It’s Fireworks Season!

Photo of the Day

Last weekend at the Taste of Tippecanoe they had a great fireworks display after dark. I tried to use this as a dry run for the fireworks the city puts on to celebrate the Fourth of July. I have never seen them here so I wanted to know where they were shot off, and where the best place is to view them from. I have an idea of where to stand so that the city is in the background. We will see how that plays out on the day. If I can get to my spot I have an idea for a pretty cool shot.

Technical Data

This picture was made handheld for a very short period of time. I had to stay very still, but I still wanted the trails of light from the fireworks. A quick shutter speed would stop the action, but it would also be too crisp. I wanted to see a bit more so I slowed it down. This is a fine line at night though as you don’t want to blow out the highlights. I found a good setting, and it seemed to work. In Lightroom 5 I adjusted a couple of the sliders to bring this scene to life. The RAW file is pretty flat. Your camera will make a jpeg look nice, but the RAW file is meant to be tweaked. I adjusted the highlights, exposure, and the vibrance to dial it in.