Fireworks on the River: A Fourth of July to Remember

In 2025, I missed our town’s official fireworks due to a family event. But on the Fourth itself, we were riverside at a picnic on the Piscataquog in Goffstown, NH—an ideal setting for an impromptu fireworks show.

As the sun sank and most family members packed up, we stayed behind, watching the boats drift upstream while, downriver, four different groups began launching their own colorful displays.

I set up my Nikon D850 on a tripod, focused just beyond a familiar riverside tree where fireworks usually bloom. ISO 100, aperture f/8, bulb mode engaged. With my remote shutter in hand, I waited.

The first thuds echoed through the twilight. I opened the shutter on launch and closed it when the shell bloomed—mentally counting seconds to dial in the timing. My sweet spot: 3 to 3.5 seconds at f/8. Later in Lightroom, I balanced exposures to match sky brightness across shots.

Pro tip: Focus before dark, use a remote shutter in bulb mode, and listen for the launch. Don’t fire blindly—time it for the full blossom. You'll capture sharper, cleaner patterns.

There’s an art to fireworks photography. It’s part planning, part patience, and part practice. But when it all comes together, the results are explosive.

Check out all the images from this night on the river by clicking here.