Have you ever thought about taking pictures of fireworks? Yes, it is very intriguing subject. Over the summer time, we can find many fireworks events around. There is very typical big one, Independence Day. Sadly, for a recent few years, Chicago cancelled this biggest event however, I am not in such desperate situation because there is Navy Pier fireworks twice every week over the summer. That’s very cool. For me, the best spot to photograph fireworks is near Chicago Adler Planetarium which is very end of museum campus. You can see very nice Chicago cityscape and good view of Navy Pier from distance.

Now, let’s see how I took some of my fireworks pictures.

As usual for long exposure time, a good tripod and remote release is essential.
I find following exposure setting is very good start.

iso 200, f/11, 5~10 sec exposure

Then, you can change these numbers slightly to get the best exposure value for your picture.

Also, found that it is easier to use remote release bulb mode instead of fixed shutter speed since I want to stop at some point right after one big fire went off and before the next one comes in… something like that.
You definitely experiment with various possibilities by yourself.

Another tip here is to get good shots at the beginning of fireworks. As the show continues, lots of smokes appear in the sky which is not ideal for clean pictures.

Here are some of my own fireworks pictures~~~

[10sec. f/8. iso 200 @135mm]