Mount the camera on a tripod.

I usually set the camera to "bulb" setting and use a setting of f18.
I open the shutter and cover the front of the lens with a piece of black card until an explosion of a firework, removing the black card for about 5 secs before covering it again.
I wait for another explosion then uncover again for about 5 secs and so on.

I usually do around 4 or 5 of these ( uncovering the lens for no longer than 25secs) to capture multiple explosions but without burning the highlights out, before closing the shutter.

I have an example in my portfolio (page 15 of my portfolio in a group of shots entitled Proms) taken last july at a musical firework event.

Phil

Lovely shot Stewart, I like the light effect coming from the flower head.

Not sure if it's my monitor or not, but I am seeing some banding effects in the image, circulating outwards from a spot about a quarter of the way up the image just to the left of the stemHope you dont mind me mentioning this.

phil

Very nice shot, good foreground interest.

I have found that by using some black card to place in front of the lens inbetween explosions, means I can capture muliple firewoks in one shot, without the risk of over exposing the image.
Sometimes I can leave the shutter open for up to 2 mins, just removing the card from in front of the lens for a few seconds at a time.
I don't know if this may be of interest to you for next time.

Phil

Hello Lou.
As a D50 user as well, I hope I might be able to help a little.

When I am using the 18-55mm kit lens for landscapes or seascapes I will not go above f16, I find f8 doesn'f really give enough sharpness from front to back in a wide angle shot and above F16 the sharpness drops off a lot, possibly from camera shake due to the longer exposure times.
I will always use a tripod and because the D50 doesn't have a mirror lock up facility for taking pictures (just for sensor ceaning) I will trip the shutter using a remote shutter release, I found the Nikon remote infra red device great for this and picked one up cheap from ebay (£3 + p&p new from Hong Kong).

I also found that not using the lens at 18mm helps the sharpness a little as well, I usually go no wider that 20mm.

When I am using f16 I try to pick a focal point just about a third of the way into the scene, looking at your shot perhaps the fallen red leaves on the path would be about the right focal point for this instance.

An example of the settings I have mentioned above can be seen in a shot on page 4 of my portfolio, titled Bas Fors.
There was a brisk breeze blowing off the loch when this was taken, so I set the tripod down really low to give more stability.
The focal point for this shot was the smaller boulder in the loch, just left of centre, between the two larger boulders.

I hope this all makes sense, and helps you a little.

Regards

Phil