Balloon Glow @ Forest Park!

MichaelHenson · Sep 18, 2014

So, going to be attending my first balloon glow tomorrow evening and am wondering if anyone on here has any pointers? The setup I have to work with is a D5200, kit 18-55 lens, 50mm 1.8, and a couple telephotos. I'm thinking that I won't really want the longer lenses because I'll be close and the balloons are huge.

My main questions are:
1) Should I go with the 50 due to the speed/larger aperture? Does it even matter...It will be completely dark out and the balloons will be pretty bright, I'm assuming.
2) Is this going to be a longer exposure scenario? (Low ISO, longer exposures or high ISO?) I'd rather not have to mess with a tripod if I can help it.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

sscarmack · Sep 18, 2014

I've never been to one before so I'm not sure, but I would start off with the 50 due to larger aperture and go from there.

MichaelHenson · Sep 18, 2014

Just thought of another question...What metering mode do you think would provide the best images or should I just experiment once I'm there? I'm thinking that there are going to be "hotspots" with TONS of light and then very little ambient light (just cast off from other balloons) everywhere else.

sscarmack · Sep 18, 2014

I always use spot metering.

mcap1972 · Sep 18, 2014

I use manual metering and adjust on the fly. Fast lest is your best bet. I hope that helps.

MichaelHenson · Sep 18, 2014

That's kind of what I thought too (regarding the lens) but I'm afraid that 50mm on a DX frame might not be wide enough...I don't really want to mess around with multiple lenses but I may end up taking the 18-55 along with the 50mm just so I have some options.

Designer · Sep 18, 2014

I don't know about you, but if it were me, I'd want to get as close as possible.

Wide and wider.

lambertpix · Sep 18, 2014

Sadly, the only two I've ever gone to have been busts -- too windy to get the balloons up. At one of them, I was able to get as close as I wanted to the balloons, but only after they'd already decided that nobody was going to launch. The other one was held at an airport, and they had the balloons arranged on the flight line -- on the other side of a fence. On top of that, the crowds were terrible. I wound up deciding I'd just go shoot the band, but that wound up working pretty well:

IMG_3380.jpg by lambertpix, on Flickr

I'd gather whatever logistical info you can before you go (where the balloons will be; where you'll be allowed, etc.), as well as getting a sense for what's going to be in the background, where the sun will set, etc. -- the more you can put into your composition, the stronger your photos will be. I had my tripod, but didn't use it -- with the breeze that was blowing, most exposures long enough to need the tripod would show movement from the balloons anyway, and depending on the crowd, it's just one more thing to haul around (and this is coming from a guy who brings his tripod *everywhere*). I think the exception might be if you can get a good pano / vista framing a bunch of balloons together - that might be a good place to haul out the tripod.

Good luck!

MichaelHenson · Sep 18, 2014

That's a great shot! Love it! I've been to the balloon race a few times but never with my camera so I have a general idea of how the setup will be. I'd rather not mess with the tripod...if the glow is anywhere nearly as crowded as the race it will be PACKED. I'll be with my family so I'm not sure that I'm going to go to all the trouble of hunting out a pano shot while dragging along my 5 year old.

deeky · Sep 21, 2014

Just went to my first balloon glow event. I have to say - be ready to move quick. The whole event (at least here) really doesn't last long, especially when it was dark enough to really get the glow effect. Then the balloons aren't always lit or else they would take off. They more twinkle than light up. I was using my longer lens to be able to isolate what I wanted, but was shooting high iso (for my camera) so that things were sharp.

On a side note, it was a ton of fun. Ours is at a city park, free to attend, and because they weren't taking off, you could actually walk through them. Think of walking through a glowing forest at dusk. My 5-year old even got to climb in one basket and light the burner. It's been a long time since I've seen him that excited.

Here's one shot. For contrast, the dark corner at the top left is the balloon in front of it that wasn't lit at the moment.

IMG_7216a by breckmiller, on Flickr

MichaelHenson · Sep 22, 2014

Awesome...I ended up not being able to make it to the glow but made it out for the race. It actually ended up being disappointing...There were quite a few balloons that never made it off the ground and the time between launches was so long that there was never an opportunity for a good shot with a bunch of balloons in it.

As such, I ended up taking more pictures of people than balloons...This one ended up being my favorite.