to make sharp images.

Traveling in the US: July 4th, and its fireworks are just days away

Next week, in the United States we'll celebrate our nation's birth. In Philadelphia, America’s birthplace and it's first capital, that means after a concert at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, more than a half million people will enjoy one of the largest, most spectacular fireworks displays in the nation.

I'll be there. If you're there too, look for me south of the Art Museum.

This year I'm going to be experimenting while photographing the fireworks at the Art Museum. I'm going to use some neutral density filters to enable me to use longer exposures, enabling me to capture more fireworks' bursts in my images. I'll be experimenting with neutral density filters which add 1, 2, or 3 f/stops to my exposure. I'll explain below what that means in terms of shutter times.

Advanced Long Lens Techniques

More and more travelers, including travel photographers, are choosing destinations to see wildlife. They're interested in conservation, the environment, along with viewing and photographing wildlife in their natural habitat.

At some of these locations a good DSLR, with a telephoto lens having a focal length of 200mm will suffice, as you can get fairly close to the animals, but generally you'll need a 300mm lens or longer, and 400mm or longer could be a real help.

I found that even in the Galapagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador, which Charles Darwin's book, “Origin of Species,” made famous, where many of the birds and other wildlife have a small “circle of fear,” you often need a lens with a 400mm focal length.

The “Circle of Fear” is the distance from an animal, inside of which, the animal has discomfort or distress from the photographer's or observer's presence, which may cause the animal to flee.

In other locations, such as an African safari, or a hike in Denali, a super-telephoto focal length of 500mm or more is virtually a “must.”

It's July 4th, and that means photographing fireworks

Wednesday, we in the United States celebrate our nation's birth. In Philadelphia, America’s birthplace and the nation's first capital, that means after a concert at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, more than 500,000 people will enjoy one of the largest and most spectacular fireworks displays in the nation.

I'll be there. If you're there too, look for me south of the Art Museum.

Here are my updated tips for photographing fireworks using your digital camera:

Shooting new year's fireworks in frigid climates

In Frostbite Falls they love their cold winters. Rocky and Bullwinkle never miss their cold weather new year's fireworks shows, but they recognize that there are special problems taking fireworks photos when it's below freezing.

For new year's fireworks in frigid climates you have to combine good practices for cold weather photography, with those for night photography, and the special things necessary to capture fireworks, to be successful. Don't be intimidated if you don't have a DSLR. I've seen many wonderful firework's photos taken with quality digital point and shoot cameras.

It's July 4th...time for the fireworks challenge.

On Sunday, we in the US celebrate the birth of our nation. If you've traveled to Philadelphia, the nation's first capital and America’s birthplace, immediately after the Life, Liberty & You Concert in front of the steps (Some call them the “Rocky” steps from the Rocky movies in which the fictional character, Rocky Balboa runs up the steps.) to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, more than 500,000 people will enjoy one of the largest and most spectacular fireworks displays in the nation.

That’s my segue for my tips for photographing fireworks. Here’s what you need to do to capture them this July 4^th.

Night Photography: Overcoming the Obstacles, Reaping the Rewards

In last week’s article, Night Photography: Pushing the Limits, Understanding the Obstacles, I discussed some of the difficulties encountered in Night Photography.

In this week’s article, I’ll discuss how to overcome those problems to produce wonderful night images which help tell one’s travel stories.

When it’s possible to use one, the tripod is absolutely the best tool for photographers to make great night photographs. A well-chosen tripod with a quality “head” can enable photographers to hold their cameras motionless to create high quality night photographs.

Photographing fireworks in winter weather

As Thursday night becomes Friday morning this week, we’ll go from New Years Eve to New Years Day. Across much of the country that means fireworks.

Photographing fireworks takes planning and knowledge at anytime, but January 1^st in much of North America also means it will be cold. Cold weather offers additional challenges for fireworks photography.

Here are my tips for photographing fireworks in cold weather.

My Tripod is Verboten! What do I do?

It’s happening more and more to travelers across the world. Regardless of the reason, use of tripods in some locations is forbidden.

You can’t use a tripod on top of the Arc de Triomphe, on the third level observation deck of the Eiffel Tower, or the observation deck of the Empire State Building.

At the Chichen Itza archaeological site in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, I’m hearing reports tripods are now banned.

Many cities don’t permit tripod use on busy sidewalks.