Suggestions for night-time fire photography?

[auxman]

Is anyone aware of a good book or other training material for taking decent night-time photos at fire scenes? Flashes are almost useless since the action is usually pretty far away and while if I leave the flash off I can get decent shots if the exposure times weren't so long that everyone is blurry from movement.

[BoxAlarm187]

Come join us over at firepics.net where some professional fire-scene photographers have talked about this in depth. It generally comes down to using a lens with a very low F-stop coupled with a mixture of ambient light and flash photography.

Don't discount the use of the monopod for stability. Or, use a nearby vehicle, post, pole, or tree to stabilize the camera for longer exposure (more than 1/30 sec) times.

[ftfdverbenec770]

Like you said, using a flash is not going to help anything. The reflection from the gear and trucks is going to throw everything off. If you can use available light for your pictures. Like Box said, use a lowest f/stop that you can do. Also, if you can, bump up your ISO as needed.

[hakeem007]

No, but you will fill out a HUGE questionairre regarding your past medical history. Withholding information is the same as lying and results in immediate disqualification.

Medical disqualifications are less frequent than you might think. The Americans with Disabilities Act has gone a long way in reducing the number of medical disqualifications.

[DFDMAXX]

No, but you will fill out a HUGE questionairre regarding your past medical history. Withholding information is the same as lying and results in immediate disqualification.

Medical disqualifications are less frequent than you might think. The Americans with Disabilities Act has gone a long way in reducing the number of medical disqualifications.

Uhm...... What?