With July 4th coming up just next week (for those of you in the U.S.), this is a great time to talk about how to photograph fireworks. Fireworks can be a fun diversion from your normal “take pictures of the kids” routine, and you only get a few opportunities a year to do it. So here’s what you need to know to take great photos on Wednesday night.

1. Plan your composition. You’ll want to decide ahead of time how you want your photos to look. Do you have any landmarks you want included in the frame? Trees? Think about these early and plan out your strategy.

2. Choose a lens with proper focal lengths. With fireworks, you don’t know where they’re going to go off in the sky. Because of this, wider focal lengths will give you a better chance at catching the action. That huge 400 mm lens won’t do you any good here if you never catch any fireworks. Keep your shots a little wider, but don’t be afraid to get in tight and really fill the frame with color once in a while, once you know where the action is.

This is easily one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in the world of photography.

I’ve heard of light painting before, but these guys take it to a whole new level with stop motion animation using long exposures and hand-held lights. I can’t even begin to imagine the level of patience, talent, coordination, and pure skill it takes to create some of the animation sequences they make.

If you have a few free minutes today, use them to watch this video. I promise you won’t wish you’d gotten those few minutes of your life back.

And if you decide to try your hand at creating some “lightning doodles”, post your results to the reader photo pool so everyone can enjoy.

Yeah, I know what you were thinking. But that’s why you’re reading this, so I’m okay with it.

A couple weeks ago I went to an undisclosed amusement park in southern California for a conference for work (I do have a day job after all). After about four days of listening to executives droning on about mission statements, I finally had to take a few pictures before my head exploded. Luckily for me, I brought my Canon 20D, my 430EX flash, my Pocket Wizards, and a compact light stand. Sounds like the makings for some fun to me.