19th Century firework display Result added! ...don't get excited, it's carp! lol

Asha

Asha

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OK so the 14th July is approaching rapidly which means fireworks down here :)

I'm having this crazy idea of shooting the display as a long exposure b&w ( only cos I don't have colour sheet film!) on an E T Underwood half plate tailboard camera


Load with 9x12 fomapan ( using suitable adaptor)

Stop it down to F/44

Estimate fireworks to have an approx EV 5 which equates to an exposure of 64 seconds.

Adding on recipricol failure which for fomapan is huge, lol, would mean an additional 3 or 4 stops so overall an exposure of something near to QUARTER OF AN HOUR!!!

That would basically be the duration of the complete firework display!

Question is, do you guys think it will work?
 
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I'd bracket a stop each way.



:)
 
I think success would depend on the display. If the fireworks are launched from multiple positions (say 5 or more) then I think it might work. But if they are all launched from 1 or 2 points close together I think will just end up with a blown (pardon the pun) section with lots of pretty trails around it.

...or if the exposure maths isn't quite right then maybe a big mass of chaos at the launch sites and no trails as they weren't strong enough to show :p

....so in other words "I don't know, but it would be cool to see the results" :)
 
kendo1 said:
I'd bracket a stop each way.


:)
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Mmm safe to say bracketing isn't going to be an option when all I will be using will be ONE piece of sheet film! lol


Jimmy_Lemon said:
I think success would depend on the display. If the fireworks are launched from multiple positions (say 5 or more) then I think it might work. But if they are all launched from 1 or 2 points close together I think will just end up with a blown (pardon the pun) section with lots of pretty trails around it.

...or if the exposure maths isn't quite right then maybe a big mass of chaos at the launch sites and no trails as they weren't strong enough to show :p

....so in other words "I don't know, but it would be cool to see the results" :)
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I think there could be some blown highlights, like you say where some fireworks are launched from the same area.

As for the trails, that is what i'm basing the exposure value on tbh so all being well they will represent something reasonable on the film.

If the launch area is too blown out then given it will be at ground level, it may be possible to reframe the end result after scanning the negative and crop that part out.

I'll give it a go and see what happens...naturally I'll post the result wether be good, bad or indifferent.

cambsno said:
If I understood the question I would have an opinion! :thinking:
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sorry to have confused you....it's summat us filmies are good at! lol

Richard King said:
It will work
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Thank you!

Here's hoping my calculations are correct and I end up with a half usable result.
 
Asha said:
Mmm safe to say bracketing isn't going to be an option when all I will be using will be ONE piece of sheet film! lol




I think there could be some blown highlights, like you say where some fireworks are launched from the same area.

As for the trails, that is what i'm basing the exposure value on tbh so all being well they will represent something reasonable on the film.

If the launch area is too blown out then given it will be at ground level, it may be possible to reframe the end result after scanning the negative and crop that part out.

I'll give it a go and see what happens...naturally I'll post the result wether be good, bad or indifferent.



sorry to have confused you....it's summat us filmies are good at! lol



Thank you!

Here's hoping my calculations are correct and I end up with a half usable result.
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With fireworks, the apeture is the thing that makes the difference, as in reality, if you leave the lens open for 10 or 200 seconds, the light from the firework will only hit the film in the short duration the firework is in the sky
 
OK well my impatience has had me develop the film immediatley upon return from the firework display and there is a result which is good news.

Without doubt there looks to be some overexposure as the launch area was located in the same place.

In addition, unknown to me until i came to pack the camera away, I hadn't tightened the tripod head rotating knob which has left some horizontal trails of light on the negative as the camera has onbviously shifted slightly during exposure.

All this said, there looks to be some detail of the actual display....only a scan of the neg will reveal all which i'll get done this week and post here.

Tbh i did not expect a good resut so to have got something is imo quite an acheivement.....one that i can use as a baseline for improving on another time.
 
Well done Asha, look forward to seeing the results.
 
The image on the negative actually looks better than the scan tbh.

Anyway here's the result, poor as it is.

7sx8.jpg



A couple of areas to address for next time.

1. Ensure all the tripod adjustments are secure so the camera cannot move!!!

2. Use a wider aperture and a much shorter exposure time concentrating more on capturing the explosions rather than the launches..... opening the shutter exclusively for the explosions.


The differences in EV between the different fireworks was quite extreme and has resulted in either an overexposure or no recording of the scene...trying to capture the whole scene within the lattitude of the film has proved very difficult, nigh on impossible.

The whole display lasted well in excess of 20 minutes so there was enough time to have taken two D/D slides loaded with four sheets of film and shot four seperate exposures.....something I'll try next time.

So now I've been the guinea pig, is there anyone else gunna give it a go and see what they come up with??.....Steveo?? your glass plates need using don't they???!! lol
 
Sectionate said:
Love it
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It's growing on me ....slowly! lol

I'm too hard on myself tbh and although the result is far from good, it was a joy to stand there with a 19th century camera and attempt to obtain a better result than most of the population was managing with their mobile phones! lol

I'll be back doing it again just as soon as the opportunity arises.......
 
Asha said:
It's growing on me ....slowly! lol

I'm too hard on myself tbh and although the result is far from good, it was a joy to stand there with a 19th century camera and attempt to obtain a better result than most of the population was managing with their mobile phones! lol

I'll be back doing it again just as soon as the opportunity arises.......
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I do the same, I criticise my photos massively when I first review them. I then find I really like them when I come back to them a few weeks later.

Look forward to future results!
 
Thanks for sharing, 'interesting' springs to mind :)

At the very least, you've learned something.
 
That's a decent result given the conditions you set yourself. As you say you'll probably have to pick either the big bright explosions or the trails. Look forward to next time.


I've still not looked at those quarter plates, i've been ordered by the wife to go through my backlog of digital shots so she can send some nice ones to people.
 
sparty said:
I think you've done rather well!
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Thanks!......already impatient to try again...just need another firework display!

Jimmy_Lemon said:
Certainly different :)
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I like experimenting...just had another idea .....pinhole! but with a difference. Lens cap with say 5 pinholes in it, one center and four others located N, S, E & W.

I'm sure it will have already been tried by someone, nonetheless i wouldn't mind having a play ....could offer a veery abstract result.



kendo1 said:
Thanks for sharing, 'interesting' springs to mind :)

At the very least, you've learned something.
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If we don't try, then we don't learn from experience....i never see any of these trials as a waste of time or effort as they offer knowledge as to what can or cannot be done.

Just a shame that with fireworks, there is very much only one chance to get it right due to to duration of the display......then of course it can be months before another opportunity.


steveo_mcg said:
That's a decent result given the conditions you set yourself. As you say you'll probably have to pick either the big bright explosions or the trails. Look forward to next time.


I've still not looked at those quarter plates, i've been ordered by the wife to go through my backlog of digital shots so she can send some nice ones to people.
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When shooting this old gear, I always accept the fact that the results may well be quite poor, that way i'm not dissapointed! lol


It's also the reason that i often carry a "decent" slr or similar with me to capture a "good" result of the same shot if it interests me enough.

"Digital"????? what's that???!! lol .......is that something new??? lmao
 
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