The Eiffel Tower and Fireworks – HDR of Paris
Fireworks and the Eiffel Tower on the 14th July 2010. HDR of the Parisian panorama taken from Chatillon.
As I promised on many blogs and forums, I was going to go shoot the 14th July fireworks by the Eiffel Tower. I scouted out a spot in Chatillon, near my home and came 1 hour early, as I was the only one present there was obviously something odd. I realized afterwards what it was, when we’re close to fireworks we think they are so huge it is impressive. But when we’re a little further away we realize it is hardly that big – to my astonishment these “huge” fireworks definitely aren’t that “huge” from a few kilometers away.
To make this shot I combined a few photos. One HDR that I took about 10 minutes before the fireworks started (as the Eiffel Tower was still lit) and then the same shot a few minutes later when the tower wasn’t lit and the fireworks had begun.
A few tips on shooting fireworks:
1. Fireworks are not as large as they seem. So get spot that isn’t too far away – I would estimate 1km is good (4km is too much).
2. Put the camera in Bulb mode, and when you see the rocket fire, press the trigger (remote is imperative for this) as soon as the explosion is done release the trigger. You need to be quick as the next explosion is coming up and if you don’t watch out it will become one large blur of light.
3. Smaller fireworks in villages are probably better to shoot since the rockets will be fired off with a few seconds between each. Large fireworks like this one in Paris are almost continuous so trying to get some single explosions is nearly impossible – and you end up with a large ball of light.
4. Shoot an HDR image just before the night is totally dark so you get a nice dark blue sky. Once the fireworks start you’ll have smoke everywhere and a pretty messy looking sky which is quite ugly. Then mask in the fireworks into your HDR.
5. Avoid shooting from a wooden bridge (like me) where anybody walking by shakes the entire bridge.
Well promise delivered – I did my fireworks shot and next time I will try it from somewhere else. I took this photo from the same bridge as this one: http://martinsoler.com/2009/10/26/panorama-view-of-the-eiffel-tower-and-la-defense/
Martin Soler Photography 
You have to love this shot! This is a fabulous shot! Thanks for posting.
Outstanding pic, Martin!
Great shot Martin. Sounds like a tricky task to mask fireworks shot against a dark sky with a nicely lit blue sky. Is it as tedious as it sounds?
Hey Brian, The fireworks not that difficult, by using layer modes in photoshop it is doable. The “manual” HDRing of the sky, city etc was actually a bit more work.
absolutelly perfect !!!!!
Great photo! i also enjoyed your tips on photographing fireworks.
Thanks. It’s a pleasure. I try to share a bit of my experiences with everyone through my blog.
What a fantastic view on its own, and even better with the night sky and fireworks…
Thanks a lot. Yeah it was great, I honestly thought it would be more impressive to see the fireworks from there. But it is a pretty nice shot anyhow.
This is a really cool shot Martin! Very well processed.
Yeah Martin, this a really nice one. Thanks for the comment at my blog. Now i know your site and i’m impressed. Great images!
Postcard (or poster?) worthy! great tips, too!
Reali an amazing work, i definitely love it !
Beautiful photo. Well composed. I wish there was someplace near me with such a beautiful landscape for a shot like this.