Fireworks

I enjoy watching fireworks, but I enjoy firing it much more. These clips give a small fraction of the experience. You get nothing of the concussion here of course, which is what is so addictive for me.

I don't know that I've ever met a more wildly diverse crew than the folks that show up to work with pyrotechnics. Recently I've met a military history professor, a stage manager for a major symphony orchestra, a cowboy, an ambitious real estate broker and a broadly skilled surgery room technician accustomed to working in remote hospitals and a senior credit union loans officer.

This was a show Canfire shot for St. Anne Dawson Trail Days on September Labour Day weekend 2011. The show is pretty, but the guns really get me going.


These racks shown in the first video below, have 4-6 inch guns that contribute to the finale and are fired electrically. Bigger shows have bigger guns obviously. Some of the bigger ones have to be dug into the ground to ensure they remain safe if something goes amiss. As it is, I've seen some of these smaller guns be pounded into soft ground a half meter from the recoil. MMmmm... concussion.





Hand lighting still holds a thrill for me. Firing any gun requires a steady hand and some never get use to it. On this night the wind was perfect, in that it took the smoke away. It can be very dirty work. Firing these racks comprise the bulk of the show.