AFTERGLOW
by
TV Smith 01/09/05
 | Olympus
C8080, ISO 400, f3.5, 1/2 sec |
 | From
a distance, the Twin Towers are seen bathed in a nice afterglow of smoke and haze
after the midnight blast (top pic).
The Dataran Merdeka's fireworks is
seen on the left. The display from the two locations seemed un- coordinated; starting
and ending at different times. Only for a brief moment, did they sync (left pic).
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Tips on photographing fireworks:
Juxtapose the explosions
against a landmark for a sense of perspective.
Bring a tripod along
as you will probably be shooting at slow shutter speeds. Use a wireless
remote or cable release if you have one.
Bring also a mini-torchlight, spare battery, memory card and an
assistant.
At crowded places,
watch out for camera shake caused by people knocking into your tripod.
A head may also appear in frame unexpectedly. Avoid crowded places if possible.
For Point & Shoot
cameras, make sure your flash is disabled.
Turn off auto-focus to minimise shutter lag. Set
the manual focus to infinity.
For
digital cameras, take a test
pic before the fireworks. Adjust the settings to compensate
after the initial bursts.
With the test shot,
check also your composition. Watch out for street lights that may cause distracting
flares. Re-position if necessary.
If you are directly
underneath the explosions, ash and other particles will quickly coat
your
lens. Use a protective filter. Bring along lens tissue
and cleaner, just in case.
All
text, photographs by and copyright © TV SMITH. Cameras furnished by Olympus
Malaysia.
See
also: LAST YEAR'S FIREWORKS
| NEW YEAR'S EVE 2004 | MERDEKA
2003
©
2005 TV SMITH Link to this article: http://www.tvsmith.net.my/duasen/010905_afterglow.html
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