Though not quite as extravagant as Fair Saint Louis, the City of Chesterfield hosts a rather spectacular fireworks display every year at the Chesterfield Mall. Thousands of residents descend upon the Valley to enjoy the 30-minute spectacle, and indulge in many of our city’s food truck offerings.
Technical Info
All images were captured using a Canon 5DMK3 + 24-70mm f/2.8L lens, Manfrotto tripod and a wired shutter release. Most exposures were in the 3-5 second range, with a few longer to draw in multiple firework bursts. I find that the sweet spot tends to be around 3 seconds; any longer and my highlights will overexpose from the bright bursts. I usually focus just before infinity with a depth of field of f/8-f/11. This year I took advantage of the 5D’s live view, which made the process very easy – allowing me to photograph the fireworks while also actually viewing them in real life, instead of seeing them behind my viewfinder.