Fireworks Part 3 - Summer Fete (2010)

Normandale Lake at sunset before fireworks on July 2nd 2010, by Ryan Siemers

Originally I planned to be at the Taste of Minnesota. Do to a lack luster budget year for the Taste, I needed to find another show. Luckily, I knew of one that left me more than enough time to scout fully. Bloomington, MN has a fantastic display year after year. You can always catch them on the 3rd of July.

This year's Bloomington "Summer Fete" fireworks were provided by RES Pyroteknic who also provide fireworks shows for several indoor venues around Minnesota.

While scouting, one of the event planners for Bloomington, gave me some great tips: 1) Where the fireworks were going to be fired. 2) How long the show was. He also suggested a couple places that would provide great opportunities to set up.

I discovered that many people physically staked out places with their blankets, coolers, and lawn chairs but other wise they left them abandoned. That gave me the idea to use plastic table clothes and a cheap set of stakes to squat two locations that would allow me to explore three subjects: 1) Watchers 2) The Launch Site 3) The Fireworks.

Before the show, the bandshell stands emptyHDR-Tonemapped image of the crowd during the concert

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For those who have Flash, I put together a slide show (see below) of my results. I am including a few stills incase your browser doesn't support flash, click any to go to the full gallery.  You can also purchase prints and downloads from the gallery.