Blasts from the past

As we are on the cusp of the 2018 Albuquerque international Balloon Fiesta I dropped back to look at all the banners I made over the 2015 16 17 years and why I didn't continue this year. Yeah.. too tired.

Trying to think up a new banner every day was a daunting task and it got tedious and I didn't want to remember how long it was before Fiesta and how much stuff I had yet to do or didn't do at all. Plus there were more events coming up to Fiesta this year....


Now we are ...

days away and its a bit of a rush then not then rush then not...

It always seems way off until September and then you fall into the OMG its almost here I have a thousand things that need doing.... then you fall on the floor and pass out.

Normally I do a few rally's through the year... Fiesta as the start of the balloon year.. then Red Rock Rally in December in Gallup .. Angle fire in June and then Fiesta again... This time we threw in the Colorado Springs labor Day Lift off in there in early September breaking my rule of flying so close to fiesta and chancing last minute damage before the big event. This has thrown off my inner working worse than normal.

12 days out I have the system all cleaned and ready to go. She will sit and rest until the morning of the Friday before and only go get inflated for a group of school kids at Emerson elementary who rarely get to see any balloons. They love to have us and we enjoy their enthusiasm. Its a good place in mind to start the upcoming events.

Registration is on the 4th and 5th. I will go on the 4th and be there waiting as it my natural thing before they open up. I just love the excitement of it and the fresh fun of all the volunteers who try to make it fun and great for the Pilots.

Every little bit of Fiesta is exciting.... and that comes out in my shots...

Things still needing done..... I've lost my list.

So that leads me to not doing any banners.... so here below are some of my favorites..... from 2017

Because being selected for the AIBF is a BIG thing! Golden Ticket Big.

As someone will invariably ask.. and Calvin lends to this kind of thing easily.. Thanks Bill.

Postcards from 600 feet.

Never hold a sign....ever.... Ted.

Due to our balloon name we fall under all the crazy stuff... and I like it!

Czech for apart Czech pilot.

Love my Lindstrand and I go out of my way to tell everyone about it... so don't slow down if your passing me or you will get an ear full.

And then we have very emotive Eric...

Again.. Bill Watterson's Calvin drops in... for the day of 46,47,48,49 and each days event.

My Son for his very expressive self and how he makes me laugh.

And on the 2nd to last day and last day my Granddaughters face getting real close... She is so cute!

Especially with pancake and syrup on her face.

2016 favs are below...

194 days till the 2016 balloon fiesta... 194 banners.. I was wiped out.

Cranking on the GIMP program for some fun visuals.

Lifting warning signs off the nets to tweak for ballooning is fun... Teather use is not up for discussion.

Highperactive doing pictures out front of the Sid Cutter building. Yes.. we inflated her and the crew walked her about so we could get some good shots.

Down to 162... So many balloons in this non edited for content shot.

I started to try and link my banners with my logo and that was just a stupid amounts of work.

A cool logo I edited... Going on a shirt or two.

My granddaughter is a hoot. Another edit of a fav meme. I can draw stick figures and I love the little Emmers.

2015.....

I started hiding the countdown numbers and there were some very good people who would find them even when I made it insanely hard.

This was a bit easy.

The kids at a school we did for Albuquerque Aloft... They wanted to help...so we had them snake the envelope into the bag.

Here I had to circle the number because no one found it on thsi day.

The old British version of the Uncle Sam poster.. modified for myself.

And if Calvin can be used so can Bill and Opus...

Another character who brightens ballooning for everyone. Thanks Kurt!

And that's how it feels for those of us enmeshed in Fiesta every year... everything else kinda stops..

And I was done at the end of this year.... Fiesta field cleared and just prior to all the launch grid markers being planted.

One of the old posters that I am editing to fit ballooning...

And the pin design. But in silver instead of gold.

The first of the quad pin sets I am creating below. I have the designs for the other two but they arn't going to be seen until just prior to their molds being struck.

Brain is percolating with ideas all the time but my ability to put that on paper lacks the formal training I should have gotten when it was available. Now it takes hours to do what should only be minutes... ah well.. at least I can do it.

I need Ice, Soda, Water, Snacks, and and and...... but that will wait until just before the start of the festivities....

Next weekend perhaps I can show the process... Dunno... we shall see what comes up...

Sun Dogs, Framily, Currency, Proficiency and you..

Its Sunday already!... Its Sunday AfterNOON ALREADY!!! No.. nope... I was cheated! I want some 12 hours back.... I may have slept through it.....

Dedicated love for his sport. Pretty Boy Kurt's legs. Excellent artwork...
( He has no clue I took this picture ) LYBG!

To back up a bit... At work our new Leibert Air handlers are in and making all sorts of smooth powerful wooshing noises in the Electronics room. Sounds of perfection and decisive cool air pleasure. I am a happy person... Happier.

I will be set until retirement as soon as my building lease is complete and the modifications I want are finished to upgrade our office space for our staff... Okay... maybe for a year or two.....    Love this job.

Now forward to this weekend....

Mo and Trent wanted to see how a racer feels for reals... Mo has flown mine a few times but always with me riding rough shod... or back basket driving.... They tried Saturday but the winds were to "stupid" to get much training out of it and almost everyone but the ride balloons sat on the ground.

It was decided to try again Sunday. Mo got everything out and crew were there and ready to go but Trent had to work that night so was probably dead to the world this morning. So Mo took a friend and had some fun. First thing he did after launching is spin the balloon as quickly as it can ( which is pretty good at making you hurl your breakfast ) as he ascended. Damn ( lovely ) thing is like a top.

Then off to the South then caught the fast North just above and he was gone. We chased and I took a bunch of pictures, some of which are below and others are going to be posted to FB or IG here soon.

He cruised North then tried to draw South at the lower level but that had gone away and was replaced with a heavy West South West or West wind. We chased and he ended up dropping into an Arroyo off Southern in Rio Rancho for a nice "Airplane" type landing with a good 100 foot drag. Smooth soft sand! That was fun for me because I could drop into the arroyo with the Ram and fishtail all the way to him....

Pack up was quick and smooth as everyone ( but me ) is young and healthy... I stood back and handed tie straps and over saw the process. Its a good job and someone has to do it. I need to remember a chair next time.

Back to the field after doing a nicer rear drift loop in the sand and tail-gating and many many good conversations on flying, balloons and fixed wing and air control towers and calling in and ... well lot of other things...

Selected shots below with explanations....

First let me say that I did the unthinkable and read a book ( reading a book ) on my camera at last and I changed a bunch of setting that were supposed to help with light and focus and did horrible things to my shots from shot to shot.... Now I have to remember what I changed and set it back. Its a great book but the settings do not work for hot air balloon shooting... So there are some blown out shots here and there I cant fix.

The Ram is in place saving mode ( Or I have an invisible trailer and balloon ). It was very busy on this little patch of dirt as is usual for this time of year when people are getting current or shaking the rust and dust off prior to flying Fiesta. I have gotten some of that r&d off myself. Next is wash and clean everything....

A nice crop of a burner check. Or creating your own personal hot cloud.

The sun is peeking over the Sandia's. Due to the spot metering it drove the light out of the shot. Works for me this time.

Lindstrand Racers are the sweetest things to fly. But the difference in connections from other type balloons can have you scratching your head a bit if you have never seen them before ( simpler not harder ). No problem for this crew who have worked on many different types. 24 lines from the throat to the burner frame plus three control lines makes for some adjustments.

Trying to inflate a twisted envelope.. It will fix itself but it was interesting.

How many crew members are needed for what size of balloon... But... as I have stated before.. many hands make light work. But come on!!!! I tease.

Pretty Boy Kurt stands in front of his, JP and Jane's balloon, Burning Desire. One pretty envelope. Who da man? You Da Man!

Mo gets a ride up as the basket comes off the ground. She was reluctant to let go today.

A hopper hops around  about. Wish I had a cleaner shot of the Pilot as he holds the rotating ring above his head....

A big error in the spot metering gave me this very nice shot of Seth doing a Sundog shot. Very colorful even with the dark.

Coming up soft, crew working to keep the fabric away from the flame and get the balloon upright so that it can fill out. Beautiful envelope, great teamwork and looked like fun. ( expanding the shot shows the teamwork ).

What the Sony RX10V4 does nicely is bokeh shots with aplomb! Showing off the turning vent in the front balloon and giving that feel of distance as well.

Now full of hot air and going up into the air... good job to the crew for that evolution. The sun from the opposite side usually makes for bad light shots but this fabric allowed a lot of light to pass through. ( a bit of blow out thought ).

Mo driving Highperactive along. I limited the shots to only a few here. When your balloon is in the air for once and you are not in it ... Okay.. I really wanted to get a lot of shots of her in the air since I was not flying... I did. Could have been better but it was good anyway.

A very nice sky with fluffy clouds makes for a good balloon shot. If it was just the balloon and blue sky it would not have as good a punch as it does with them there.

I love roads. This one was reminiscent of a real old back road... Yeah it kinda was ... with a crack every 20 feet that your tires go .. bump, bump over and there is grass growing and nothing much else...  Yes I am weird.

Mo dropped Highperactive into an arroyo at about 9 mph. Soft sand and a good stretch of space made it perfect... he had a 100 foot or so drag to stop and ripped out the top to stop her dragging farther.

The drag marks. Landings like this are mostly fun. Well planned and prepared for the are exciting and a good laugh. This was one of those.

Mo taking a short break before packing everything up. Love the build quality of the Lindstrand USA team. This balloon is eight years one month old and looks like new.  A little TLC on my part and good construction on Lindstrands part.

It is very necessary to have four wheel drive if you venture into one of the local arroyos. Even some four by fours cant deal with the softness. BUT... its a very very nice place to put a hot air balloon down in.

So now we have something like 19 days left until the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta starts. Everyone is trying to prepare for or have prepared or are just winging it ( me ). 550 plus balloons in one place at one time .. it just boggles the mind every time we get to this time of the year.

I am very lucky to be able to take all the time off work.. The people I work with are true professionals and wonderful. They will keep the process rolling and I get to go play. They also know I am completely reachable right after I land....not that that has ever been necessary. A pre Fiesta shout out to all at the NWSFO Albuquerque office! WOO HOO!!!!

If I get the chance and the tower will let me I will try and buzz the office once...or as Maverick stated... Requesting a flyby...... A lot slower I would hope.

More on preparing for the largest Hot Air Balloon event in the world... next weekend!

Skipping a week and life as we know it.. and C Springs Labor day lift off thoughts.

So last weekend I was a the Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off or #LDLO

I didn't have time to do my blog...  I do now.

I've changed their logo to make it more inclusive of ME! Well...

Over all I give the rally a 10/10 with minor issues.... real minor.

 ....Awesome! Even with all the people you have to shoo off the field so that you can lay out your envelope to fly..they were nice and cordial and if you told them the safest place to be they would be awesome and would scoot there abouts. The people were wonderful.

I would love to see a rolling launch site process. Those that were on the edge of the lake this year should rotate all the way to the North section and all sections should move towards the lake. That way everyone gets a good possible in the lake without winds moving you there.

See even though I was so far north I was in the turkey leg and chic fil a section I know I need to pay my dues and would only move one grid space South next year... lol.. Now if someone wants to swap......

The launch area is North of this wonderfully splash and dash worthy lake that is South of the field....

":O)

Hotel Elegante was very nice. https://www.hotelelegante.com/  Large and clean rooms,,lots of space...near enough to the launch area...like 10 minutes away by a circuitous route.

No real changes there though they did drop some reservations...I don't know what the cause of that was. It was fixed.

Registration was most excellent with wildlife in abundance roaming the grounds..and no.. that's not the Pilots... Real deer and real bears... Very good food and free libations. Who could ask for more.

The registration meeting was quick, to the point and worth its own sitcom for the humor involved.

Morning and Glow briefs were nice and to the point also, well informed and even foods to keep us all quiet while it went off... mostly quiet.

Flying was interesting and varied.

Last comments before I close and show you a few photographs from the video cameras...

The VOLUNTEERS were AMAZING! I needed help because I came up by myself and stole my driver from my Son. The people who came out ( including a friend of a good friend drove down from Denver even!! ) were so energized and raring to go. We had crew who knew what they were doing and crew who it was all new to. All were awesome.

Closing... Would I drive my heavy trailer all the way up to Colorado Springs next year and back..

HELL YEAH!

Parking pass with great info on back....

Rally pamphlet...

Very cool and also crazy with info.


The registration "feeding of the masses" Nice. Chairs went quickly...Next year I'm bringing my own.

Yes..my mouth is always open... sigh.... Eric's quick finger on the shutter.

And again Eric catches me unaware at the brief... also my one and only beer for the night.... BLagh! I don't do beer.

One of the sponsors we flew..co owners of this nice brewery...  https://www.facebook.com/cerberusbrewingco

A nice visit after flying them and landing them in an alley behind a pawn shop.....

Great venue. We got there when they opened and when we left about an hour later it was packed.

Grilled cheese and brisket sammich... yum! Fries were excellent too.

Lastly, on Sunday we didn't get to fly due to the weather. We rushed off to get some breakfast forgetting that there were pancakes for everyone hosted by Cracker Barrel. We did return when we heard that... only to be coerced into hanging out with a very nice group of locals and near locals and their handy dandy mobile pizza ovens.

Didn't matter that they had almost packed everything up ..or that we were wanderers.. just that we were hungry... So they pulled out dough.. and ran it through a rolling machine.. slapped it on platters and there was a table of ingredients.. load that pizza dough.. hand it over to the over master pizza blaster and about 7 minutes later... one awesomely tasty pizza!!

Love these people!!!!

Scarfed this down quickly... wished I could savor it but I was wanted to visit a Nikon tent and look over their new p1000 camera with a x3000 zoom....

More about that NEXT week!

A few shots of flying...

All from the Kodak 360 camera unedited except for light..

Off and almost to the lake! Damn it!

Sidelined so shooting those that popped over the tree and got in....

A nice bump at altitude. Fabric to fabric so no problem at all.

Over the cars and into the hands of a great crew, who then taxied me to an open space...

...and laid me down. My volunteers first flight. He loved it!

Part of my crew for the weekend! Next time I will get pictures of you all!!!

Next weekend.. Photographs from the Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off and comments on the new Nikon p1000 x3000mm camera.