HELLO!

http://216.188.203.13/fireworks.html

Taken by my friend, not even a photographer, he just happened to have a cam...

I thought those were great photos and videos, the shells used were ordinary... but cool to see anyway.

One thing tho... there seems to be no music... although shells can be heard bursting....

Also i dont really like it when they have blue, green and red stars mixed randomly inside a shell.. Color changing is great, as well as lets say half blue half red...

I loved the green shell with golden glitter star...

One thing too... They were using either very high quality oxidizer or smokeless blackpowder... There wasnt really much smoke from the burst and the stars... Very sharp and crisp bursts.

Nice salutes too... too bad they werent Ti... cause those are my favorite!!!!

In a number of shells they have also placed gold comets in them... Very nice!

Of course my favorite is still the mondialSAQ... I think laronde was totally awsome!!!! I really dug those bombettes they used for their endings.

I noticed that the green produced wasnt as strong and intense as those you see at mondialSAQ... I loved those colors... they were so exotic.. aqua, cyan, violet, magenta etc.

I dont know if its just me... i get so thrilled talking about fireworks... my friends say im nuts... but thats what i am!!!

take a look and tell me what you think!

Hello Mr. Anonymous!

I took a quick glimpse at the pictures you posted and I must say, very impressive, indeed!

From what I see, some nice colors used, and also, some of those salutes look like they can produce some loud noises, like the Mondial SAQ!

Thx a lot for showing the pictures, fireworks are still going along quite nicely! They rule!!!!

About fireworks, don't worry, every member here, including myself and millions of others out there are very well, fireworks enthusiasts!

If you'd like, you can become a member of this forum. I'm sure Paul would love to have a new member here, and so would I and the rest of us here.

So, don't hesitate.

I still have to download the videos, so I'll get back to you on that and tell you what I think.

BTW, once again, those are some great pics, similar to the Mondial SAQ! After looking at those pics, it takes me back at the competition and makes me look foward to next year's!

I loved fireworks since I was a kid, (about 6 years old), and now I'm 19 and I'm crazy about them, they are one of my greatest passions, can't get enough!!!

Anyway, think about joining the forum, it would be nice to have another member here. If you need more info, you can ask Paul, he's the administrator of the forum, so he would know best.

Regards,

Trav.

As Trav says, I'm always happy to welcome new members. Very good photos too - do you know what sort of camera was used and if it was digital or not? You're also right about the lack of smoke, but the right film can also mask excess smoke. Take a look at the pictures on this site, particularly those photographed by Robert Burch (and also the ones I took in Hull) - very little, if any, smoke is visible. This was because a very slow film was used, 50ASA Fuji Velvia.

Thanks for sharing the photos with us and please consider joining the forum as a member.

Paul..

Yep! I wanted to join the forum, but the registration is a little tedious (either that or im very lazy... i think the latter), the same goes with forums everywhere hehe I like it that you have this quick posting thing here!

And the camera used was a digital cam, Canon PowerShot S110.

It amazes me that when shells are lifted into the air, you cant see the shell! The big shells seem elusive too, I've never seen the spherical shape of a shell in mid-air... All I see is the burning trail from the fuse, even if the're photographed close up.

My favorite shell this year was from the 2003 LeMondialSAQ
http://www.montreal-fireworks.com/cgi-bin/photogen.cgi?Pics2003/Burch/ Italy-05.jpg,435,600
I am clueless as to what shell it is... but it is really cool!

I think I will join the forum on my next visit! Thanks for the warm welcome!

Once you've registered, the forum software sets a cookie in your browser so don't have to log in every time ... and if you use a browser with password management, then it's not so painful.

Thanks for the info on the camera - people are always asking what is a good digital for taking fireworks photos.

As for the picture you like, remember that all the photos on this site are time exposures (usually between one and five seconds) so that there are probably several shells. Plus it is rare that only single shells are fired (unless they are large ones). The photo looks like it could be a barrage of peony shells (the thin trails) and some shells of some type of coloured comets (the bushy trails).

For a picture which does contain a visible shell, take a look at http://www.montreal-fireworks.com/cgi-bin/photogen.cgi?Pics97/Firework s/Images/fire6.jpg,453,694 in the centre, quite close to the top, there is what looks like a cylinder shell, though it is easier to see on the original full-sized picture.

Paul.

It's true, the fireworks in the pictures didn't show any smoke, or like Paul said, it can be masked by the film that was used, which is pretty good.

Oh yeah, Mr.Anonymous, I would be absolutely delighted if you could join the forum. The registration is easy and fast. As soon as your registered, you will have statistics of your own, just like me and all the other registered members here. Like Paul said, the forum software sets a cookie in your browser autimatically, making it easier to login, rather than type your user name and password every time you enter the forum, plus messages are quicly posted in this forum. I like it here because you can share all of your passions on fireworks with fellow enthusiasts. Posts are a little slow now because the competition was over for a month now, but during that period of time, it was very active here, indeed! Paul did a good job building this forum. Well done! I think this is a great place to share our passion for fireworks!!:

So please, consider joining, I think it will be cool to have another member here.

Anyway, I think next year, I will have a digital camera handy and take some shots of my own at the Mondial SAQ, I think it will be interesting and fun! I would like to take several shots in each display, then label them and put them together. I'll make a nice collection! I think the pictures will turn up nicely next year, if I decide to do it, that is.

Hey Paul, do you have any tips on how to take great shots of the fireworks? It would be nice to know.

Regards,

Trav.

Yep! Im a member now That was not as difficult as I expected hehe.

Its great to know that this forum is lively during Mondial SAQ, then there will lots of fun people to talk to! I might even wanna fly over there to watch one or two shows. I've always wanted to visit canada, I have got a few friends there myself, but mainly due to the Le Mondial SAQ!

Thanks for the information regarding that shell, that is certainly beautiful!

I think I can barely make out the cylinder shell, still it is pretty amazing something of that size can burst to give huge patterns and colors Ive always been fascinated with them since I was born!

I don't know if using a slow shutter speed like 5 secs exposure will actually illuminate the smoke, it appears that the lights are causing the smoke to be lit and the brightness of the smoke accumulates for the 5 seconds.

It's great fun to start a collection of fireworks photos yourself and label them! I would love to do that too!

I'm happy you decided to join us here in the forum. It's nice to meet you......oh yeah....I don't have to call you "Mr. Anonymous" anymore!

So, I'll call you Scypher from now on.

Yes, like everyone here and hundreds of millions out there, we have a great instinct and a great passion for fireworks, especially for the Mondial SAQ, here in Montreal every summer! Like I said before, I'm 19 now and I've been watching since I was around 6 years of age! Some history, huh?

Anyway, I've always loved fireworks and I think I always will for the rest of my life!!

Here I thought you lived in Montreal this whole time! lol. I think you should come spend the summer here next year, particularly during the climax of the competition, if you'd like. You don't want to miss the last show, believe me!

I probably will consider bringing a nice flashy digital camera to the competition next year, I think it will be fun and exciting!

Anyhow, Paul will be delighted to hear that you joined, so would Enkil, Frederick, who was a jury member, and many others, including me!

So, if you want to, we could get some topics going!

Only problem is.......I'm back in school now,

But, doesn't matter.

See ya,

Trav.

I am 1 year younger than you trav, and I'm still schooling too!

I wonder how much an entire show will cost. I mean not the admission fees but the costs of all the fireworks used... I bet it would be huge considering the show duration is pretty long and the fireworks are exotic!

I would really love to see the mondial SAQ! I dreamt of it last night lol, I was so thrilled! I hope to dream of it again!

I wonder if you like the smell of fireworks too... I remember once I was up close to some fountains and mines, and when the smoke drifted into my nose it was actually pleasant smelling! I love the smell of gunpowder and stars! Ooh I wonder if it is just me....

Anyway thanks for the warm welcome! I hope I can get better acquainted with you guys too!

I believe each team is given $75,000 to pay for the pyrotechnic materials.

There are lots of equipment and controls used, it's very VERY complex, and it takes a long time for everything to be set up for each dislplay, it's a lot of hard work involved in this competition.

If you'd like more info, Scypher, you can take a look at the information part of this website, right at the top of the screen. It's very interesting, indeed! I think you will be amazed of what goes on behind the scenes. I was!

As for the smell of the fireworks, yes it does spark me up. Every time I'm there at the Mondial SAQ, I always smell that same scent, it wouldn't feel right if you couldn't smell it! Lets just say, I like it's presence when I'm there!

Sometimes I have dreams of fireworks. I think I had one, about a couple weeks ago, about next year's competition and when I woke up, I remembered that it was over and I had to wait a very long time for it again next year

But that's okay, I still think of it and wait for it's arrival next summer, while all of us discuss it here in the forum till, hopefully, next year.

I hope you can come to next year's show, it would be very nice if you can come! Like I said before, you don't want to miss the climax of the competition! But, if you can, try to spend a little of the summer here, in Montreal.

You know how the competiton works? If you don't, I'll be happy to explain it to you.

Regards,

Trav.

Wow, just ran across this post. I'm a tad late! I took those photos with a simple Canon PowerShot S110 (digital elph line), and 1 second exposure, which is the camera's maximum. I pretty much just stood there, resting the camera up against the side of a building, and shot randomly. No skill involved, but the pictures didn't turn out TOO bad

Might wanna check out some photos I took with an Olympus, slightly longer exposure, at the Harley Davidson 100th in Milwaukee last month. They had a nice show:

http://216.188.203.13/aux/image/fworks/

- shea

Nice pictures! I particularly like this one:

http://216.188.203.13/aux/image/fworks/fireworks2.jpg

I think those are waterfall shells or kamuros. Very good picture!

Cheers,

Paul.

Hey there guys! I just saw the pictures you posted, Mr.Anonymous, and they are pretty good! I also like the one that Paul likes!

Question for you, Paul. What is the name of those fireworks? Aren't they sparkling weeping willow shells?

Once again, pretty cool pics!

Trav.