So since I was not flying it was a opportunity to take pictures of those that were... albeit from the ground....it was still a lot of walking, running, stumbling, wandering around the area..Just not flying over it.. Over 4000 steps by my phone and that does not include all the spins and shuffling to get just that right shot... which I mostly missed.
I had my 10.5 fisheye lens on my Nikon... and also the Sony RX10V4. Swapping out each and deciding what, when and where is always fun. To make it just a bit more novel lets throw about 25 balloons into the mix to get around to at the right time. That time being just as they hot inflate and stand up. The 10.5 lens is great for looking straight up into the envelope. It can get the whole thing is the shot. Problems with this is that you can get in the shot by accident also. Its that wide.
Swapping out the Nikon for the Sony to grab the up close shots and distant shots and launches made for a fun day. I tripped a few times and almost crashed and burned once.
So I edited almost all the 10.5 shots I liked and then touched the Sony shots. 700 on the Sony and 300 on the Nikon.. no time to go through them all but a few of each are below and some comments.
Preface. These are only a few from a few I cleaned up. The sky was over-bright and colors were off everywhere. Look for a link to my website http://invisibleblack.zenfolio.com/ for the full list of all the great shots. I promise to load them this week... So some of the select....
The moon! I decided to go the alternate way to the launch field and saw the Moon acting all huge and such. Stopped three times to get a good shot. Sadly there was way too much roiling in the atmosphere for a clean shot of the moon. These are the best I was able to get.
Sunrises in Albuquerque are always wonderful. Almost always... This went on for a while but from the field location you have to try and crop out all the buildings... Somewhat successful.
Hot Air Balloon Dogs are awesome! They are calm around the crowds and the loud burners and fans. Just enjoying the day like we were. He is skeptical about the winds but they turned out very nice. A box on the West side!!
A direct upshot. Very very hard to do. Winds have to be slow and you have to skip about here and there to line up where you think they will cross above you and then shoot like mad to get it.
Very bright.. so many pennants... so many crews. Lots of people stopping by on their way here and there to see it go up.
When you have a good 600mm you can almost get in the basket... This was about half that.. and yeah I tripped getting it.
I did not intentionally cut Katrina's head off. I have the shot before with a full view but this was just wonderful to me and I had to post it. Katrina is holding the red line and turning vent lines so they do not get burned in the hot inflation. She also has her check list attached to her belt loop. Awesome!
Jennifer and Mike's new to them balloon... Named... You Kitten Me... as all their balloons have a cat reference... You have to be here to understand.... Striking colors and bold with the mesa backdrop.
Okay.. Not a balloon pic. Just a frustration pic of trash some "winner" decided to dump instead of paying 5 dollars to dispose of correctly at the dump. You have to wonder about some people..and I use the term people loosely.
Eric's baby is gliding around on rails. Another awesome envelope that just grabs your eye and drags it with it.
When you want to hit a road to land and you really want to stop on it.. you hit it.. hard. The upswing of the hit. Yes, they did stick to the road after this.
Even though we don't notice it there was a lot of dust in the air today. A nice diffused view of the Sandia's back there. Two Rainbow Ryder ride balloons working North before descending and heading South to land.
One Classy, Sassy envelope. In the blue blue sky. Overhead with no reference to be had.
You Kitten me with Mike at the controls this time I think. Low and slow short of the houses. A good layer type shot.
I really like this shot and I don't know why. I shot five of this type and this is the only one that sits with me.
A nice burn! Closer and closer. There is nowhere to hide from 600mm.
So that was the Sonys shots.. now for a few of the fisheye...
All of these are straight up into the envelope shots. This lens requires you get up as close as possible to what you are shooting. Sorry if I bumped you when I took it.
A totally fun morning. Followed by a totally semi fun of deciding which to post and which to hold onto for now. Boooo....
There was something else but I have forgotten...
Well I was going to break down my balloon basket and get it cleaned up but its too late to do that and I'm too happy sitting here posting pictures.
Have a wonderful remainder of your Sunday and try not to let the thought that Monday is right around the corner depress you in the least bit....
