• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Simple Stylings
  • About
  • Home Decor
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About
  • Home Decor
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About
    • Home Decor
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Holidays

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    Published: Jul 6, 2015 · Modified: Jul 2, 2021 by Simple Stylings · This post may contain affiliate links · 6 Comments

    fireworks8

    Hey you guys! I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July celebration! It was a great weekend here, particularly in photos, so I felt the need to share some weekend scenes.

    I found this really cool tutorial on light painting with sparklers from A Beautiful Mess and a great fireworks photography tutorial on Living In Another Language and I was completely intrigued. I decided to give it a shot and it was so much fun! We watched the fireworks from my parent's lake house and it turned out to be the best spot. Although I had my camera and tripod on a floating dock I still think the photos turned out really cool. I even like the ones where we captured the fireworks at the very top or bottom of the photo.

    The basic concept is to put your camera (that has manual settings) on a tripod, set your ISO to 100, raise your aperature (f-stop) for a wide depth of field and lower the shutter speed to between 15-30 seconds. Try to manually focus on something by pointing a flashlight at a subject or try autofocusing on the fireworks if there is a series of one right after another. Just play around with these settings and you'll be sure to turn out some awesome images.

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    fireworks14

    fireworks15

    fireworks9

    fireworks6

    fireworks11

    fireworks10

    fireworks4

    fireworks18

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    fireworks7

    fireworks5

    fireworks19

    fireworks12

    Here are our light painting attempts. It was already completely dark when we started so I would like to try again around dusk and see how they turn out.

    fireworks3

    fireworks2

    fireworks1

    Here is the example from A Beautiful Mess. So cool, right???

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    And here are a few other shots from the weekend. We kept tossing around the idea to find a place to escape for the weekend but reminded ourselves that we have the greatest little celebration in our own neighborhood and we don't even have to get in our car!

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    IMG_0529

    IMG_0534

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    Here is my favorite new dress I shared on Instagram this weekend! I don't think the link worked for some of you so I'm adding it in here. It is so light and summery and it fits great. I'm wearing a medium and I'm 5'7" and 135 lbs if that helps :)

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    [show_shopthepost_widget id="844975"]

     

    Port City Club was our dinner spot and we escaped most of the rain which was nice.

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    And we had to end the weekend with a little grill action and a yummy desert. This super easy strawberry tart was inspired by my friend Julie of JulieBlanner.com but I adapted it slightly to utilize what I had in the house.

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    Cool Photos and a 4th of July Recap

    RECIPE (makes one) :

    Crescent Roles (two triangles, they sell these at Publix in a mini can which has 4 triangles, who knew?!?!)

    ½ c. thinly slices strawberries

    Powdered sugar

    Spread your crescent roles in the bottom of a small quiche or tart dish (ours are from Ikea), sprinkle some powdered sugar on the rolls, layer with strawberries and sprinkle more powdered sugar on top. Bake on 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown and the strawberries are bubbly.

    ***

    Stay tuned this week for some up coming posts, particularly a little styled entertaining shoot that Beth Barden and I have been working on!

    Cheers no let's go kick Monday in the behind!

    signature

     

     

    More Holidays

    • Merry Christmas from the Hogans 2020
    • 2020 Real Life Holiday Gift Guide
    • Merry Christmas from the Hogans + Last Minute Deals!
    • 2019 Real Life Holiday Gift Guide For Everyone

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles

      July 07, 2015 at 12:28 am

      Wow, Summer, you got some great shots! Love your darling new dress!

      Reply
      • Simple Stylings {For The Semi-Creative Mind}

        July 07, 2015 at 7:59 am

        Thanks so much Jennifer!

        Reply
    2. Mallory

      July 06, 2015 at 9:36 pm

      LOVE THIS!! So impressed with your photos!

      Reply
      • Simple Stylings {For The Semi-Creative Mind}

        July 06, 2015 at 11:06 pm

        Thanks so much friend! It was really fun! I want to try it again!

        Reply
    3. Kyla @ HouseOfHipsters

      July 06, 2015 at 2:01 pm

      I've always wanted to try the sparkler painting. Your photos turned out great!

      Reply
      • Simple Stylings {For The Semi-Creative Mind}

        July 06, 2015 at 5:41 pm

        Thanks Kyla! It was really fun you should definitely try it!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




     

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Summer! The creator and voice behind the lifestyle blog, Simple Stylings. My goal is to help you create simple style in your home and life. I am passionate about budget decorating, stylish design, travel and healthy living

    More about me →

    Receive our posts in your inbox Subscribe now!

    Popular Posts

    • Easy Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
    • Cozy Fall Decorating Ideas + 2 Recipes!
    • Easy Slow Cooker Chili Recipe
    • Cowboy Caviar: An Easy Healthy Snack for Everyone

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services
    • Press

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 Simple Stylings