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Believe it or not I shot the entire fireworks 2008 firworks show was with the Sony A700 and the KM 18-70mm kit
lens, manually focused in the dark, at f11 and ISO 100! My *target* shutter
speed on the majority of the shots was 3.2 seconds, but the full range of speeds
I used was from .5 seconds to 6 seconds. The focal lengths on *most* of the
shots was between 18-26mm. The small bursts required the longest shutter speeds,
for the grand finale I had to cut it down to .5 seconds per exposure. I believe
around 4200 shells were launched during the 30 minute sky concert, and the cost
of the show was near $70,000.
This was my 6th year shooting this show, and the A700 + 18-70 kit produced more
keepers than my Minolta 7hi, Minolta 5D, and the Sony A100 efforts did in the
past. My position was sitting on the bank of the river, with my tripod about 2
feet off the ground. I was so close to the river at one point I actually dropped
one of my batteries and it slid into the river, luckily I leaned over the bank
and retrieved it as it had fallen onto a rock outcropping protruding from the
water. This year it was tougher than usual to secure a solid position for the
night shoot as the masses had converged on the downtown area for a big outdoor
rock concert prior to the show.
To view over 180 images and exif information from my 30 minute July
4th, 2008 shoot please click here.
-Sonolta
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