Tag Archives: Fireworks

Cobh People’s Regatta Fireworks – 14/08/16

Cobh Regatta FW EUpton 14-08-16-6

Cobh’s long-running People’s Regatta festival ended with the traditional fireworks display on Sunday night 14/08/16.

Cobh Regatta FW 2016 Fin OShea-2The annual display has been ingrained in the memories of countless people who, as children, were brought to see the pyrotechnic wonder. One woman in her eighties recalled, as a young girl, trying to see the display from a hill many miles away while this writer saw them first about 50 years ago for the first time.

Cobh Regatta FW JCurtin 14-08-16-3This year’s crop of youngsters couldn’t wait for the display to begin. Their first countdown from ten started about 10minutes prematurely and was quickly followed by another about five minutes later each one finishing with oohs and aahs of disappointment when nothing happened! Not to be deterred, they started another which finished just a tad prematurely this time and was followed by the inevitable audible disappointment. However just as their disappointment was at its height, the first rocket screamed skywards instantly changing the mood of the kids to screams of excitement!

Cobh Regatta FW 2016 KLeeson-5ECCG were stationed right around the display from Whitepoint to Fort Davis and some really nice colour bursts were captured that have all been posted in our gallery of the event.

Ten minutes later and the memories of 2016 were sealed into the consciousness of a thousand young minds around the harbour ready to be recalled  over the many decades to come. Well done Cobh for keeping this annual event going over all those years.

 

 

Youghal Fireworks – 09/07/2016

YL Fireworks 2016 - ZL-6Firstly, thanks to Noelle for sending out a group text to the club members telling us about the fireworks.

Having never tried to take photos of fireworks before, I did a quiet Google for some tips. As with most things on the internet there are loads of different and sometimes conflicting opinions!

These are what I took from them and it worked for me.

Tripod
Wide Angle Zoom Lens (I used a 17-55mm APS-C)
Shot in Bulb mode
Aperture f/8
ISO 400 (I also tried ISO100 for longer exposures)

I picked the end of Ferry point to try and get Youghal town in the background, to add some depth to the photo and add some local interest. It also offered a wide view of the river as the fireworks were launched from a boat that was moving with the tide.

Shooting a moving target in the dark can be tricky but I’d prefocused the camera manually and because it was ~100m away at f/8 it would stay in focus. Good old Hyperfocal distance.

screen-shot-2014-04-10-at-8-21-49-am

So with my tripod setup, camera ready and test shot taken, I waited for the fireworks to start…

… 45 mins later than planned, the ABBA tribute band (who sounded very good, even across the water) finally finished with Dancing Queen and we were off.

The extra 45 mins was a blessing as the sky went from twilight to night giving much more contrast to the fireworks.

The bulb mode worked well with the remote cable as I could watch the fireworks directly and just press and release as needed. I found multiple fireworks were too bright because the latter ones would illuminate the smoke from the first ones.

YL Fireworks 2016 - EU-3

After checking the first few shots, I found 2 – 3 seconds would catch the launch and explosion without being too bright or losing detail.
This is where the remote cable is great. After the first few you get an idea of when to press it and then release, each firework is different.

The main trick is to keep shooting, you’ve no idea will the next firework be a huge dramatic explosion or several launched at once.

It was a very enjoyable spectacle, and thanks to the organisers of The Queen of the Sea festival for putting it on.

Click here to see a gallery of images from the shoot. Enjoy!

– Zane Llewellyn

 

Ballycotton Fireworks Display – 21/08/15

Bcotton Fireworks KDay-1

The Ballycotton Seafood and Shanty Summer Series of Events came to an end last night with a bang.

At around 8.30pm, in anticipation of the inaugural fireworks display, tripods began to appear among the dunes and other vantage points around the village as photographers zeroed in on the launch site. As the clock ticked past 9.30pm and darkness fell across the bay, the first muffled bang broke the silence of the balmy evening and the first rocket screamed skyward. This was quickly followed by a colourful barrage lasting ten minutes or more.

A great spectacle and a fitting end to a busy summer in the seaside village. Well done to all involved.

Click here to see the gallery from this shoot. Enjoy!

 

Cobh People’s Regatta Fireworks – 16/08/15

The fireworks at Cobh Peoples Regatta, Cork, Ireland on 16/08/2015 proved an irresistible draw to members of ECCG once again this year. With vantage points as diverse as Whitepoint, near the town and Fort Davis near Whitegate, the coverage was wide with the town of Cobh, reflected in the harbour, providing the ideal backdrop.

ECCG member, Trevor O’Connell created the short but wonderful timelapse of the event above while a gallery of still images can be seen here. Enjoy!

 

Cobh Regatta – 17/8/14

James Brady-2

The annual Cobh Regatta was our destination on Sunday night, 17/8/14. The fireworks, in particular, were our interest and so we gathered at Whitepoint, hoping to get a good angle on the display.

As the minutes dwindled down towards 10pm, we finalised settings and waited. Then, without warning, the first rockets burst in the inky sky opposite the town centre and it was down to business. The next ten minutes or so was a cacophony accompanied by brilliant colour and graphic shapes with each burst greeted with approving cheers from the town where a large crowd had gathered.

Then it finished as it had started and the harbour was suddenly returned to normal. Another Cobh Regatta fireworks display over for another year. As car loads of families headed for home, we broke down our gear and did likewise, just ahead of an ever rising tide, with hopes that slices of the night’s excitement were captured successfully within our cameras.

Excitement for kids, excitement for adults! Well done Cobh.

Mouse over the image below to activate the slideshow controls. Enjoy!

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