Photographing fireworks is incredibly easy, and it impresses the daylights out of your friends when it works. If they only knew how easy it was. You point the camera, and open the shutter. Fireworks (the explosion) is easy. But strong composition and showing the crowd which is there is another problem entirely.

Of course, the people in the foreground will all be facing away from you. And they'll be backlit, just a fraction of the light in the sky reaching the crowd on the ground.

Photographers get plenty of silhouettes, a few people lit by a fill flash, or buildings lit up with enough existing light to show up in the frame.

The above exposure was about 30 seconds-- for the bottom of the frame. And maybe five or six seconds for the top. I used a black card to block out the top (fireworks) while keeping the shutter open for the bottom. No double exposures or computer manipulation is allowed.

I'm all for trying something new to get better photos. If your fireworks photos look terrific, and you'd like to share your expertise, let me (us!) know how you did it.

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A while back, one of our intern photographers noticed my ancient 500mm mirror on my desk. He picked it up, inspected it like an geologist looking over a fossil and asked, "Where's the autofocus?" There was no autofocus. That lens is older than most of the reporters at the Daily Record.

The photo above was taken with the 500 mm mirror lens. I bought it used nearly 30 years ago, and it's still one of my favorites. It's less than six inches long, fits nicely into a small belt pack and weighs almost nothing, making it wonderfully handy on walks through the woods. I don't think Nikon even makes mirror lenses anymore.

The Record's 400 mm lens weighs almost 12 pounds, and is optically shorter, but at least a foot longer in real length. The 400 is a favorite among sports shooters,and one that's seen along football sidelines. It's huge and heavy. But it's a beautiful lens. It's quick, sharp, and at least three f-stops faster than the mirror lens.

I couldn't carry the 400 through the woods and survive unless I'd find someone to haul around this massive hunk of glass.

So, look at my 500 as a short cut. The picture above wouldn't have happened without my 500, and it would have been impossible with a shorter 80-200.

The problem, of course, is that the 500 is awfully slow at f8. Once the sun goes behind the trees, put this lens away. And another problem is obvious in this photo-- all those circles. It takes away from the heron here, but sometimes, it's an unusual element to the photo. The circles are just the result of the mirror images bouncing around inside the lens.

It's the lazy man's long telephoto. And if you find another 500mm around, let me know. This old girl should have been put out to pasture years ago.

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While in Loganville shooting another assignment, I wandered onto this scene. Now, one would think that shooting photos all day for eons would get old. But it's always another challenge, getting the best possible picture out of a particular situation.

It is frustrating, however, seeing a pastoral scene that begs for a terrific photo and I can't quite capture it. My eye sees it better than the camera.

Does this happen to you?

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Took a weekend jaunt to the Tyler Arboretum, a place I've never visited, or known, before Sunday. In Media, Pa., just outside Philly, it is overshadowed by its more famous neighbors like Longwood Gardens, Winterthur and others.

More than 600 acres, this wonderful collection of greenery is now featuring Totally Terrific Treehouses through September. Don't go with the idea of seeing 12 treehouses perched in trees, there are none. It is what the PR director calls a 'fanciful collection' of treehouses, most on the ground, some not even touching a tree.

Still, it's a great way to the get the kids outside and away from the computer screen. Even if they don't like treehouses, it boasts 20 miles of hiking trails and plenty of things to keep the family happy.

More on Tyler Arboretum in the YDR later in the summer as an Excursion.

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Many years ago, a good friend and I put together THE BEST RICE, or 11 steps to good composition. THE BEST RICE is the first letter for each rule. For example, the first T stood for "Thirds, Rule of", and continued with the other letters. It's elementary, but simple. lt was used to help York Daily Record correspondents in their photography, explaining that getting a good picture was more than hitting the shutter release.

Sometimes, you shoot a picture that works. It's pretty, pleasing and, well, it just works. Can't explain it. This photo is one that breaks all the rules, including the Rule of Thirds.

Was shot Monday on the Great Allegheny Passage, a bike trail that runs from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland. Hand held at 1/2 second and f11, 200 ISO.

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Not interested in losing my mortgage payment on the tables at Atlantic City, we cruised instead to Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge recently, so close to AC we could almost hear the quarters in the slot machines.

The fine folks at the visitors center there warned me that it was a lousy day for birding. "It's cold, windy and rainy," he said, repeating what I already knew. It was, indeed, a miserable day. The wind was so strong on the dikes I couldn't hold the camera steady; rain was 'falling' horizontally, and fortunately I had a pair of gloves with me to keep the fingers warm.

Why spend a full day in those conditions?

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With the price of gas crippling my travel budget, I've not gone on any long distance trips lately, so I 'make do' with locations close by.

This male cardinal was photographed in my backyard on Monday. It was shot with a 70-300 mm lens, at about 1/250 and f4.5, I think. No tripod.

Bright cloudy days are terrific for photography. No shadows, highlights retain their detail, the recent rain washes the dust off everything, and the colors pop.

Don't put away cameras because it's damp or cloudy. You might be surprised with the results.

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A group of friends got together over the weekend to talk about photography. We talked about composition, lenses, camera bodies, what we look for on outdoor excursions. All the usual photo stuff.

But much of the talk centered around tripods. When to use them, when to leave them in the car, how tall, how heavy, the heads on them. In all the photo books, you'll read this command From Above (my caps)-- "Always use a tripod". Period. No questions.

Baloney.

A tripod has its uses, and mine is witness to heavy use. But like a macro lens, a filter, flash, extension rings, only use it when necessary. Yep, it looks really sexy when people see you working behind it. You're busily checking buttons and dials-- know that they are very impressed. Well, some people are impressed, usually those who don't know any better.

Here's a good rule to remember--

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The Cherry Blossom Festival committee says that about a million people crowd into Washington D.C. during the two weekends of peak blossoms. The peak bloom was Saturday, and it seemed everyone who was there was carrying at least one camera.

So, with all these cameras, how do you come up with a photograph that's not been done before? Or, as Bob Dorksen, a terrific photographer friend in Cleveland once told me, "Excellence is always excellent." In other words, if it's a good picture today, it'll be a good picture tomorrow. And, getting something different isn't always the best choice.

As he also told me, and I've remembered since 1970...

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Three Lancaster County fishermen were seen Friday afternoon standing up in their boat near Long Level on the Susquehanna River. As one of the men said, and as we've all seen on bumper stickers-- 'A bad day fishing is better than a good day at work'. Since the trio had caught only one fish in the three hours on the water, Friday probably qualified as a bad day fishing. But they were all smiling.

Water temperature was 43 degrees, and we're assuming they had life jackets somewhere in the boat, since I didn't see any being worn. In those temperatures, they wouldn't be swimming for long.

Lake Clarke Rescue does a terrific job, but I'd rather not get a shot of them working.

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