It's that time again when many of us go out to watch July 4th fireworks and hope to get some pictures of the fireworks.  There are several factors in getting good photographs, but first it is helpful to have a tripod where you can leave the shutter open during the fireworks for several fireworks.  It also helps if the sky is cloudless as it will be darker giving a black background as opposed to a lighter color (but that not required).
 

The best time to take photos is when multiple fireworks are being set off at the same time.  If this is not possible, then you can set the shutter to bulb mode and use a black cardboard to cover the end of the lens in between the various fireworks to capture more than 1 on a single frame (without going into post processing to achieve a similar effect).
 

Last, but probably most important - make sure you have the lens on manual focus, set it to infinity and set the light meter mode to manual.  It will most likely take some experimentation to get the best shots, but it's fun to see what the results are!
 

Fireworks at Steinhatchee, Florida This photo was taken on a tripod away from the main gathering of viewers.  The exposure is 1 second, ISO 100, f/1.8 using a 35mm lens.
 

gold fireworksMountain Man lights up the sky in gold!

This photo was taken on a tripod away from the main gathering of viewers.  The exposure is 2 second, ISO 200, f/8 using a 35mm lens.
 

fireworks in the skyFireworks Light up the sky This photo was taken on a tripod away from the main gathering of viewers.  The exposure is 2 second, ISO 200, f/8 using a 35mm lens. This photo shows the effect of smoke from previous fireworks flowing through the 2 second exposure.