4th of July Fireworks

This will be my first time trying to shoot the fireworks on the 4th, and I was looking for some advice on the settings to use. Thanks in advance.

you will need a DSLR, a tripod, a cable release, a wide angle lens (I used a fisheye last year but was pretty close to the action), and a lawn chair to kick back in.

Set the camera/tripod up so the fireworks will explode in the field of view. Set the ISO low (~100-200 or so) to reduce the noise. I set my aperture to about 5.6-8 or so. I put the shutter on "bulb" When a new set of fireworks goes up, push the button...when you think you have enough let go. Each exposure was about 4-7 seconds or so.

This set-up will let you enjoy the fireworks and still get great shots.

Also, it's fun to sometimes put the shutter on 1/5 second or so and then set the camera on continuous at 5 frames per second. That will give you what you need to animate a firework set. I only did this once last year but I want to try more this year (unless I am stuck on call can't go

Here is a link to a few shots from last year

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bakes/sets/72157605838482991/

Anyways, this worked for me and I got way more shots than I thought I would.

It might help if you turn on your long exposure noise reduction too.

I don't think the long exposure noise reduction will work since it is a dynamic scene with the fireworks exploding and all....a better solution would be a D3 or something that has really low noise

You don't need high ISO, it's sorta like shooting the moon. Stopping down helps too. Here's some I did with the 20D at Squaw Valley a few years ago.

For a wide angle, is a 28mm going to be enough? I have a 28, 50, 85, 28-135 and a 70-200.

That's going to depend on how far away from them you are.

Good point!