Erik Seo Photography Blog » 4th of July http://www.erikseo.com/blog The blog of Utah ski photographer Erik Seo Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:41:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 4th of July, Part 2 – 22,000 bottle rocket launcher video http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2009/07/4th-of-july-part-2-22000-bottle-rocket-launcher-video/ http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2009/07/4th-of-july-part-2-22000-bottle-rocket-launcher-video/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:13:23 +0000 Erik Seo http://erikseo.com/blog/?p=710 As promised, part 2 of the 4th of July post is here.  If you didn’t see the original 4th of July post, check it out here. I did a quickie time lapse of the bottle rocket launcher on the barge being built with a quick video clip Justin Hansen took with his new Nikon D5000 of the 1 minute firing of the 22,000 bottle rockets.  I’ve been called “a big 3rd grader” before.  I guess this qualifies.

22,000 Bottle Rocket Launcher from Erik Seo on Vimeo.

]]> http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2009/07/4th-of-july-part-2-22000-bottle-rocket-launcher-video/feed/ 3 4th of July http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2009/07/4th-of-july-2/ http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2009/07/4th-of-july-2/#comments Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:26:26 +0000 Erik Seo http://erikseo.com/blog/?p=663 The "Grizzly" mortar shells from the beachEvery year I can remember except for one I spent in Park City and the Summer I spent in New Zealand, my 4th of July has been spent back home in Seattle at the Harris’s house.  I started going there in pre-school, it was the perfect spot for a 4th of July party. Private beach location on the Puget Sound so anything goes with fireworks and views of 3 fireworks shows, Tacoma, Vashon Island and Three Tree Point.  Add in good old friends I get to see every year and it’s something I knew I always had plans for.  As we all grew up, the fireworks evolved.  We all started with small, “safe and sane” fireworks you can buy at all the fireworks stands with my brother Stan and Sam’s older brother Ty going for the bigger and better fireworks (both of them are in the military now as it turns out).  Undoubtedly the influence of our older brothers made myself and Sam get creative with our own fireworks, eventually creating things to destroy our entire collection of GI Joe toys in one day.


Natalie on lap number 30 on the inflatable slideWe’ve all grown up a bit.  They 4th at the Harris’s has reverted back to how it started for the most part.  Kids running around and playing, some shooting fireworks.  Instead of my friends and I, it has become the children of my friends running around.  It’s a pretty cool thing to see,  pretty much watching what my childhood was like right in front of my face.  The same place, the same day, add in a lot of new faces.  It’s a fun day.

Dan Randall stringing the fuses for the bottle rocket launcher

Everything has evolved and although we have grown up, we still blow shit up.   Now we have more resources to buy more shit to blow up.  Here’s where things haven’t reverted back to where the 4th of July at the Harris’s started out.   Enter Dan Randall to the situation.  Dan started coming to the 4th when we were in college and has been bringing more and more to the beach every year to blow up.  A little background, Dan enjoys all things that blow up.  From throwing little firecrackers one by one, to his time in the US Army as a demolitions specialist, blowing up more shit than you can imagine.  As you would guess, Dan loves the 4th. The past 2 years he’s brought a large bottle rocket launcher that does 10,000 bottle rockets in a few minutes. This year he stepped it up a bit, making a small barge to float the launcher out to sea a bit to keep things at a bit of a distance and make things a bit safer.  We’ve had to dodge stray bottle rockets in the past few years so a bit of distance should help things out a bit.  Getting the kids started on excessive fireworks earlyDoug Earle also came in to help out with this monstrosity adding in a remote start capability to the barge making things a bit safer and more enjoyable for everyone.

This year the massive 22,000 bottle rocket launcher went off exactly as planned.  The barge floated, the remote igniter worked, all the bottle rockets went off, nobody had to duck for cover and it was just pretty damn cool.  Photos are below, video of the bottle rocket launcher to come as soon as I get it.

Cheers to Dan and Doug and of course the Harris’s for making another great 4th.

FOOD!Ribs boiling...mmmm....ribsA few of the 15 pounds of ribs bbq'd up by Jason Thomasmmmm.....beeeeeerSome peeps in the backyardKids with shades. Always funnyJay, double fisiting kids.Sam, the happy host in the middleBrian, I told you, I can't make you look any better in photoshop. There's just some things photoshop can't do.Oh the GrizzlyBlack Cat Silver Fox, part A of the bottle rocket mixJust in case you didn't know...these are fuses.This is what 22,000 bottle rockets comes in.BANG! Part B of the bottle rocket mixottle rockets all lined up and ready to goDan Randall, getting it goingHey kid, put those 144 fireworks over there. Wait, watch this...hold my beer.Bottle rockets, bottle rockets, bottle rockets.The launcher on the barge. Ready to launchBringing the bottle rocket launcher barge down to the water.22,000 Bottle rockets in 1 minuteThe sunset. Un-photoshoppedThe "Grizzly" mortar shells on the beachMore of the Grizzly mortar shells from the beach.Saturn MisslesThe view of the Quartermaster Harbor show on Vashon IslandThe view of the Quartermaster Harbor show on Vashon Island

]]> http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2009/07/4th-of-july-2/feed/ 7 10,000 bottle rockets, 366 days ago http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2008/07/10000-bottle-rockets-366-days-ago/ http://www.erikseo.com/blog/2008/07/10000-bottle-rockets-366-days-ago/#comments Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:41:23 +0000 Erik Seo http://erikseo.com/blog/?p=249 So my friend Dan Randall, rather obsessed with fireworks (was an explosives specialist in the army for a while) put together a bottle rocket launcher that put 10,000 bottle rockets in the air in 2 and a half minutes last year on the 4th of July.  It’s quite the entertaining video if you haven’t seen it.  Check it out below.  This year Dan put together the same launcher but we packed in an extra one thousand bottle rockets at 11,000 of them.  I’ll have a post a bit later with some photos from the day and a video of the 11,000 bottle rocket launcher.

Check out last year’s vid here though:

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