Another balloon rally has started [again] near Albuquerque: the Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally. This year’s rally took place January 17th to the 19th. I’ve been told that it has been fourteen years since the last rally. I’m glad that there’s another rally that I can attend within four hours of my home. A pilot friend invited me to crew for her and even paid for my hotel room. Many thanks to my pilot friend!

The rally took place on some dirt fields near the sports complexes. I was hoping that the Organ mountains would be in clear view, but they were rather far away and obscured by buildings. I will say that the winter desert sun casts good light though. The evidence is down below in the gallery.

Having rallies nearby is going to be crucial for my hobby of ballooning. I’m trying to scale back my spending this year, and some rallies have been cut from my calendar this year. Kanab Balloons and Tunes has already passed but that was one of the castualties. The Riverton Balloon Rally may also be cut too though I’m not certain yet.

This time my gear is a little different than usual. I used the Canon R50 body with the RF 16mm F2.8, RF 28mm F2.8, and RF 50mm F1.8 lenses. I also wanted to try a completely “mobile” workflow with just using my phone to cull and edit the images. Understandably, the R50 cannot match my Hasselblad X2D in image quality. However, The R50 did autofocus better, and I was able to pack it all into one pouch. Being able to quickly draw and pack away my camera was a nice convenience while crewing. I’m not so sure of the mobile editing experience. It works but I don’t exactly enjoy it.

I’ll be using my R50 more often from here on out. In addition to hot air balloons, I want to photograph Albuquerque while riding my bicycle. I will still use my Hasselblad for rallies I deem more photographically important like the Teton Valley Balloon Rally and Balloon Fiesta.

I didn’t get many photos this time since I was more focused on crewing. However, I did like what I got.