If I didn't know any better, I'd think that someone doesn't want for me
to continue shooting fireworks displays. Either that, or the
mysterious hand of fate has been testing my problem solving prowess by
tossing all kinds of strange situations my way and seeing how well I can
adapt to them. For those of you who have been keeping track over the
last few weeks, I've had to deal with bad weather, a hill that was about
two feet to short, unwanted chain fences and suicide barriers, an
incredibly bright parking lot light and all of the fun that I
experienced last night. The new location this time was Rue de la Barre
in Longueuil, just a little bit behind the Metro. As usual, I got to
the location about an hour before the
show
was scheduled to begin. This may seem extreme, but it gives me a
better choice of places where I can put my camera. Most people don't
generally appreciate being shoved out of the way of having a tripod put
up right infront of them. While shooting fireworks, I've learned that
one of the responsibilities that photographers need to bear is choice of
location. When I arrived, there were already a bunch of people huddled
in little groups, but this didn't really bother me because they weren't
where I wanted to be. I moved about fifteen feet to the right of
everybody and lined up in a spot that I knew would give me a clear
unobstructed view of the fireworks. Slowly, people would begin to
shuffle closer to where I was, and a couple even told me that they chose
to sit close to me as they figured I must know it was a good spot if I
was setting up my
camera
there. Yes, that was a gratuitous story to pat myself on the back
with, this is my blog after all. I took a few test shots to make sure I
was properly positioned, and after the fourth shot I noticed the one
thing that every photographer hates to see in their photos. The dreaded
dust spot. This particularly frustrated me because I had taken great
care to clean my camera and lens before leaving. I was out in the
field, and ofcourse, I had left my little dust blower at home. I did
have a cloth with me so I began to furiously rub at the lens and UV
Filter hoping to get the offending piece of dust. I even did the
unthinkable and tried to clean the camera sensor by blowing on it. Many
nasty words were said under my breathe, but something must have worked
because the dust spot disappeared. I put my camera back on the tripod
and began to take a few more test shots to make sure I had found the
original framing that I wanted to use. I looked at those
shots
and noticed this strange red light starting at the bottom of my frame
and reaching upwards. I though it might have just been a reflection from
the police car that had stopped just infront of my while I was taking
the shot, so I took a second, this time making sure that there was no
police car. I let go of the remote trigger and the red light was still
there. A few seconds of trying to figure out what the heck was going on
allowed me to find the problem. While I had been trying to remove the
dust from my lens, the police had put some flares down on the road. It
was the light from the flare that was leaking into my shot, much the
same way that the parking lot light from the condo had done last week.
By this time, there was no time left to change locations. We were five
minutes away from showtime and most of the green space to the left and
right of me had already been taken. After a few more seconds of cursing
my rotten luck I remembered back to last week and
how
I had gotten around the parking lot problem by pulling back my focal
length and shooting at a wider distance. As with then, it meant more
time cropping the pictures once I got home, but it was the only way to
be able to get some shots without the red light from the flare bleeding
into my pictures. Luckily, I enjoy experimenting with different
cropping sizes, so there was all kinds of fun to be had with this batch
of photos. The first photograph was taken at f/9, 7sec, ISO 100 at 32mm
and cropped to 12"x8". The second photo was f/9, 16sec, ISO 100 at
32mm at
cropped
at 12"x10". Photo number three was taken at f/9, 6 sec, ISO 100 at
32mm at cropped to 8"x8". The fourth photograph was taken at f/9, 5sec,
ISO 100 at 32mm and cropped to 12"x12". Photo number five was taken at
f/9, 7sec, ISO 100 at 32mm and cropped to 12"x6" and the final
photograph was taken at f/9, 7sec, ISO 100 at 32mm and cropped to
8"x10". Six photos, six different sizes. I don`t usually post so many
pictures at one time as I like to keep a few in reserve for when my photo
vault gets a little dry, but I wanted to show the different variety of
sizes that I had to use in order to make up for that pesky little road
flare. Some of those would be a pain in the butt if I were to decide to
try and get them framed, but that's part of the fun. All that`s left
now is to wonder what kind of other obstacles will be placed before me
come the next show. I`m curious, and oddly enough, I can`t wait to find
out.
show
was scheduled to begin. This may seem extreme, but it gives me a
better choice of places where I can put my camera. Most people don't
generally appreciate being shoved out of the way of having a tripod put
up right infront of them. While shooting fireworks, I've learned that
one of the responsibilities that photographers need to bear is choice of
location. When I arrived, there were already a bunch of people huddled
in little groups, but this didn't really bother me because they weren't
where I wanted to be. I moved about fifteen feet to the right of
everybody and lined up in a spot that I knew would give me a clear
unobstructed view of the fireworks. Slowly, people would begin to
shuffle closer to where I was, and a couple even told me that they chose
to sit close to me as they figured I must know it was a good spot if I
was setting up my 
camera
there. Yes, that was a gratuitous story to pat myself on the back
with, this is my blog after all. I took a few test shots to make sure I
was properly positioned, and after the fourth shot I noticed the one
thing that every photographer hates to see in their photos. The dreaded
dust spot. This particularly frustrated me because I had taken great
care to clean my camera and lens before leaving. I was out in the
field, and ofcourse, I had left my little dust blower at home. I did
have a cloth with me so I began to furiously rub at the lens and UV
Filter hoping to get the offending piece of dust. I even did the
unthinkable and tried to clean the camera sensor by blowing on it. Many
nasty words were said under my breathe, but something must have worked
because the dust spot disappeared. I put my camera back on the tripod
and began to take a few more test shots to make sure I had found the
original framing that I wanted to use. I looked at those 
shots
and noticed this strange red light starting at the bottom of my frame
and reaching upwards. I though it might have just been a reflection from
the police car that had stopped just infront of my while I was taking
the shot, so I took a second, this time making sure that there was no
police car. I let go of the remote trigger and the red light was still
there. A few seconds of trying to figure out what the heck was going on
allowed me to find the problem. While I had been trying to remove the
dust from my lens, the police had put some flares down on the road. It
was the light from the flare that was leaking into my shot, much the
same way that the parking lot light from the condo had done last week.
By this time, there was no time left to change locations. We were five
minutes away from showtime and most of the green space to the left and
right of me had already been taken. After a few more seconds of cursing
my rotten luck I remembered back to last week and 
how
I had gotten around the parking lot problem by pulling back my focal
length and shooting at a wider distance. As with then, it meant more
time cropping the pictures once I got home, but it was the only way to
be able to get some shots without the red light from the flare bleeding
into my pictures. Luckily, I enjoy experimenting with different
cropping sizes, so there was all kinds of fun to be had with this batch
of photos. The first photograph was taken at f/9, 7sec, ISO 100 at 32mm
and cropped to 12"x8". The second photo was f/9, 16sec, ISO 100 at
32mm at 
cropped
at 12"x10". Photo number three was taken at f/9, 6 sec, ISO 100 at
32mm at cropped to 8"x8". The fourth photograph was taken at f/9, 5sec,
ISO 100 at 32mm and cropped to 12"x12". Photo number five was taken at
f/9, 7sec, ISO 100 at 32mm and cropped to 12"x6" and the final
photograph was taken at f/9, 7sec, ISO 100 at 32mm and cropped to
8"x10". Six photos, six different sizes. I don`t usually post so many
pictures at one time as I like to keep a few in reserve for when my photo
vault gets a little dry, but I wanted to show the different variety of
sizes that I had to use in order to make up for that pesky little road
flare. Some of those would be a pain in the butt if I were to decide to
try and get them framed, but that's part of the fun. All that`s left
now is to wonder what kind of other obstacles will be placed before me
come the next show. I`m curious, and oddly enough, I can`t wait to find
out.
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