Since getting my first 35m SLR in high school, I have loved taking photos of fireworks.  For years on the Fourth of July I would load up my car with my tripod and cable release.  I would find just the right spot and set up my gear.  Using what seemed like every shutter setting, I would attempt to capture multiple fireworks in one frame.  Whenever I thought I had the exposure timed perfectly somehow something would always go wrong – many times it was my dog’s tail whacking the tripod.  She loves going on adventures with me, but the sound of fireworks scares my little Doberman.

Tonight I will again load up my car with a multitude of cameras: SLR, DSLR, twin lens digital, Holga and a new point-and-shoot.  Okay, some may think traveling with five cameras is excessive, but I have found it provides me the range of photography I may want to capture.  My new point-and-shoot has a fireworks mode so I am excited to see how it performs.

A few tips I have learned over the years for taking pictures of fireworks are:

1) use a tripod to steady your photo

2) don’t use a flash

3) don’t try during the finale because there is too much light

4) keep your shutter open longer and you can capture more than one burst in the photo

5) try to position yourself away from bright lights as they can show up in your photo

6) try to be apart from the crowd to avoid having someone hit the tripod

What other tips are there for capturing memories on the Fourth of July?