Second attempt for Fireworks shooting

There are many events in Singapore have fireworks, such as Chinese New Year, National day, New Year, Chingay etc etc. My very first experience in shooting  fireworks is during the Chinese New Year 2011. I've tried several shoots with my 18-55mm kit lens, but all the photos are over exposed or composed wrongly.

This time, I had a second chance for fireworks shooting which is the National day of Singapore. Actually, there are fireworks before the actual National Day. They will have fireworks rehearsal  every weekend for the pass few weeks. I don't know why I choose the actual day to shoot for the fireworks. It is so crowded and I can hardly find a spot to shoot. Luckily I came along with some friends, and they had pre-booked a slot opposite MBS.

We reached there around 4:30pm, hanging around for a few hours just for the fireworks which start at 8:15pm. Gosh, it is very tired to stand in a crowd for few hours but it is worth waiting for it. The fireworks are very nice, but to get a good photo of it, it all depends on your skills and experience.

With my current knowledge and equipment I have, it is still not good enough to produce a good fireworks photo. Here are some of my photos I took just now.

Camera: D90
Lens: Vivitar 24mm f2.8 (after 1.5 crop, around 36mm, I use this lens because I'm still in my own 35mm training. Getting myself to see things in 35mm)
Shutter Speed: 6 seconds & 4 seconds
Aperture: f11
ISO: 100

There are a lot of ideas like "how to shoot a fireworks" or many people will "TEACH" you how to shoot fireworks. Learning it theoretically is very different from producing a good result yourself. This is the second time I shoot for fireworks, with all the knowledge I've read online and applying advise from many people. I'm  not getting what I want and still not satisfying with the photos. I guess the best way to capture a good photo, is to get yourself hands on, experience it and learn from it.

Basically this is what I learn/hear from other people:

1) Get a good spot where you can frame the fireworks and some interesting foreground or background.
2) Set to f8-11, ISO 100, shutter speed at 10 secs (luckily I shoot at 6 seconds, people teach me to use bulb and shoot more than 10secs. I wonder how they do it.)
3) Cover your lens with a black/white card while the fireworks is shooting up and remove the card while the fireworks burst. (I don't have a black/white card, I used my cushion/divider of my camera bag)
4) Then repeat the steps until the fireworks end.

It sounds simple, but when I look at the results. I know I still got a long way to go. And there are much much more details that you have to take care of it during the shoot.
With this camera set up in such a crowded condition, it is very hard to compose what you want. The fireworks just blast out everywhere, the area it cover is so huge, that I'm definitely unable to capture everything in one frame with my lens. After today's experience, there are a few things that I must improve for the next fireworks shooting.

1) Go early, get a good spot for composition.
2) Get a wider lens (Gonna spend money again, aiks) or get a better spot where it suits your lens.
3) Shoot in a shorter shutter, perhaps 2 seconds or
4) Shoot in the 6-8 seconds but really make use of the black card. Some sort of capture first two seconds, then cover for 2 seconds, then open for another 2 seconds.
5) Get some food and drinks along. It is not a good feeling standing there for a few hours with not food/drinks.

If you have any suggestion or ideas, feel free to voice it out loud. I still need to learn from all of you.

Cheers,

Lu Ting Jieh