I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! I was in Boston, the city which reputedly has the best 4th of July fireworks in the USA. I believe it! We had a patch of grass staked out (literally, delineated by stakes) on the Esplanade (park-like, level area along water on which people can promenade; maybe you knew that already, I didn't!) along the Charles River, as of July 4th morning. I arrived at 2:30pm, and the fireworks didn't start until 10:15pm or so. But there was plenty to do; the wedding party I came along with had brought board games and snacks. Along the esplanade there were food vendors, music, lively people watching, sing-a-longs with Neil Diamond and American anthems medley by the Boston pops orchestra.
When dusk arrived I set up my tripod and wide angle lens. Camera on shutter priority, I focused on a distant spot across the river(approximating how far I thought the fireworks might be in the sky), then set my shutter speed at 1.6 seconds. A guess, but it worked! I varied between 0.8 and 2 second exposures. I didn't bother looking through my camera - I wanted to witness the fireworks Not through a lens, so I just clicked the shutter button every so often, making minor adjustments in where the lens was pointing. This was undoubtedly the best view I've ever had of fireworks - no trees, buildings, heads or clouds in the way. Reclining on the grass, front row seat... I don't think any other fireworks experience will compare.
