Unless there is mist then I'd go for the no sky images all the time. 3,7 and 9 for me. 9 would be my fave without the top right sky.

I have an IR remote control - cost about £10 and has been through the washing machine a couple of times and still works. Using this in conjunction with mirror up mode is better that using the self-timer as you don't touch the camera at all and you can give the camera longer than two seconds to settle down fully. Plus you can pick the exact moment to expose the image rather than predict two seconds in advance (good for something like waves).

Finally went for the 1.4 converter, good deal on that. I have a feeling that SRS will be taking a rather large amount of money from me next year.

Explore seems a load of nonsense to me but the first three of these are really engaging shots.

Because they wanted to.

Personally I'm not going to leap in and buy a lens at its top price before the body and format for which it is designed is released. I'm with Dark Skies - Nikon and Canon do them now so go and buy them.

Pretty much the same here. Otherwise you don't actually get to see much of the fireworks. I try to arrive early, get a view that also has some interest apart from the fireworks. Set the tripod up, get a few shots which can then be combined with shots taken later. When shooting the fireworks then I use bulb mode. You can use the black card technique if you are a purist or you can stack individual images:

These are good examples, all these things happened but not necessarily at the same time (it's amazing how one quote or variations thereof can be so universally true [Eric Morecambe]):

It improves it. However, the other two are not interacting with each other in any way and the nearer bird doesn't benefit from the same plane of focus as the farther so the composition isn't really working for me. Two in some way related or just the one.

It's not at all easy to photograph this type of scenery that is so spectacular to the eye. Cliffs are just so difficult.
So I think 2 is really nice as it provides the balance with interest in the sky and the 'S' line of the sea. Good, varied set with imparts a strong sense of place. I also really like 5 and 13.

Plus the photons have travelled a bit further so are more tired and have quietened down a bit.