Long Exposure

For my first two photos, I had to go with fireworks. I figured Stacey posted the theme early enough for me to get some good ones on the 4th of July, so I tried several settings, exposure lengths, and methods of capturing them. The hardest part was aiming the camera where the fireworks were going to explode, so I got several that were cut off at the top or bottom. These two were from a display at Beaver Lake. I was sitting about 20 feet away from where they were being lit and they were going off right over our heads.

F/16 ISO 100 25s

F/22 ISO 100 30s

The next four photos are from a trip downtown with Mike and Micah. The first two are duplicates of pictures Mike submitted. I am doing this only to get feedback and comparison comments on what I could have done to make mine look better. Mike was giving me pointers and tips on how to frame the shot and what camera settings to use, so I am curious if I was able to come close to his shots. 

F/8 ISO 200 2.5s

F/22 ISO 100 20s

These last two are original shots that I really liked. I was trying to frame things in a unique way, focusing on perspective and lighting. The first one I really like because of the perspective of the Union Pacific sign, and the lighting in the alcove of the building. The second one I really like because of the lighting/colors of the sculpture, and the angle which I took the shot from (on a tripod near the ground). I also like the tip I received from Mike and Micah about using my 10 second delay timer to reduce the shake on the camera when pressing the shutter button. The shutter was only open for a few seconds, and other attempts at the same shot had resulted in just enough shake to blur the focus. Thanks guys!

F/8 ISO 200 2.5s

F/5.6 ISO 100 2s