For years I had heard about the legendary standing of July 4th fireworks across the U.S. Four years I had been studying in the country but by July I had also found myself back in Singapore. This year was my first Independence Day celebration in the U.S.

A few friends recommended heading to Bay City, MI for their annual carnival+fireworks celebration. A week ago the Freedom Weekend fireworks at Detroit had captivated me with its spectacular light show. Here was a chance for more, so why not.

Bear in mind that this was only the second time I’ve shot fireworks seriously. Basic setup was necessary: SLR with cable release, and a tripod. Doesn’t need to be the heaviest and the most expensive — mine’s a cheap $20 one.

Everything else I learned from reading and experimenting. I needed a really long shutter to capture the light trails, so in order to do that, aperture and ISO must be stopped down. Depending on how long you want to keep the shutter open, these do not have to be set to their lowest values. Personally I try to go for at least 5 seconds.

Here’s are the days photos, and please leave comments or questions!

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Organized annually by Target, this year’s fireworks were held early and on a weekday. We set up camp 5 hours before the show to get a good view, and were so close that the spectacle rained down on us. Altogether the show was about 30 minutes long, cheered on all the way by patriotic Americans.