MartinThomasDECEMBER 2019 DIGITAL CAMERA^33
4
Camera settings
Martin used a Nikon D850
with a Nikkor AF-S VR
70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED lens
at 85mm. His exposure was set at
six seconds with an ISO of 160 and
an aperture of f/8.
Martin says: “Set your camera to
timer mode and have a two-second
delay once you push the shutter. Set
the number of shots to its maximum
(nine on the D850) with a half-second
delay between shots. This rules out
vibration and blur, and you don’t
have to keep pushing the shutter.”5
The wind
“With all firework photography, the wind is a major
factor,” says Martin. “Not only does it obscure the
view, but if it is blowing towards you it envelopes the fireworks
in smoke and all you will get is a big colourful smoke ball with
no definition. Similarly if there is no wind, only your first shot
will be clear; after that, the smoke builds up to a point where
it’s not worth taking any more photos. On this occasion it was
perfect. It actually blew the smoke to the right of the college,
leaving it completely clear. A photographer’s dream!”f/86
secISO
160