Total rookie mistake.
Picture this (pardon the pun)!
I have my tripod, my bug spray, my Canadian Flag cape, my camera, 24-70 lens.
I have my shutter speed around 2 – 3 seconds (no issue with my trusty tripod), my lens is set to manual focus to infinity and my aperture is f/16.
The fireworks start like clockwork at 9:45pm and I press the shutter ready to take magical images of our small town fireworks display from the local grocery store parking lot beside the lake. And what do I notice with the first image…its TOO bright. The night sky , which isn’t absolutely dark, is like 4pm daylight. UGH!!! I mess around a bit with my shutter speed but don’t want to mess around too much because I know this small town display will be great, but short-lived.
I do the best I can, pressing the shutter button every chance I can once it resets. Before you start thinking, “that girl needs a remote shutter”…I know! I have one, but I didn’t bring my camera bag with me and although I can remote trigger my camera with my phone (isn’t technology awesome?), it would have taken me 30-45 minutes to remember how to connect them. LOL.
Anyway, I get home after a great fireworks show for Canada Day 150, and like all planned shoots, I immediately grab my camera memory card and stick it in my Mac to see if any of the images are salvageable. Lightroom to the rescue. I brought down my exposure and the night sky was again dark and the fireworks images weren’t a total right off. I still didn’t know what I could have possibly done so horribly wrong though.
I went to bed a little disappointed since I only see fireworks once a year and I LOVE them so much, The colors, the loud bangs, the fast crackles that illuminate the sky with such beauty…ahhhh…fireworks.
I woke up early the next day and as I laid there, trying not to wake up the dogs it dawned on me!
I was taking pics of the girls inside and it was starting to get dark so I cranked up my ISO to 10,000!!!!!
Damn it! My camera should have been set at 100 ISO, and I had it cranked to 10,000! UGH
Rookie!
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