On things that go bang

flowers

It’s an indication of the length of my personal ‘to-do’ list that, though I managed to see and even review the new movie about Charles Darwin, I’ve only just got around to uploading my photos of the Thames Festival.

jazz hands
Jazz hands

I had planned to wonder and pontificate on the wondrousness of fireworks, and how the heck you you get those beautiful shapes, and stuff like that.

Butterfly
Butterfly

But I’m so tired right now that I think what I’m going to do is link to a site that tells you how to make fireworks,

Here come the Vorlons
Vorlons on approach

and simply marvel at the prettiness of it all.

I would like to know how they get some of those effects, though. I found a website that probably tells meโ€”even me!โ€”too much about pyrotechnics (although looking at the writing on that page, I do wonder if they think swine flu is a conspiracy).

Instead, I’m just going to say ‘Oooh’ and ‘Aaah’. And point out that you don’t need a crap camera in an iPhone to get cool effects: sometimes it’s deliberate.

Blackfriars

About rpg

Scientist, poet, gadfly
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20 Responses to On things that go bang

  1. Jennifer Rohn says:

    Ooo. Lovely. I was there for the real thing and these are, somehow, much prettier!

  2. Eva Amsen says:

    [puts on philosophy hat] (Picture a mortarboard with two springs on it with butterflies on top that flap their wings, and in the middle of that a glass that is either half full or half empty. At the end of the tassel is one hand (clapping) and on the hand is a picture of a cave with silhouettes in it. Anyway.)
    In general, there are lots of things, not just fireworks, that you can just look at and enjoy, or totally overanalyse scientifically. Art, music, animals. Yes, baby animals are cute because their eyes are a certain size and we’re predisposed to blablablabla puppies. And music sounds good when the notes that are played simultaneously have a certain correlation, and you can do all kinds of math on it, OR you could just listen to it.
    Uhm. No, this isn’t going anywhere, really. I just wanted to show off my new hat.
    [twirls]
    [splashes]
    Oh. Guess that glass is entirely empty now. Or not full at all.

  3. Alyssa Gilbert says:

    I think it’s just fine to appreciate the beauty of things ๐Ÿ™‚ Sometimes science can ruin it.

  4. Jennifer Rohn says:

    Eva, I know a really good hangover cure if you need one.

  5. Anna Vilborg says:

    Really cool pictures! And impressive work on the “to-do-list”. To actually do anything with photos once taken is a major achievement in my book ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. Richard P. Grant says:

    Thanks peeps ๐Ÿ™‚
    I think Eva said what Alyssa did, just more drunkenly poetically.

  7. Eva Amsen says:

    Yes.

  8. Samantha Alsbury says:

    A doctor once told me that it’s regarded as a good sign of being a sane and well balanced person if you still feel wonderment and delight at things like fireworks…(thinking) can that really be true.

  9. Richard P. Grant says:

    The state of the NHS, eh?

  10. Richard Wintle says:

    Somebody refill Eva’s glass.
    Those last two photos are especially nice. I particularly like the crispy-focus on St. Paul’s or whatever the domes are in the background, contrasted with the (apparently intentional) motion blur in the foreground. You’re definitely rocking that 450D.

  11. Eva Amsen says:

    You guys all realize that was water in that glass, right? (At least, that’s what I always picture in the “glass half-full” scenario)

  12. Richard P. Grant says:

    Right. Tell it to the judge.

  13. Eva Amsen says:

    And I didn’t even drink it! It was half-empty to begin with, and I lost the other half when I spun around to show off my hat.

  14. Richard P. Grant says:

    OK then. I believe you weren’t drunk. Don’t know about those other coves though.

  15. Cath Ennis says:

    Half drunk?

  16. Eva Amsen says:

    Half sober.

  17. Richard P. Grant says:

    Half sober

  18. Richard P. Grant says:

    Snap!

  19. Eva Amsen says:

    I won!

  20. Richard P. Grant says:

    I said ‘snap’ first.

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