I'm glad people enjoyed the show. I've been the assigned shooter for Alton Bay & Center Harbor on the 3rd & 4th for the last 4 or 5 years, and do the New Years in Meredith (as well as a score of other shows around NH). It stunk having Alton postpone, as we where *just* heading out the door leaving from Atlas up to Alton Bay to set up when we got the call it was postponed. It did make it easier to get the Center Harbor show on the 4th ready, as we went to our hotel on the 3rd in preparation for Ctr Harbor.
About the show:
I shot the show electronically via secured wireless from the boat about 100' away towards the bay (same as Ctr Harbor, but was on the lake-side). The barge is a custom built barge belonging to Atlas. Usually I shoot hard wired electrical, but there's no place to sit or run.
I may be "crazy" but I can't swim... although I do an extremely convincing dead man's float.
Tips on enjoying the show:
1)
Stay back 250' during setup. Why? Well, it's supposed to be 500', but concessions have to be made to allow boaters to pass to the slips, ramp & the rest of the bay. I'm not going to lock down the bay.
Fireworks are deadly business. A 3" finale shell has greater explosive power than a grenade and it gets exponential for each 1" in diameter. Any bit of static has the potential to set them off, and if you're nearby you'll be deaf and covered in pyro spoo too.
2)
Stay back 500' during the show. Why? You may *think* we have the best seats in the house, but all we see is fire, brimstone, burning paper, smoke and other burning debris raining down on us with bits of the actual color from the shell shining through it all way up. The fallout can and will annihilate your gel coat, urethane & paint for which we're not responsible. The best angle for viewing is at a 45 degree angle from the launch point to the burst. We had 6" shells in the show, mostly 4" & 5". The highest burst point is ~550' on average... which means 500'+ from our barge is best viewing. It's also Law.
3)
Be Kind and Create No Wake. The Alton Fire Dept put out the big orange balls to signify a no-wake zone and they mostly went ignored (thank you to those who know the laws and coasted by us). A few times we came close to losing the shells for the show off into the water when a few people where screaming into the bay @ 50+mph, and the wake thrashes us around like there's no tomorrow. A couple years ago the show was late due to time lost recovering from wake.
The tooting of boat horns only made it more stressful.
Questions we get from passing boats:
* There are big signs on each side that say "FIREWORKS - STAY CLEAR". People like to coast up to ask me "Are those the fireworks?" or "Are you the fireworks guys?" It just makes me laugh at that person's level of intelligence. If I'm in a pithy mood, my favorite response is "Nope! Oil Baron! These are all my wells!"
* "Need a match?" umm... no. Heard that one a thousand times.
* "Can I have any extras?" umm... no. I have no intention of bunkin' with Bubba (nor the person asking) in the Federal Pen.
Anecdotes in passing... I don't mind talking to people after the show, but only after our equipment is loaded and secured into the truck and we're out of the loading ramp. Although per each town we 'own the ramp' for the period it takes to launch or retract the barge or equipment from the barge into the trucks... I don't want to hold up the ramp any longer than I have to.
See you on New Years on the Big Lake, unless I inherit the August show in Alton!
Marc