Saturday, December 31, 2016 | Language: English | Currency: Australian Dollar | Population = 5.25 million

Sydney is home to one of the world’s most iconic New Year’s Eve celebrations and I was so excited to be a part of it. Here’s what we were expecting:

“This year the entertainment starts at 18:00 with an aerial display followed by a water display in the harbor. A fireworks display for the young ones, lasting eight minutes will take place at 21:00, followed by the Harbour of Light Parade, a show featuring ships decorated with ropelight. When the clock strikes midnight, Sydney will welcome in 2017 with a 12-minute display featuring pyrotechnic effects in the harbor, around the Sydney Harbor Bridge and from the Sydney Opera House.”

So, I spent the afternoon figuring out how to photograph the display for crisp, dramatic, unforgettable photos. After all, I expect this will be the only time I am in Sydney for New Year’s Eve. Night photography, on its own, is challenging. Now the light becomes the moving subject of the photo rather than just illumination. Oh, and how do you capture the pyrotechnic display in the dark sky with a city skyline?

So, I spent the afternoon preparing. I reread the camera manual. I pulled out the tripod that Jill, Jay and Tom gave me, anxious to use it for the first time. I searched online for fireworks shooting tips. And here’s what I learned.

First off, a tripod and remote shutter release are vital. As in not optional. Because with the long shutter speed required, you cannot hand-hold your camera without shake. I figured out how to adjust the numerous tripod knobs to connect the camera securely and angle in the right direction. I even added weight to it to eliminate any movement from the wind or someone bumping into it. I set a two second delay on my camera to avoid added vibration from pressing the button to shoot. Okay, ready.

Next up, camera settings. Manual settings, no auto settings here. A long exposure is needed to get those long light trails that take a good fireworks photo. But if it’s too slow, the lights will be blown out. You need a low ISO sensitivity level to minimalize the grain, or smoke, as you want the sky to be pitch black. Both of those settings affect what the aperture setting will be. I test and retest the settings in my room. Okay, set.

Now focus; automatic focusing cannot be used here. You find a spot far enough away to manually set the focus when there is still some light in the sky before the fireworks begin. Or set the focus to infinity. What? I decide to use auto focus on the first one, then change it to manual. Okay, go.

But first we need to get ready for the cocktail party and dinner before the show.

Mark, in his infinitely wise way, reserved the Bali Beds on the top deck in the aft of the ship for us, and one for Vince, tonight so we could watch the display in our pajamas under the covers. What a great idea.

I’m not sure we realized the entire ship was going to join us at midnight, still dressed in formal attire, with champagne to toast for all. But man that was fun.

And the show begins. Here’s what we saw:

Here’s what my friend, and avid photographer, Dave shot:

Here’s my photo:

So I decided to go for the artsy look instead.

I think next time I’ll use a good old point and shoot camera with a “Fireworks Mode.”

You can see the actual show here, it was phenomenal.