RE: Fireworks ?

[Andrew Fildes <afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

How about a vertical panorama, trying to match the lens swing (upwards!) to
the speed of the rocket ascending and the burst? Very tricky but it might
work with multiple exposures.


>From: Jakob Sigurdsson
>>>>I recently bought a Horizon 202. I want to take some pictures
>of the new year fireworks here in Reykjavik. I will try to find some
>high ground and capture the sky over a large portion of the city.
>Here in Reykjavik the whole sky lights up around midnight. If the
>weather will be calm then I believe that it will be a spectacular show.
>I have never tried to photograph fireworks before. There are some pointers
>on the net
>about this but not regarding panoramic cameras.
>
>Any recommendations regarding film, shutter speed etc. will be appreciated.
>Maybe a swing lens camera is not well suited to do this?  Well I'm pretty
>clueless.
>
>Horizon specs:
>    - multi coated 28mm/f2.8-16 lens
>    - exposure times: 1/2-1/4-1/8s and 1/60-1/125-1/250s <<<
>
>Jakob,
>  Exposures for fireworks typically are in the 2 to 10 second range.
>Shorter exposures will not show the shape of the burst because the burst
>"paints" itself on the sky, rather than lighting up all at once.  No doubt
>the 1/2-second shutter speed takes much longer as the 202 rotates, but only
>a small portion of the film is exposed at any one time.  Hence, only
>incomplete bursts will be shown.  You can try the slowest exposure, but
>don't be surprised if you only get small streaks.  Use a f-stop to expose
>the background (you will want to include some landmarks in your
>composition).
>   A conventional camera might be more suited to the fireworks display you
>are wanting to capture.  Though I don't own a 202, the strength of a
>swing-lens camera is the wild view.  Even electronically stitching photos
>together cant match the swing lens because any movement is not consistent
>between stitch frames (whereas the swing-lens will render all well).
>  Flash photography wouldn't seem to work with the 202 either.  Use the 202
>for interesting daytime shots.
>
>  If you try the fireworks just for the heck of it, let us know how they
>turn out.
>
>Dave B.