Ground Support

Nikon D700, 14-24mm f/2.8 lens @ 24mm, f/4.0, 1/1600s, ISO 1600.

It takes a lot of work to get a hot air balloon off the ground--a lot of hands.

The Thanksgiving Day parade in New York got me thinking about these balloon images we made in Colorado on Labor Day. These people travel around and race balloons and do various other activities. The balloon being inflated here was a  prize for winning another race. This fellow attends the same pilot at many event each year.

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens @ 125mm, f/2.8, 1/8000s, ISO 1600.

It's just fun to make these pictures! And easy, too.

See, it's not really hot air that makes them fly; it's air that's less dense on the inside than the air outside the ballon. So, the air inside may be, I dunno, 90 degrees, which is no big deal on a summer afternoon in Colorado. So, in order to get a greater difference between the inside and the outside, they always launch early in the morning, but they never leave the ground before the sun is up. Perfect Portrait lighting!

And of course, there're the colors to consider.

Nikon D700, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens @ 70mm, f/10, 1/500s, ISO 1000.