Rockport Harbor, Maine.

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Fireworks exploding in bone chilling air over lobster boats this past weekend. These boats are still hauling lobster traps. It's -10F this morning so if they go out today, they'll have to wait until the skim ice lets go of their hulls.
Fireworks 1 noise reduction (1 of 1).jpg
 
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PaulK

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Dec 1, 2009
1,222
Sabre 402 Southport, CT
You should see it in daylight. It IS a postcard. The big dark box on the lower right in the picture is a boatbuilding shed...
 
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Sep 23, 2009
1,475
O'Day 34-At Last Rock Hall, Md
Great shot! Pefect composition. Love the moored lobster boats lit up and town lights. How did you set the exposure?
I wish there was a way to forward this to my relatives in Camden Maine. I often say there is no reason to aim a camera up there, just press the shutter in any random direction, the view is always gorgeous.
 
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TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Love the moored lobster boats lit up and town lights. How did you set the exposure?
A little bit of luck on the exposure. I was trying to get the harbor shot primarily, with the fireworks not the overwhelming subject.

I had my digital SLR on a tripod, set on Auto exposure - no flash. I knew the camera would choose the fastest ISO(1600), the widest aperture on my lens (F4.5-22mm lens).

I left the shutter speed choice up to the camera and manually focused the lens. Then it was just timing on my part, when to (gently so not to blur) press the shutter.

Because you asked (thank you!), I went through about 30 exposures I made of the fireworks. The only exposure variables, were the shutter speeds.

Most shutter times averaged around 1/3 rd of a second exposure and most were so-so shots(typical fireworks frozen in time).

THEN I noticed that in the posted shot, the camera chose a 2 second shutter speed. The camera chose the longer exposure because I squeezed the shutter just before the fireworks lit the sky up and the light meter saw less light.

That extra exposure time achieved a better lighting of the harbor(which was pitch black) and softened the fireworks as they overexposed a bit and gave them a little motion. There's a lot of luck in photography, at least in mine.

Next year,.... I'll primarily set up to take a 2 second exposure and try to improve my timing on squeezing the shutter.

This was the only other 2 second exposure. Not as good but much better than the lot that exposed in less than 1/2 second. The 2 second delay adds the detail that there was a stiff North wind blowing the fireworks to the left, over Rockport Harbor.

Fireworks 2 sec (1 of 1).jpg
 
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Nov 30, 2015
1,337
Hunter 1978 H30 Cherubini, Treman Marina, Ithaca, NY
Fabulous Photos Kris. We love Rokpoat Hawba. Have friends we visit annually in Belfast, and always manage to get down to Hamilton Marine and financially support a 3rd of the community. This year we visited a smallish sail loft in Rockport for repairs on our 110 headsail. They did an excellent job replacing and reinforcing a grommet. What was the event that inspired the fireworks? Are you the real Santa Claus? Merry Christmas.
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Fabulous Photos Kris. We love Rokpoat Hawba. Have friends we visit annually in Belfast, and always manage to get down to Hamilton Marine and financially support a 3rd of the community. This year we visited a smallish sail loft in Rockport for repairs on our 110 headsail. They did an excellent job replacing and reinforcing a grommet. What was the event that inspired the fireworks? Are you the real Santa Claus? Merry Christmas.
Belfast is a great harbor and gets better all the time. The event was Rockport's Holiday on the Harbor. I'm not the real Santa Claus (my name is Tom Young), happy New Year to you!
 
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Nov 30, 2015
1,337
Hunter 1978 H30 Cherubini, Treman Marina, Ithaca, NY
Belfast is a great harbor and gets better all the time. The event was Rockport's Holiday on the Harbor. I'm not the real Santa Claus (my name is Tom Young), happy New Year to you!
Hi Tom, Happy New Year to you as well. Are you related the the Young's of Young's Lobster Pound...definitely a primary stop-in eatery for us when in town.

Wayne Jones
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
No I'm not related to the family, Wayne. We moved to Maine from Vermont nearly 20 years ago, after sailing into Penobscot Bay - backwards - through the Eggemoggin Reach. I mention this because the topography is so impressive sailing in from the North. We were hooked and began a plan to move there.

Coincidently, we bought an old Fish Market on Camden Harbor, from the Young family. We love it here, and now live in nearby Rockport: A family of four, we often say to ourselves, "Can you believe we live here?".