Wide End View.

This was a day of stretching.

The second day of the Rio Grande Balloon Classic competition.

I went and shot a massive amount of b-roll shots.. walls, gps's, baggies, food, people... People are fun when they are Pilots of crew.. they will usually give me a good smile.. go back to what they were doing and ignore me as I take odd pictures from strange angles. They probably expect me to do something different. I like finding that different thing... like below..

I didn't post any shots of any of that today on facebook but I will. I wanted to get right to the balloons. Since I ran off to help a friend get in the air first then abandoned them to race off North to catch the competitors as they came into the first target... it was a bugger of a variable day. No track stayed true for more than a moment. Expecting a nice straight line was ridiculous. Our world champ hit dead center of the target. He made it look easy too.

I will post those to my website later as it is a heck of a lot of shots and I didn't touch the front or the back... The back was the propaning of the balloons after... just couldn't get to them.. Ran out of time.

I will though because there is a bunch of good stuff there....

What I will post below is what else I saw that was neat-o.


Heaven New Mexico.

 From far far away you could still see all of those Pilots out there riding the Heavens Waves to find a target. This shot is nice and clear and bright even from this distance.

Crack of Dawn.

 I had to do some heavy editing to remove the ugly light poles from this shot but it was well worth it.

Still reaching for it.

 Someones missing glove still reaching out of the sand towards the sound of the burners. Trite but fun to envision... Hopefully there isn't a crewmember under there too.

A distant Kiss.

 From the other end of the view. KKisses above the crest of the hill from where the first shot of all the balloons in the sky was taken. Zoom in on it and its nice and clear.

Oval, Square, Grade.

What the hell? In a graded area of nowhere Mesa was this nice neat square with a noce oval cut out of it. I can only guess what its for with the wood peg above. Maybe a water run off experiment? A temporary pool? Someones big footprint!

So much seen today... My ears are ringing with the amount of things going on....

My banner today is of the rally and VARA wines who is a major sponsor. Just fun edit of four things.

 I didnt do too good of a job on this but my eyes are pretty much bleeding right now.

I have sun spots on the sun spots in my eyes. Logo for the day.

Must get ready for tomorrow! Must!

I think I need this! What an awesome rig. I would cinch them up higher as I would not like my cameras banging into my butt.... Love that they are around the back and not the front.

Nifty!

Day one RRBC wiz Bang!

We that didn't go off like it was supposed to!

Starting at 0400 this morning and all the preparation at the meeting place and all the set up and instruction and warnings and weather reports still held noting to the final result.

We were out in the middle of the Cibola High School field and the scorers had almost set up the target when the cancellation call came. Winds were too high in some places to fly.

Now saying that you have to understand that where were were it was totally calm... maybe a hint of a slight tiny breeze. But.. there ya go... they had to pack it up and go back and report.

So a slow start to the competition but there is always tomorrow and Monday.

There were some upset people too. We went to breakfast... a good ham omelette with cheeses and hash browns and green chili on the side... which turned out to be great because I could add to taste instead of it being smothered completely and not be able to taste a thing but the chili. Wecks. TUrned out very nice. Great conversation on many subjects and then a rush home to download pictures and get a bit of rest.

Not that that rest was restful.. it really sucked. But I did get all the pics downloaded and a few edited and uploaded to Facebook so that people could see themselves and the things going on around them while they were paying attention to other things. I am going to add a few shots here that are not to be taken as derisive. They are to me funny; show the family side of one person, and are interesting to me.

Wiped Out.

 Not really.. Just laying back while those humans do those strange things like reading maps, looking at baggies, checking gps's.

USA women's curling balloon team.

 Just kidding.... There are as many women Pilots as there are men... Or so it seems.. Nothing in this sport ath stops anyone from doing what they want to do.

A loving Father and Excellent Pilot.

When your daughter wants you to wear a tiara you wear the tiara. Even if its a little small. I waited quite a while to get just that right shot. Worth it!!

Abstract in length.

 Tracking GPS, three baggies.. red, blue and yellow.. my colors... Yay.. plus docs to get you where you need to be and such things like that. it was reported that the baggies were regulation but not regulation.. Weight was right but the tail was about four inches short.. so what is it?

Isotopes Nopes

 He just had to check the fit... and as others were busy looking at schedules while waiting for the fun to start.. hay.. why not... I liked the beanie.

Packed.

 Really there wee a lot more than this... there are forty competitors this year.. there were fifteen last year... so ... big bunch of Pilots ready to go.

Try sneaking up... sure.

Some of us Pilots prefer to take photographs and such instead of competing... and if you think I cant take a shot quickly and get it perfect.. well... this is a perfect shot of a great guy... who wont hit me because I posted this picture.

Cibola in the morning. 

 Fullily the main gates were locked but the back gate was wide open. Still had to walk a long way to get to the center of the field.. and it was a wet field..... with four bags and two chairs... just to be there twenty minutes and then pack it all back up.... get coffee and return to the start. Oh well.

Setting a Target.

 THis is a big bright green/yellow X. THen in each space between legs there was a triangle that has a time on it to be active. So as you come across the target you ahve to be aware of what the time is and which triangle is open for you to throw your baggie and at the same time get it closest to the center of the X while staying in the triangle and not hit the ground while doing all that. Lots of fun!

Perhaps tomorrow....

My facebook banner is a goo bohec shot of the main sponsor of the competition.. Vara Wines.. who make a great wine ( Champagne in my mind ) Find the days left to Fiesta...

Fun editing that into the shot.

Logo was a sign that no one paid the slightest attention to.....

and last but not least.. ... a strange juxtaposition..... just think about it...

Coors and wheat bread..... hmmmm...

What O'Clock??

Here I thought I would get to see some down time after a pretty freaky week.... and that isn't gonna happen! Tonight started the Rio Grande Classic Top Gun competition. All in all it went well and there were parts that were ridiculously long winded and anyone who has to sit in a folding chair long understand what my hip is talking about. But its started. I took about 200 plus shots. Nothing major.. B-roll stuff. Some good quick catches of people being people.. one perfect one of a father being a Father... or Dad. You will see when I post the shot.

Today I had a few tone mapped shots to show from various places in the local area as I don't have time to download and edit and show what I took today. I will hopefully catch up tomorrow and show both tonight's activities and tomorrow mornings fun.... bare with me.

Its all about the signs.... and interpretation...

Signs I love. Not this one in particular but signs in general... That people attach their own signs to these signs is in itself pretty funny. I really like finding things like this stuck here and there. Its better than spray paint and it will wash off or can be removed so its in fact temporary but in a good way. I hate those who destroy others property to show off... this is pretty good because it's not damaging. I hope its not damaging. Please don't stick stickers to people things that can't be removed ok.

Other signs from the littler in my files that I like...

Bryn Mawr.

What the hell is that.. I just dont know.. but there were stickers!!!

8.99

 Not any more.. gone... taken over.. revamped and priced went up by two or three dollars... must be the free popcorn while you wait.

Pointedly

 I don't much care for sticking a camera lens in peoples faces.. be the homeless or on the street or just standing around doing their job... whatever.. I will at times if there is interest but never close up... its been done.. over and over... I will though.... grab a shot that has some item of precise detail.. in this the guy himself was interesting but it was that finger that caught me. It was a very quick shot and I really wanted it framed right so I didn't have to crop it... it worked great.

So many things to shoot out there.. On the way home the Western skies were like a rainbow of reds, oranges and dark yellows bleeding down to the darkness against the clouds... it was beautiful but so suffused it would never show its detail in the camrea.. so I just enjoyed it.

It was good.


My  facebook banner for the day was pretty much how I felt today.. We mirrored a drive onto an SSD and switched it only to have it not correctly point and then not start... Nicely our ITO had a rescue disc and it was able to quickly preset that pointer and it booted up fine. Never had that happen on a mirror before.. and I have done a few of them. Strange and a longer day than I expected but in the end it was okay.

Oh.. so the banner.... yeah... and my logo.. it says it all.

And .. one for Eric I saw last night..

Solid Weather!

Hay! I got off on time today! Very nice! The diligent two are still working on getting all the programs running at the office as well as working to deliver the weather, warnings and watches in our area of responsibility. Also!!!! They are prepping for next weeks back up of the El Paso Weather Office! We are talking kicking butt people! I dealt with a circle of Verizon problems and never got an answer to my question. Tomorrow I have hopes that there will be a reply to my queries and maybe some information. I really hope. I also finalized our budget numbers with the help of our ASA and ITO.. Its very convoluted and I had to project and forecast what would happen as well as what had happened.. And its not real easy across excel sheets. I need something like three 28 inch monitors to see it all. Woosh!

Tomorrow.... tomorrow..... things to do.... Not too bad and I hope to get off early too.... really! IF all goes well it will be fun and not tedious. We had Dions Chicken chili pizza for lunch.. it was good. Had to eat it quickly as there was a conference call I had to sit in on.... but it was worth the burn.

The Rio Grande Classic competition starts tomorrow with a registration meeting.. stuff and things... Hopefully it goes quickly as getting up on Saturday early is gonna suck. Yeah I get up early anyways but hay... I could sleep in.. maybe.

I snapped up a few shots drifting about.... Prepping for this weekends target rich environment so you get what I have now.


A good hand.

 Kid gloves on the wicker.. a gentle hand.

Carbs!

 My son has pretty much disassembled his truck and has a rebuilt engine trans and associated parts sitting in my garage waiting for the final pieces to put it all back together. He love trucks and mechanical stuff... Me.. No.

Porsches to pass......

 The banner I got from the Nissan dealership when I took possession of my 2003 350 Z, number 334 off the line in Oct of 2002.  Still hanging in my garage. The only car I ever preordered or chose before they were ever made. Sold in 2010 to buy my specially built hot air balloon... 443 of the line..lol.

Diffusions of Water.

A very iffy picture of the back yard as the rain came down... The ivy is taking over the waterfall again which will mean I have to kill myself ripping it out again. I wanted it all gone and a new version of the pond up by now but there hasn't been the time to do it... and its a big job.

Looking forward to it and not looking forward to it.

My banner for the day is a play off the balloon competition ...

Okay but it could have been much better... to hurried.

And logo.. yeah...

A very funny poster.

Off I go to unplug the charger and insert the batteries in the camera and maybe set it up .. unless I feel like NOT doing that today.... Stay warm everyone.


Oh... I sold eight photographs last night!!! WOW!

A long days day.. and a day.

Wow! THree days of long hours. Mostly doing the standard work in the morning and then watching and learning while the smart guys reprogram, reroute, rewrite and respell local apps so that they can get functions operable again. Its a lot of watching over shoulders and seeing what is where and how. Much to know.. much to learn.

I hope they can bare with my constant monitoring. Bugging and goofy comments. Id buy pizza and doughnuts but I think we have had enough of those... even doughnuts that tasted like pizza.

tomorrow it will be morning of budgets and requests for information and then get back with the smart guys and see whats next on the list of things. Too much of these things going on and lists that should be written down so that they can be verified later or if something goes awry. I will ask again later when the dust has settled. Too much work now to interrupt them. Wished I had the knowledge ( programming ) to help out but I am on the hardware side. I have to get over there a bit.. mainly how to get things verified myself.

Oh well.... I did hunt a few shots up for the night.. basic stuff.... Ill explain.


A shot in the dark.

 Way back when some funny people decided to shoot a data lazer off from a disused nuke silo. You could pay to get your data packet added to it.... Funny... THe poster was still there ages after.

Rock targets.

 Culverts are cool. THe odder the better. This is a very generic one. Rarely seen. Great to post on your wall.

Windswept.

 Another abandoned homestead in the middle of a very windy plain next to nothing.

Active Above.

Shattered clouds racking the sky with spinning ripples and puff balls.

Lots of interesting things if you just turn your head slightly. Go turn it.

My facebook banner and logo..... to follow along in the area of the shots... which is the East North and South of New Mexico...

Right here..!

 THe written word and the excessive use of punctuation can enhance your comments..... Dot dot dot... like little pauses in the comments... This sign... GONE!

And this shot... from the far North West of New Mexico.

Very cautious.

Now its been a very long dday again and I really really really want to stop looking at computer screens for a bit. I promise as soon as I can I will get back on subject and get some fresh things to show you....

Remember... Rio Grande Balloon Target Flying Thing this weekend... wooo...

Rio Grande Classic preamble.

Yeah.... The Top Gun Competition is coming up next weekend. Three days of heavy duty, target chasin, high diving, wild ridin, ballooning. Pretty much a kick butt thing to watch. Its very different than normal pleasure ballooning as these people will be getting briefed, prepping and flying as soon as they can. Its a very fast revolution.

Baggies will be thrown at targets and space will have position and time will be a target too. It will be interesting to see what I can capture this year. Hopefully I can get some better or different angles on the shoot. Gonna be tough. You cant just sit out with the balloons.. you pretty much have to target camp and hope they can get to you.. and there are usually three targets... so you have a choice....

Last year it was hard to get a great shot... had to try and work whatever came my way. I am lucky enough to be able to be here already which is a good thing since I usually cant get out of the house.

Here are a few from last year.... Really tone mapped .... for the hell of it.

 Secondary launches for the fun flyers.

 Strapped and running.

Carrying a target on a flyon.

This is when I balloon carries a target with them, launches before everyone else. they have to launch and chase the balloon through the sky and then throw on the target AFTER it gets laid out. Much fun as the wind streams are constantly changing.

Work today was a level of frustration I was amazed at. Since when does a carrier you are paying for managed care cant figure out your phone number and keeps saying its disconnected! Uh.. you just called me on that line.. how can it be disconnected...and... then telling me that you don't know why your system is saying that...w ell... I kinda lose confidence in you quickly. Oh.. yes.. telling me you dont know who to ask to find out inside your company really make me super happy!

Well tomorrow is another day and I am going to try and work around the problem from the other side and hopefully locate that info.

Never give up..never surrender!

My facebook banner turned out pretty cool... layers and layers and fades and all by hand.. no filters...

And Marys Birthday.. YAY....

Had steak and crostini and then ice cream!! Yay!

Go watch the coneheads State Farm Insurance commercial on You tube.. Hilarious!.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qztxrASEBtY

This is pretty pointed....