I went to Balloons Over Angel Fire and Teton Valley Balloon Rally in June and July. Great rallies in smaller tourist towns. If you can afford the travel and lodging, you’re in for a good time. The locations look fabulous. The pilots love coming to these smaller but tightly knit events. And there be hot balloons. Everything you could want for a fun weekend event is there.
Read MoreThis past weekend, Alamogordo hosted the 2023 White Sands Balloon Invitational. I participated on the Saturday and Sunday of the event. Unlike previous years, the event took place in White Sands National Park on Saturday rather than Sunday. This is the main appeal of the event, but it comes with many challenges for flying.
Read MoreThe Teton Valley Balloon Rally (TVBR) was held this past Fourth of July holiday weekend - wait, hold up, two blog posts within seven day? What happened to the real Elliot? I’m still alive, or, at least I think I am. The fourteen hour drive one-way to and from really does a number on the body.
Read MoreDuring Memorial Day Weekend, I covered the Rio Grande Classic hosted by the local hot air ballooning club, Top Gun Ballooning. The past two years had been canceled thanks to the COVID pandemic so it was nice to see familiar faces again.
Read MoreOkay, it is December 9th, two months after the Balloon Fiesta and I still haven’t published this blog post yet. I’ll keep this short.
Read MoreSo this past 4th of July weekend, I made a little road trip to Driggs, Idaho for their 40th Teton Valley Balloon Rally. Situated in the Teton Valley with a clear view of Grand Teton itself, this was an event that I knew I couldn’t miss! Oh, and when I say “little road trip”, I mean that it was a absolute pain in the butt to drive each way. Seriously, sitting down for around 15 hours each way doesn’t feel good. It was worth it though!
Read MoreThis balloon festival became my favorite when I first experienced it in 2017. The large red rocks flanking the launch sites makes for a good photography experience. Add some observers on top of the rocks, and there’s a great sense of scale of how large the hot air balloons and the rocks are. The Red Rock Balloon Rally also has the added benefit of being one of the largest balloon rallies in the United States. The website used to state that the festival was the second largest balloon rally but, I guess it is no longer… There really is no contest here; the Red Rock Balloon Rally is the most visually stunning festival in the southwest.
Read MoreTwo hot air balloon festivals occurred in September: The White Sands Balloon Invitational (WSBI), and the Elephant Butte Balloon Regatta (EBBR). I went with high hopes to both of them, and photographically came up short. Don’t get me wrong though, these were still fun to attend.
Read MoreThe Balloon Fiesta began on October 5th, and ended on the 13th - plus one more day for crewing. Ten grueling days of photography, balloon crewing, and work. For those who had been observing my posts on Instagram, the theme was all about fatigue. I just had to make it to the end. Being on my feet for about 14 hours a day; working a 40 hour work week at my full-time job plus more. After the events, my feet were actually hurting for another three days.
Read MoreThis ballooning event was a bit different than other ones that I have participated in. There were no general public spectators, and there was no established launch field. For this event, the balloons were expected to come to designated targets (there are other missions to complete but I won’t delve into that). There were also some restrictions on the photographers but, those restrictions simply needed the photographers to ask first, then proceed. Pretty easy going.
Read MoreFebruary, did you enjoy that month? I think I did. But, it could’ve been better. To keep things short, the Friends & Lovers Balloon Rally (Albuquerque, NM) had one successful day of flying. The Kanab Balloons & Tunes (Kanab, UT) was weathered out on all three days. The event in Utah was more of a bummer since I had driven many hours to get there; taken work days off which I could have saved instead; and I got fatter.
Read MoreOh, boy, it has been over a month since the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, and I hadn’t made a blog post about it yet. Until now. Why the delay? I don’t really have a good excuse other than the event made me super-exhausted and I just couldn’t be bothered to do anything more with it once it ended. Keep in mind that my photography for these balloon events are not financially motivated yet (I would certainly like to be paid but that’s not happening) so I have zero obligations to really get this kind of stuff done right away. But, that’s just lazy so, I can’t really say that there was much reason for holding this off.
Read MoreThis past weekend was the Elephant Butte Balloon Regatta located at Elephant Butte State Park in New Mexico. I went for two of the three days as I was completely unaware of the media & sponsor day. I had an enjoyable experience overall but, I'm not sure if I would go to this particular festival again next year. I'll explain myself on that thought later.
Read MoreBefore I even begin, let me start with this: You can use whatever lens you want!
But, hey, I still look up which lenses are appropriate for portraits. Somebody out there might curious about what others use for balloon festivals, right? Maybe. For this article, I'll write about the lenses that I use while on the launch field of a balloon festival, and provide some example images. I particularly use a Tamron 15-30mm F2.8, a Nikon 24-70mm F2.8G, and a Tamron 70-200mm F2.8 VC.
Read MoreOver St. Patrick's Day weekend, I went down south to Belen, New Mexico to photograph the balloon festival. About 74 balloons participated during the morning mass ascensions.
Read MoreThis past weekend, February 16-18th, I was at Kanab, Utah for the Balloons and Tunes festival. Inclement weather only allowed for one day of flying which was fairly disappointing. I didn't get the photos that I wanted from this event as I need multiple days to learn what's best. Oh, well, it happens.
Read MoreAh, you've just received your first camera over the holiday season, and you're itching to us it. Or, perhaps you're just looking for something new to photograph for this new year. Well, might I suggest the following: You should photograph a hot air balloon festival!
Read MoreLast weekend I made the long 8.5 hour drive to Gallup, New Mexico to attend the Red Rock Balloon Rally. Going to these balloon festivals puts me in an interesting situation. I really hate driving but, I want to go to the balloon festivals. So I end up slogging myself through the drive... Self driving cars couldn't come any sooner, I swear.
Read MoreIf you can't tell already, despite having an entire page dedicated to them, I love hot air balloons! Seeing these balloons in flight with their vibrant colors really strikes a good tone in me. Also being able to get up close to the massive aircraft puts a sense of awe into me. There isn't anything else quite like hot air balloons to me.
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