I just added a new gallery with images of 4th of July fireworks from this year as well as a “warm up” shot I took of the downtown Tampa skyline at sunset.
Fourth of July fireworks is a must subject for night photography, especially in a large metropolitan area where a dozen or more large public fireworks displays occur all at once. Just pick one and go shoot it. Every location and every year is unique, a kaleidoscope where nothing happens twice exactly the same way, every fireworks shoot with its own set of challenges.
Photographing fireworks often involves a considerable amount of trial and error for a few good images – results a matter of the right location at the right time, the right weather and light conditions, camera focus and settings and how well you time hitting the shutter when a rocket goes up. A little bit of luck is always helpful as well.
This shoot began with the intent of photographing at long range the annual public 4th of July fireworks display at the Channelside district of downtown Tampa looking across Tampa Bay from the seawall on Bayshore Blvd in south Tampa. After taking several images, shooting the fireworks display at Channelside from my location proved unworkable due to factors including distance (3-4 miles), smoke from fireworks bursts and wind direction. However, fireworks from a nearby private house party along Bayshore Blvd presented another photo opportunity that worked out nicely and in the end provided most of the images in the gallery.
Select Fourth of July 2017 to view the gallery containing the image shown below and other images.