I would call this a gathering of mortars.
My husband and I got a very up close and personal backstage tour of one of our local fireworks shows.
These are only a few of the many mortars wired to explode into a sensational fireworks display of color and light.
These have been gathered, wired and set aside for the finale!
And, what a finale it was!
This is Mary (my neighbor) who makes it all happen in Claremont, California.
She is a licensed pyro-technician in the states of California and Hawaii.
Her two sons also do this "side" work, or hobby, as well.
One was very busy this weekend doing the Rose Bowl Show in Pasadena, California and the other in New York Harbor (the Macy's Show), New York.
Mary, you and your sons ROCK!
She is a licensed pyro-technician in the states of California and Hawaii.
Her two sons also do this "side" work, or hobby, as well.
One was very busy this weekend doing the Rose Bowl Show in Pasadena, California and the other in New York Harbor (the Macy's Show), New York.
Mary, you and your sons ROCK!
I was disappointed with my inability to capture the rest of the show.
My photos were very disappointing.
I think the problem was that we were so close to the action and I was
shooting straight UP.
I have gotten some nice fireworks photographs in the past but I was also farther away.
But, being up close was still a huge treat even if it wasn't good for my photography.
July 4, 2010
Claremont, California USA
The theme is gathering.
38 comments:
What a great opportunity, Carolyn, to see fireworks behind the scenes! And that smiley face is a good shot.
Happy Blue Monday!
The complexity involved in handling these explosives leaves me with an old adage - leave it for the pros! A fireworks show is something to behold, the fabulous patterns so bright. The smiley face is great!
That's great. I don't think I've ever seen a smiley face firework before. I did see some hearts in the Capitol 4th last night on TV. Last year I had trouble with the fireworks photos because I had it on manual focus and did accidentally focused for subjects much too close so everything was out of focus. This year I got it right but I don't know if I'll post any of them.
Beautiful shots. It is courageous of these people tho handle the explosives so well.
Wonderful photos. Belated Happy Fourth of July.
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Great shots. Love that first photo!
Great capture of the smiley firework.
Happy Blue Monday!
I find I prefer being farther away from the fireworks to enjoy them - it's quieter and less smoky.
But how lucky to get a backstage view!
What fun! And what great captures! So glad you were able to see all of this. It was so gray and cloudy here you couldn't see anything unless you were right next to the people handling the fireworks!! Glad you had such a great 4th, Carolyn! Have a great week!
Sylvia
These are all beautiful my friend. I love the one behind the scenes :) Excellent :)
How cool! I have never gotten that close to where it all happens.
looks like you had lots of fun!
Oh wow that is for me a lot of work and it's just right that a right person or people should do all the work. For safety ^_^ Happy Monday!
BM~Peacock
Great post and wonderful photos! I love the smiley face. Happy Ruby Tuesday!
Love the smiley face! How nice to get an up close view. Great pictures.
Bubble queen
blows ‘em big and mean—
then they POP!
Ruby Ripe Tomatoes!
That's amazing how they can do a smilie face like that. I enjoyed this so much and love the shot of the beautiful bubble blower.
That's really cool that you got to go behind the scenes and see the fireworks before they were fired. I love the picture of the smiley face and the little girl blowing bubbles.
That is cool. I don't think I have ever seen a closeup shot of the mortars and how they are arranged.
The smiley face fireworks are wonderful.
I don't have much experience at fireworks but it is tough. Lots of guesswork on when and where to snap the shutter.
The last one is priceless! Great series of shots.
what an awesome opportunity to see see this up close and personal.:p
the photo of the little girl is beautiful! great shot!
What interesting shots you got! Love that smiley face! Darling little girl, too. I think you did well!
an excellent behind the scene work and a great capture on the smiley firework.
Awesome collection, I am grinning as big as the smiley face photo!
:-D
Wow...you could say mary and her sons are electrifying! We had a little fire at one of our shows. The ground is so dry the sparks lit it up. The fire dept. doused it and on with the show.
Interesting!
I love the little girl blowing bubbles - too cute!
That smiley face was just great, and yes thanx for showing us a bit of the behind the scenes,
aloha,
i love seeing your photograph, the colors and set up are very interesting to see, thanks for sharing.
my tuesday is a hike on my sari sari blog
An amazing collection of dramatic collections! That lady and her so ns are incredible! And the little girl has such a sweet, intent expression!
What a wonderful opportunity for you!
She must be very proud to have passed the know-how down to sons doing major shows this weekend.
Thanks for sharing with us Carolyn.
Love the smiley face!
Wonderful way to capture them all!
Unique post! I love the photographs of the smiley face and the little girl. I prefer to be far away from fireworks :-/
Smiley is so cute! We didn't see any fireworks this year as it rained. I was so looking forward to trying to photograph them, oh well, it gives me a solid year to learn more about photography!
that 2nd shot looks like a war zone photo
I love the little girl
What a cool experience to get to see all of that behind the scenes. I love the smiley face.
ooooh so that's how the backstage of a fireworks show looks like!
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Hi Carolyn :)
It looks like you had a ton of fun on the holiday, and what a cool pic, the smile face made me smile! I have never been able to successfully photograph that type of fireworks. Well done!
Great pictures. I have always wondered what they look like behind the scenes.
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