Happy New Year from Sydney!

[Darren Bradley]

OK, a bit late in coming, but here are a few shots I took while sitting in a small zodiac boat in the middle of Sydney Harbor on New Year's Eve. My original plan of finding a spot and setting up a tripod on land didn't work because any good spot would have required me spending the entire day to reserve it and I wasn't up for that. So plan B was a boat. But shooting fireworks in a boat is not generally recommended and I wasn't quite sure how to go about it. When I tried to google some tips and recommendations, the only advice I found on the subject was to leave the camera at home because it was a waste of time. But I brought my camera with me anyway and tried a few combinations. Bracing myself on the boat didn't work because the boat moved more than I did. My IS lenses didn't work either because they were still too slow. The winning combination turned out to be my 50mm f1.4. Here are a few of the results:


Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Exposure 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture f/2.8
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 200


Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Exposure 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 200


Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Exposure 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture f/1.6
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 250


Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Exposure 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture f/1.4
Focal Length 50 mm
ISO Speed 3200

 

[Brian Moore]

Smashing shots, Darren! I'm curious what aperture, shutter speed, ISO combo you used.

 

[Darren Bradley]

Thanks, Brian. I just added the EXIF data for you on each of the shots.

 

[Brian Moore]

Thanks a lot, Darren. I find that interesting and informative of course. By the way, thought at first I liked #2 best. I liked the shimmery expanse of foreground water and the symmetry of the fireworks over the bridge. Not so sure which one I like best now. (I like that massive background smoke in #3 also.)

 

[Darren Bradley]

Thanks, Brian. It's funny you say that because I was fascinated by the smoke and the light bouncing off of it. While everyone else was interested in the fireworks, I tried to get a bunch of shots of the smoke plumes.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Nicely done Darren - and a testament to fast glass

 

[Darren Bradley]

Indeed. It's always a good idea to keep a fast 50 in your bag!

 

[Hamish Gill]

Good work on ignoring the worst advice in the world!
I like the last one for the people holding hands lower right, a little detail that makes it a great shot IMO!

Whilst i think about it .. Have a look at this
http://www.realphotographersforum.com/content/593-worlds-smallest-view-camera.html

 

[Darren Bradley]

Thanks, Hamish. I'm very interested in that link but I can't seem to open the page for some reason.

 

[Darren Bradley]

OK. just finally opened the link. It's a great idea but wasn't easy or cheap, apparently.

 

[Glen Roberts]

You sure you weren't in Newcastle that looks like the Tyne Bridge!!! .

I'm pleased you ignored the advice about leaving the camera at home, I've enjoyed looking at these.

 

[Darren Bradley]

Cheers!

 

[Pete Askew]

Bonza!!

 

[Hamish Gill]

OK. just finally opened the link. It's a great idea but wasn't easy or cheap, apparently.

Not cheap, no, but inventive if nothing else ... certainly shows what sort of things can be done with some lens adapting with all these different sensor formats we have flying about the place these days!