It’s another year, another February, and another balloon rally has passed. This time it’s Friends and Lovers which is put on by the AAAA balloon club in Albuquerque. However, rather than having the event in Albuquerque the event has been in Rio Rancho starting from last year. Last year got snowed out so I guess this is truly the first year of being in Rio Rancho.
Read MoreAnother balloon rally has started [again] near Albuquerque: the Mesilla Valley Balloon Rally. 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!
Read MoreNo blog. Just photos.
Read MoreI was fortunate to enjoy a flight on the first day and get a bunch more photos on the second day. The third day was predicted to have poor weather, so I skipped out on it.
Read MoreI attended the Riverton Rendezvous on July 19th through the 21st. Andy, the balloon meister had been entreating me to go for the past four years. This year I figured that I should give it a try.
Read MoreI 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 week was the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Nine days of hot air ballooning with over 500 balloons participating. I must open with that this year’s Fiesta went very well especially compared to last year. Just two mass ascensions and one balloon glow weren’t possible due to high winds. So, most of the event was able to proceed rather smoothly.
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 MoreHello, friends, I finally edited the photos that I made during the 2021 Red Rock Balloon Rally. I met many friends that I hadn’t seen in a long while, and I met another for the first time (we only conversed on Instagram). I really enjoy this balloon festival, and it’s my favorite thus far. The location is beautiful, and the community around the event puts together a great tailgate party.
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 MoreAlright, I almost never published these images. This event occurred way back in October, 2020 in place of the well renown Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Damn pandemic… While it was neat that balloons still flew, we all know that it was nothing close to the usual spectacle.
Read MoreMost of my photography takes place outdoors with hot air ballooning, and hiking. Only recently have I put money into getting lighting equipment to start creating my own images wherever the demand is. I’ve only used the lights for the head shots and nothing else. Now with all of this extra time, I may as well try something new.
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 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 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 MoreThe camera that I used for my stills photography has been the Nikon D800. Released back in 2012, it's now approaching six years old. The fairly recent release of the D850 last year also now sets the D800 back to be two generations old. So for a person, in 2018, shopping for their first full frame camera, why should they look at the D800? I want to highlight three major points of why the D800 should be at the top of your list.
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