Capturing Fireworks at Space Needle New Year's Eve Show

Location

I spent some time researching different options, reviewing photos from past years from different local photographers. My top location that I chose was Hamilton Viewpoint Park. It has a lot going for it: an unobstructed view of the Needle and city skyline, reflection of the colors in Elliott Bay, and any text spelled by the drone show (specifically the year) is facing the correct way from this vantage point.

There are some drawbacks to this spot. It requires a long lens; I shot at around 200 mm and wish I had zoomed in way more than that. The other downside of this spot are the lack of facilities or food. It's pretty much just a grass lot tucked into a residential neighborhood. Plan accordingly!

Get there early. People started to trickle in around 7:30, and the lot's regulation parking spots were mostly full by 8:30.

Weather

Things started out mostly clear, but fog began to roll in. It cleared a little just before showtime, but once the fireworks started it was mostly a smoke show. Here is the best explanation I found from meteorologist Anthony Edwards:

"Moist air (near 100% humidity) is condensing due to the increased nuclei in the atmosphere from the sulfur particles from the fireworks. This results in fog + smoke combo… smog."

While the weather certainly put a damper on most of the show, it is possible to make the best of what we got. The best shots to be had were right at the beginning of the show before the smoke had a chance to accumulate. And, we know exactly when that will be; there are not many times we get a countdown to the right moment to take a shot!

Gear

As I mentioned above, I used a long lens (400 mm) for shooting from this location. A tripod is a must, set up with the lens (not camera body) mounted on the tripod. A remote shutter release is also key to avoid vibrations blurring your shot with the long focal length. I use a Sony A7Riii and Sony lenses. And don't forget a flashlight or headlamp!

Settings

My settings for most images were ISO 200, f/6.3, 2-6 seconds. I always use back button focus, and took a few test shots before the show began to set focus. Once set, I didn't touch focus for the rest of the show. My shots were at 224 mm, but this was WAY too wide. Next time I would probably shoot 300-400 mm.

Compositions

A really nice composition includes the Needle, the Pacific Science center to the left (with drone show above it), and Broad Street leading right down to Elliott Bay. There will be boats in the bay, including some ferries. Consider taking some shots at shorter shutter speeds to freeze ferry movement. This would be a cool shot to do an exposure blend with fireworks in post. The fireworks will not be that high above the Needle: you only need to allow about half the height of the Needle above it capture the highest fireworks.

Processing

It was a challenge to see what I could get considering the excessively hazy conditions. I used a lot of texture, clarity, and haze adjustment in Lightroom, but not too much to result in some really strange colors in the smoke. For some of my more favorite shots, I pulled these into Photoshop to refine. One technique I liked to help the fireworks stand out from the smoke was to copy the image layer, set it to vivid light, and apply a high pass filter, adjusting the fill of the layer to get the right look. Additionally, I added a layer with orange color over the fireworks at the base of the Needle. I adjusted the Blend If sliders such that it colored just the smoke and not the brightest highlights of the fireworks. Photos show raw, before Photoshop edits (just Lightroom edits), and After Photoshop edits.

In conclusion:

I would definitely shoot from Hamilton Viewpoint again, as I enjoy the compositions available here. I would be ready for that one good shot right after the countdown; I waited a little too long and ended up with smoke already starting to accumulate. A focal length of 300-400 mm will definitely be in my plan for next year. I would also stop down my exposure for the very beginning of the show and the end, as those parts tend to have more fireworks at once and are much brighter than the rest of the show.

I hope you've enjoyed my very first blog post! What are your favorite spots to photograph the Needle? Have you got any tips you'd like to share? Send me an email or send a message to my IG.