Ideally for Fireworks you need a tripod for starters and a fair bit of skill and research to get perfect shots.

Well, when I go to Madeira we use carry-on bags only so something has to give, and the thing that has to give is my tripod; there is just no room for it.

Now, when we go to see the fireworks, my wife and I go down to the Forte de São Tiago; firstly because it is on the harbour right opposite the breakwater where the fireworks are launched from; secondly because the fort has a restaurant that offers a really good "dining experience" menu; thirdly, that menu includes wine! So, by 10pm comes around when the fireworks go off I am little too "non-plussed" (shall we say?) to cope with a camera, fiddle with settings, and hold it steady without a tripod. So I knew I was not going to get perfect images, so I set out to get different imperfect ones.

To be honest, I prefer the randomness of my results to perfection.