Fireworks!

     National Day is fast approaching and for Singapore this is one of the major holidays of the year. Every Saturday for the last few weeks there have been rehearsals for the parade and show and this includes the fireworks display. By 6pm the area around Marina Bay is crowded with photographers and their tripods waiting for the 8pm fireworks display. If you aren't there by 6pm there is a good chance you will not have a front row space and you may have to stand behind people and get the crowd in the foreground. I've seen some shots like this and it is actually really nice. I was hoping to get a better angle so I could get the beautiful architecture of Marina Bay in the background but all the best spots were already taken. No worries though, I did manage to get a few great photos.

There are still a few spots available, not much. I arrived just before 6pm and this photo was taken with my iphone because I couldn't believe how crowded it was already. It was hard enough just standing there for 2 hours, guess I need 3 hours to get a good location. Not sure if I'm that dedicated.

This was a great shot! I was going back and forth with shutter speed, mostly between 3 and 7 seconds, manual mode, 100 ISO. I do very little editing to my photos mostly because I like to keep it as I remember it and as I experienced it. I cropped the photo and brightened it just a bit. That is about the most editing I ever do. I don't have a wide angle lens so I assumed that I would have to shoot in portrait mode but I think I would have been ok without it. 

Love fireworks!

The smoke is starting to build up a bit. All of the photographers were happy because it was a little breezy when we started. A breeze helps clear the smoke out of the frames and makes editing much easier. I really don't mind the smoke so much. Maybe if it were not as breezy it would be an issue but a little bit of smoke like this isn't going to upset me.

So that is it for my first time ever photographing fireworks I'd say it was a great success! Next time I'd like to try getting a better background and maybe renting a wide angle lens for the day. I am very happy with these photos. I met with a new photog group, there were about 7 of us at this place. Very nice group! We all looked at each others photos, just from the screens on our cameras before we left. At first I was pretty concerned because the background is so dark and the screen is so small I really wasn't sure if I had a single photo that would be good. But then I noticed that the photos looked the same on everyones camera so I guessed it would be ok. It's nice to have a group to go with. We all discussed settings before the show started and talked about where to go to get interesting photos around town. Makes it easier and more fun to have other photogs to talk to. 

Next week I'll have more on National Day which is August 9. It is also our 3rd anniversary of living in Singapore :)

Happy Friday!!!