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[WDWFigment]

Click the picture for its Flickr page (where you can view/download a larger version, see my camera settings/EXIF data, etc.).

Oh - for the record that EXIF is correct. 1.7 second shutter speed, f/22 aperture, and ISO 200, and the highlights are STILL somewhat blown (although in all fairness, I could have recovered them fully, I thought it actually looked better like this).

[Tags:]

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[zackiedawg]

Beautiful shot.  Love having the crowd in the foreground - gives it some extra scenery.  I personally don't always strive for 'technical' perfection, as I find I often prefer otherwise - blown highlights in fireworks are fine to my eye, because that's the feel they deliver to be in person - my eyes squint with the brightest bursts!  Whether it be perfect dynamic range or perfect white balance, I find sometimes the reality of the scene isn't necessarily what is 'technically' correct.  So I'm with you on the way it looks now!

[WDWFigment]

Beautiful shot.  Love having the crowd in the foreground - gives it some extra scenery.  I personally don't always strive for 'technical' perfection, as I find I often prefer otherwise - blown highlights in fireworks are fine to my eye, because that's the feel they deliver to be in person - my eyes squint with the brightest bursts!  Whether it be perfect dynamic range or perfect white balance, I find sometimes the reality of the scene isn't necessarily what is 'technically' correct.  So I'm with you on the way it looks now!

Agreed.  Normally I try to keep highlights in check on normal scenic shots, as the eye wouldn't scene a 'white' Monster's Inc Laugh Floor sign (one that seems notorious for blowing), but during this grand finale, I would hazard a guests that most guests eyes are overwhelmed in a similar manner to this shot.  Keeping the highlights in check took away from the 'grandeur' of the shot, in my opinion.

I also like manipulating white balance for artistic purposes.  I rarely, if ever, care if it's correct.  I just go with what looks good.

[Jeff Fillmore]

Nice job with controlling the perspective in this shot.  The large size file on Flickr looks really good- lots of detail in the fireworks and love the arches in front of the castle are illuminated. 

[prettypixie]

WOW!

[ddindy]

This is simply spectacular, Tom.  And to everyone else, if you haven't done so, click on the picture to go to Tom's Flickr page, then click on the link that says "Please View Large On Black."  It looks even better there.

[mSummers]

Nice work Tom!  The fireworks look great and I think the rim lighting on the people really adds a lot to the shot.

[Scottwdw]

Spectacular. Were you operating the shutter manually?  When I do that I have a tendency to not leave it open long enough but, for the finales, you do not faster shutters.  Our eyes see fireworks as being blown out so it looks good this way.  Seems to be the way the flickr firework gurus are leaning these days. 

Oh, and congrats on getting this shot.  I know you wanted to redo it after your first attempts on an early trip.

[WDWFigment]

Spectacular. Were you operating the shutter manually?  When I do that I have a tendency to not leave it open long enough but, for the finales, you do not faster shutters.  Our eyes see fireworks as being blown out so it looks good this way.  Seems to be the way the flickr firework gurus are leaning these days. 

Oh, and congrats on getting this shot.  I know you wanted to redo it after your first attempts on an early trip.

Yes, it was shot on bulb mode.  I use a wireless remote (I know many hate them), so one of my tests at home before the trip was response time if I just constantly clicked.  I think I had it at .4 seconds, which was what I planned on doing for the finale.  Well, I am usually much more conservative in idea than practice, so when I actually got out there and did the shooting, I thought, "c'mon, with that f stop, you can push this beyond .4 seconds. Less than half a second is going to look lame."  So I paused.  It ended up working out for the best!

Oh, and like Dennis said, this shot is one that really needs to be viewed Large to see all of the detail.  Although they're not of the same spectacle as this shot, I have 4 more processed from this show (for a total of 10 postable/usable shots from the show, which was much more than I expected given that I was using the UWA at an odd angle for the first time) that I'll be posting later.

[WDWFigment]

Here's another:

Clicking the picture takes you to its Flickr page, where you can view/download a larger copy, access my camera settings EXIF data, or navigate to other shots.  It really does look better large, in my opinion.

[mSummers]

Awesome shot, Tom!  Again the rim lighting is spectacular and seeing the crowd really tells the whole story.  Nicely done!

[PolynesianMedic]

Tom, these are great!