No, literally. Well, okay, 36,000 people isn’t a tiny hamlet. Still, Duncanville, Texas, is a small town in many ways.
Nice fireworks show, nothing super spectacular. But enough for me to experiment with the digital SLR on capturing images. Lessons learned: Yes, the tripod is a must; a “cable release” is essential, too; to get good color, smaller aperture settings work best; exposures over a second work best.
Duncanville, Texas, Fireworks, July 4, 2010 - Big blue blossom
Duncanville fireworks - black hole at the center of a galaxy
Duncanville fireworks - a colored crown
Duncanville fireworks - a blue aster
Duncanville fireworks - four blossoms
Duncanville fireworks - were they trying to portray Cthulu?
Duncanville fireworks - multicolor burst
These are a few of the many shots I took — more successful than in past years (why didn’t I think of the tripod before?). Generally these are the most successful fireworks shots I’ve taken since that old Kodak Hawkeye FlashFun — was it that long ago? — at the Idaho Centennial.
I wonder where those pictures are now?
The idea is to get this down to where I can set up the camera and take shots while smiling at Kathryn, whose birthday is July 4, and who thinks fireworks are for watching, forget about the hassle of photography. She’s probably right.
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 