[RootbeaR]

"For the photographer, winter certainly has its share of iconic subjects, such as Christmas trees, snowmen, and icicles hanging from a roof. But there's nothing quite like the excitement of shooting summertime fireworks. Done right, fireworks photos are dynamic and colorful, and they convey a sense of action better than almost any other kind of still image. Read on to learn how to capture some exciting fireworks photos of your own this summer."
http://www.pcworld.com/article/16597...fireworks.html

[gm3]

I use a tripod and "bulb" mode.

Unless your "on top" , close up , then focus on infinity.

Once the focus is set, bulb mode allows you to hold the shutter release either with your finger or a cable or wireless.

I just use my finger , I wait for the launch sound. then count to three, then push the shutter and hold it until the shot is done...

[RootbeaR]

Nice pics

[Marbleman]

Tripod + Bulb Mode + remote cable release and also a black card (if reqd).

Use a sturdy tripod to minimize vibrations, and use a remote release with 2 sec timer and mirror-lockup to minimize vibrations from the mirror slap. Setup the system so that artificial light sources (eg streetlamps) are not near the camera, otherwise you may get lens flare.

Prefocus at the area of interest and switch to manual focus so that AF is not initiated when the shutter release button is pressed. (or disable AF at shutter half-press)

Use bulb mode with low ISO and stop down i.e. use small apertures (say f/8 or smaller depending on the duration of the fireworks).

When in bulb mode, you can use a black card to temporarily cover the lens and then expose again if you wish to capture a series of fireworks in the same frame..

Shoot RAW as far as possible for some latitude during post-processing.

On some cameras, post-exposure noise reduction with dark frame subtraction cannot be turned off...this essentially doubles the time during which the camera is unusable (i.e. original exposure + DFS for the same time) so take this into consideration when timing the shots, or you may miss some good ones.

Hope this helps.