Forrest Pearson shares how to capture ‘organic’ fireworks with the blur focusing technique

Head to any fireworks show, and you’ll see a barrage of cell phones and cameras tilted up to the sky to capture the action. But Forrest Pearson has something else up his sleeve. Yes, he has the staples: A camera. A tripod. A remote. But also, a hand on the focus ring to capture all the explosions in a unique way, blurring the focus as the fireworks explode. The result? A biological-looking, botanical-seeming, living and breathing fireworks photo that captures the full explosion with a unique ‘organic’ look.

We talked with Forrest to learn more about applying the blur focus technique to fireworks.

Please note: The following conversation has been edited for brevity.

Nikon D800 | Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 | ISO 160 | 1.5 sec | F5.6 | 24mm Photo: Forrest Pearson

Q: How would you describe the blur focus fireworks photos?

Fireworks, to me, are organic. They’re alive, they’re born, they move, they grow, and then they die, and so I wanted the images of the fireworks to be organic looking. I think a lot of people comment on them and say they look like a flower or they look like something under a microscope, but they look alive to me. I think the blur focus technique brings that out more. Plus, it’s a creative process because when you’re doing it, whatever you got, nothing is ever going to be like that again.

I saw some pictures years ago of this technique. I certainly didn’t invent it, and I thought they were really interesting. And that happens to me a lot, right? I’ll see a picture, and I go, ‘Wow, I want to do that,’ and I figure it out.

Q: Can you walk us through the setup and process for a blur focus firework?

I usually use the widest angle lens because [if] you’ve got a decent sensor on a full-frame camera, why not just make sure you’ve got the whole sky? Put the camera on a tripod. Get out to where you’re going to shoot early, aim it, set up [and] do some test shots. Make sure you’re covering the whole sky because you don’t know where stuff’s gonna wind up. And with the fireworks, you crop it afterward to get what you want. Then, basic fireworks shooting involves an ISO [of] 100, maybe 200 at the most. And if you don’t know what your F stop [is], you always go to F8.

Nikon D800 | Nikkor 28-300mm F3.5-5.6 | ISO 100 | 3.3 sec | F9.5 | 68mm Photo: Forrest Pearson

So I start at F8 and then if I need to, adjust. The shutter is variable: I put it in Bulb and have a handheld remote. For me personally, I like starting at blur and then just rolling it to a focus while it’s up there. So I’ve got the remote in one hand, and the other hand is on the focus ring. And then you wait and listen for the pop from the shoot. If you open up the shutter right away, you get that trail going up to the explosion. It looks like a stem or something on the flower; it kind of anchors it. And so I like to open it up just a stitch early on the sound of the pop and then roll it through. You leave it open as long as you want. Sometimes, it’s just the explosion, and it’s over. Sometimes they explode, and then there’s little sparkles at the end. But it’s just basic fireworks shooting with rolling the focus at the point where you think you ought to. I just lay my hand on the focus ring and then just give it a roll when it pops.

Q: During a fireworks show, what’s the ratio of shots taken to those that showcase what you want to capture?

Fireworks are chaotic. There’s old ones that are still hanging out, new ones that are coming up in the sky, [it] can be a mess. I’m shooting the whole time as fast as I can. And if I get two or three usable images out of the whole thing, I’m happy.

Nikon D800 | Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8 | ISO 160 | 1.9 sec | F5.6 | 24mm Photo: Forrest Pearson

Q: Any advice for those looking to try out this technique?

The thing that’s so great about it is this is really simple. It’s one of those things where the idea is completely simple. If you can shoot fireworks in the first place, you can do this, for sure. There’s no substitute to just going out and doing it with this blur focus technique. If you go out there and you get one [shot], even for your evening’s work, you’re still sitting on a hillside in the middle of the summer, playing with your camera. Could be worse!