Getting fireworks shots honed in – 4th of July

Getting fireworks shots honed in – 4th of July

This year I made it a goal to get better fireworks photos! I planned two fireworks photo ops to get the best chance of getting some good shots (It didn’t hurt that they were both a lot of fun!)

To kick off the fourth of July weekend, we went to the 1st annual Bremerton Beat Blast. At 10:15 fireworks were set off the Manette Bridge. I took these from the Port Orchard waterfront with these settings: 100 ISO f/4 2-5 seconds

Of course we had to attend the Tacoma Freedom Fair! I set up my tripod at Point Ruston this year to avoid some of the crowds and give us a better chance of getting home sooner, and utilized my zoom lens. I used these settings: 100 ISO f/16 4-6 seconds

Overall some little areas to improve but I am pretty happy with how the second batch turned out! Using f/16 definitely helped darken the background and brighten the bursts. Let me know if you have a favorite. Cheers!

P.S, I took a timelapse of the sun setting on Mount Rainier as we waited for the fireworks show!

Sunset on Mount Rainier from Kristie on Vimeo.

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium Field Trip

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium Field Trip

An afternoon photographing some beautiful animals

One of my favorite trips from the last few months was taking a photography field trip to the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, WA. A good friend let me borrow one of his lenses and I was excited to get some different shots!

We got there just as the zoo opened on what looked like could be a rainy day. But as the sun moved over the sky the rain dissipated and the sky became a lighter grey. We couldn’t ask for much better in the Pacific Northwest in December!

Because we got there at opening the crowds were minimal and we were able to see the animals pretty well.

Peacock
Emerald Tree Boa
Peacock
Tiger
Tiger - Darn glass support got in the way!
Clown Fish
Jelly Fish
Jelly Fish
Arctic Fox
Arctic Fox
Arctic Fox

The hardest obstacle I had was glare and reflections! Many of the exhibits were glass which made it very hard to get clear pictures. I found out if I angled the camera just right I got better pictures. The animals themselves were the perfect models! Of course we were greeted by one of the zoos peacocks. He strutted his stuff and didn’t mind us being near to him while the tigers looked like they wanted to stay in bed a bit longer. The adorable arctic foxes were irresistible as they ran around and posed.

About noon the zoo started to get more crowded and the rising sun was causing the animals to go into hiding. It was a great day of shooting and I plan on going back!

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