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Friday August 27th 2010, I didn't even know there would be a Summer fireworks display in the Lough Neagh area however fate intervened and presented me with an unexpected photo opportunity. That happened during the previous Monday when I went on an early morning storm chase to the same area where moderate strength radar echoes where located with borderline CAPE for an isolated storm or two, I was parked up in the car park hoping for a funnel or waterspout however I ended up sitting in the car under heavy rain for several hours bored out of mind, the only thing interesting I saw was a large Heron questing through the shallow water on the Lough shore for food. I was about to call it a day when I decided to go for a walk in the main visitor hall nearby and by chance I noticed a flier on the wall informing me of a big event here which was to take place that Friday called the 'Festival of Lights', it featured a family evening event on the Lough shore at Ballyronan Marina from 18.00 until late, there was a raft race by Lough Neagh rescue, BBQ, Children's activities, disco, bonfire, and a fireworks display, the latter got me very interested because the last time I photographed a fireworks display was during Halloween 2009 from Maghera and I really wanted to give it another go so I planned to be there.
I did some research on the net, the fireworks would be launched from a boat on the Lough at approx 21.30 BST so this really got my attention, that meant good photogenic potential with reflections on the water and with a good crowd expected the atmosphere should be pretty nice. The viewpoint at Ballyronan meant that I would be facing E towards the display so I checked the weather forecast because I was concerned about the smoke from the display hampering the images, you don't want the smoke to be blowing towards the camera however my concerns were short lived as a light NWly breeze was expected on a mainly dry evening with clear spells and isolated showers so all was good. My Sister and I decided to make an evening of it so we arrived at Ballyronan at 18.25 with the intention of staying until after dark. The crowds gathered quickly so it was just a matter of waiting, we bumped into Scientist and amateur astronomer Les Gornall and had a great conversation, which was then followed by a Chinese take away. The light levels began to drop and several flares where launched into the air so it was nearly time for the display so I went back to my car to get the gear. My plan was to have two tripods set-up, one with the Canon 450D and the other with the video camera, however the cheaper more flimsy tripod literally broke when I took it out from the car, the sorry looking thing was missing a leg which could be seen lying on the ground below so that was not a good start as I was down to one tripod and time was ticking.
My new plan was that I would take the still images and my Sister would take the video footage hand held. I wanted to get as far back as I could onto high ground for the images at the rear of the car park because I expected the fireworks to be fairly high in the sky however that plan didn't work either due to a large tent blocking the launch boat including street light poles and cars so I had to find somewhere else. My next spot was off-set from the boat looking across at it from the concrete path where I could catch the crowd standing in the foreground, that proved to be uninspiring as people kept walking past the lens at close range getting in the way. My third and last place was on the lovely sandy shore next to the calm Lough itself, this was a great location looking E across the water towards the lights of Co. Antrim with the launch boat directly in front of me, in fact it was perfect however my only concern was the height of the fireworks, would I be too close?
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So here I was set-up on the sand tight to the water's edge looking towards Antrim, it was dusk with a darkening twilight sky above and extending into the E portion of the celestial dome where the sky was considerably darker towards the boat. A few of the brighter stars winked overhead and the brighter twilight arch to the W behind me contrasted with dark blue sky aloft, there was a fantastic atmosphere growing and you feel the tension and excitement mount as everyone waited for the display to begin. Behind me was a large crowd of spectators with Children playing with long glow sticks which made the event even more surreal, all I saw in that direction where countless dark figures with multicoloured lights moving in wild arcs like alien insects. The view ahead was beautiful with the blue dusk sky sporting a brilliant waning full Moon with planet Jupiter to the R, both had golden glitter paths extending across the water to the very shore where stood. I spent considerable time taking test exposures to get my settings correct, I used the distant lights of Antrim to get focused using live view, usually you want to be at infinity focus or very close to it for fireworks photography. I was on ISO100 with the 18mm kit lens stopped down with the white balance on daylight which is a good setting for getting the warm colours of the fireworks unless your are shooting in RAW, in which case you can make the WB changes later during post processing. I was also using the remote shutter to avoid vibrations. Once the first fireworks erupted I could then adapt and alter settings as I went along. These images are at F/5 with a shutter speed between 10 and 25 sec's.
The above image was one of those test exposures, it also shows my original plan which was to have those people in the foreground caught watching the display with the fireworks exploding off-centre to the R of the frame and the Moon with glitter path to the LHS which would have made for a nice composition. That was the plan anyway until a group of spectators stood in that area blocking the Moon so I had to quickly re-compose the frame with the launch boat at centre. You can see that the guy to the R is a photographer, I spotted the ISS making a pass across the sky from W to E, it was moving in such a way that it would appear directly in front of the entire crowd with the Moon and lights in the frame, no one else seemed to noticed though so I walked over to that photographer, excused myself, and pointed out the ISS, he said what?, I had forgot myself then said ''International Space Station'' and added further that if he was taking an exposure he would be able to pick it up in the frame as it continued to move to the L, I went back to my spot and was delighted to see that he took several images and picked it up.
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The background music was turned off and the crowd went quiet, there was a short delay of silence then the countdown began. 10, 9,8, my Sister began taking video then at number 2 I began my exposure, then 1....a big roar from the crowd followed by the whooshing and screaming of fireworks follow by bangs and rumbles. The exposure worked out good enough as a guess so at least I was doing OK, however the fireworks where exploding out the top of my frame which was disappointing, but at least I was still able to catch the people in front of me watching as the sand and water reflected the warm lights from the man made sky show above. The NWly breeze did it's job as expected blowing the smoke away from us to the NE. There's planet Jupiter above the lights to the far L, just a shame I couldn't get that shot of the Moon in the same frame.
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I turned the camera to portrait configuration and that worked alot of better and helped accentuate the vertical motion of the fireworks. Even at 18mm there where still fireworks erupting far out of frame above the camera 3/4 from the zenith so they where very high in the sky. The boat below looked like it was fire!
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During these vertical exposures the display was at it's most spectacular with low level, mid level, and high level explosions going off at the same time so there where multiple colours of red, white, blue, and purple fanning out in wide arcs with the red high in the sky which caused the crowd to 'wow' in high numbers. I could hear many conversations and commentary taking place behind me although the exact words couldn't be discerned, they sounded more like murmurs or whispering shrouded by the eruptions.
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I was able to check each exposure for minor adjustments because the LCD screen was set for a 2 sec preview after each image was taken. This image was quite interesting because it shows the beginning of a low level display with the older high level one far above at the same time. The reflection of the lights on the water as it shot across to the shore near the observers in the foreground was quite spectacular. You can see the LCD screen belonging to the photographer to the R, I wondered at the time how he was getting on with his images.
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The display got better and better as it passed the half way point with nice structure and colour to the smoke.
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Despite the nice light show there was very little in the way of loud noise from the display which was most unusual, perhaps the launch boat was further out that what I perceived it to be.
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It always feels great to catch multiple colours and explosions in the image at the same time, it's really more luck than anything else although great concentration at the camera is still required to monitor the results in real time by making changes to the shutter speed and aperture on a regular basis. No two fireworks are exactly a like, some are brighter, others of longer duration, so you are continually adjusting settings and composition. I was alternating alot between landscape and portrait mode however settled on portrait for the majority of the images. The horizon is slightly tilted though which is a mistake.
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This was my favourite capture from the night and probably my best firework image to date. Look at the guy with the reflective jacket to the L standing in the water, it's very shallow in this part so one could actually walk in the water all along the shore for a considerable distance. There where several bonfire 'nests' located along the shore which he was in the process of lighting for the boat display which would follow the fireworks.
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Last firework of the display, a huge red outburst high in the sky which I barely got in the frame, then silence and darkness arrived. There was a pause from the crowd before it was clear this was the end of the show then the crowd applauded in unison, they seemed very happy with the display. I was happy too because I had enough images taken which were of a good enough standard, after all that's the only reason why I was here so I considered it a success and felt very satisfied. The images could have been better, there's no question about it, however since it was my first attempt in 10 months I considered the results good enough until the next event.
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The music was back on and the atmosphere returned to that great warm cozy feeling, it was now sufficiently dark and many of the stars overhead where on show with the Summer Triangle most obvious along with Arcturus in the W. The Moon was covered by a lazy cloud which generated a partial corona and Jupiter shined with greater brilliance as it rose above the denser haze near the horizon where atmospheric extinction had subdued its glory earlier. Then at least three 'nests' were lit and controlled bonfires burned with a comforting warm colour on the water, above is one of them, the others are out of frame to the R. The boat light display ensued, Mum and other relations arrived and together with the crowd we watched the illuminated boats and small craft gently sail across the dark water, we decided to beat the crowd and go home straight after this, it was evident though from the atmosphere in the car that everyone had a great time at Ballyronan. I would certainly like to have another go at shooting this fireworks display again next year.
Here's the video footage my Sister took with the Fujifilm S5600 bridge camera which isn't designed for low light subjects. The clip doesn't do the scene justice as it's a little too dark however with a little imagination in conjunction with the above images and words you can imagine how it must have really looked at the time. Thanks for reading.
Martin McKenna