This isn't a post about holding a pack of firecrackers behind someone's head and lighting them off. Although. . . 

This post is the result of an experiment I tried when shooting fireworks on the 4th of July. I have been shooting fireworks for years and thought it would be fun to mix it up and try something new. I was able to shoot on July 3rd and 4th, which was great because I was able to practice the first night and make adjustments to improve my shots on the second night. 

The first night's results were poo, so it was a good thing I had that second chance. 

Scroll over shots to see the technique and camera settings. 

Rotating lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 1.6 sec

Everything you see here is 100% in camera. I only used Lightroom to drop the black setting to darken any fireworks "clouds" that I didn't want showing. 

Rotating lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 3.9 sec

I pre-set my ISO to 200 and set the camera on bulb. I either zoomed in or out, rotated my lens, or did both while the shutter was open. The shutter speed fluctuated based on what I wanted to try. 

Rotating lens part way through the shot
ISO 200, F11 @ 2.2 sec

Fireworks shows go pretty fast so you want to make sure you are set up and ready to go. I shot roughly 250 photos and dumped 80 of them. This is really more a game of quantity over quality, but when you start to get the hang of it, your success rate goes up. 

Zoom and rotating lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 2.2 sec

I have no idea what I did here. Dumb luck.
ISO 200, F11 @ 1.7 sec

Rotating lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 2.2 sec

Rotating lens during multiple bursts
ISO 200, F11 @ 3.0 sec

Rotating lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 2.9 sec   Your guess is as good as mine.
ISO 200, F11 @ 1.2 sec

Zoomed lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 0.6 sec   Zoomed lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 1.4 sec

Zoomed lens (cropped to square format)
ISO 200, F11 @ 1.6 sec

Zoomed and rotated lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 1.7 sec

Zoomed and rotated lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 1.0 sec

No clue, but I think it looks like a flower.
ISO 200, F11 @ 1.9 sec

Zoomed lens a little and rotated a lot
ISO 200, F11 @ 2.9 sec

Zoomed and rotated lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 1.6 sec

Rotated lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 2.0 sec   Zoomed and rotated lens part way through
ISO 200, F11 @ 0.4 sec

Who the heck knows, but it's cool!
ISO 200, F11 @ 0.6 sec

Rotated lens then froze
ISO 200, F11 @ 0.5 sec

Rotated lens
ISO 200, F11 @ 1.7 sec

A lot of zoom and a little rotatation
ISO 200, F11 @ 0.6 sec

If you are interested in shooting straightforward fireworks, you may want to check out my other fireworks post at: http://heathercline.zenfolio.com/blog/2016/6/how-to-shoot-fireworks