Brad Carlile

Portland, Oregon

The Alchemists

In these trying times, they use explosives. What is going on? From the outside, this seems reckless and destructive. Do your biases lead you to think that you understand them?

Their aim is not to destroy or hurt. Their creativity, imagination, and long hours of work are meant to create awe-inspiring moments of joy. They are pyrotechnists. More appropriately, they are alchemists. Much like the alchemists of old, they work with base metals and turn them into gold, but their golden objects are amazing fireworks in the night sky.

They come from many professions and walks of life. Here they are all alchemists, plying their passions in the desert. Strict rules and real danger limit what can be photographed. For this reason, identifying details are redacted. These areas are further hand-painted with ultrablack paint, which absorbs 99.96% of visible light. The redaction is both practical and symbolic.

Each year in America, over 300 million pounds of fireworks are set off. A few take the next step and craft their own. Several times a year, they gather to build their own fireworks. Firework recipes combine strong oxidizers and fuel. This is the very definition of rocket science.

This is dangerous work that must be taken seriously. Miles from town, tents are pitched with spacing required by federal/state laws. Everyone uses personal protective gear and guards against the tiniest spark. Hydraulic presses, customized jigs, and tweezer-like accuracy are the norm. They use a mix of millennia-old recipes and fresh experiments. Fireworks are both a science and a craft of contrasts. They unleash huge forces at high speed and long range, but building them requires millimeter-accurate fuses, exact gram weights, and gentle mixing. During endless experiments, pyrotechnists keep all of these in balance.

This project offers a glimpse into this world. This series reveals the passion, meticulous labor, and craftsmanship behind this explosive beauty. Let me take you behind the curtain and into the exotic world of The Alchemists.