Quechee VT hot air balloon festival - 2019

[Soocom1]

A few points on the AIBF.
First, for perspective, I was at the first one in 1972.

My father knew Sid Cutter very well (because my dad was avionic buff) Sid called him up and told him that there was going to be a balloon launch at Coronado Center (it was small at that time) and he grabbed me and my sister and took us to the parking lot on Louisiana and we watched the launch.
When Warner Bros. licensed the Roadrunner and Coyote Balloons, they started the Coyote and Roadrunner chase.

If anyone reading this has not gone and wants to, some points:

1: PLAN AHEAD!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. The roads get choked up beginning about 4:30is in the morning.
Park and Ride is fine, but you will pay for it.
2: Remember that we have winds here. Sometimes exceeding 70 mph. So sometimes the launches are either postponed or cancelled.
3: Plan on staying a goodly amount of time. I say this because every year is different. Also, traffic leaving is horrible. By staying on field for at least 45 min after the final launch will do your mental health good.
4: Money money money! There is substantial costs involved with the food, and trotskys. Remember this is a tourists haven for merchants.
5: Yes you can go on field and get shots. Just pay attention to what you are doing and who your near.
The balloon crews may ask for your help in holding guide lines.
(which is kinda fun!)
6: Tour the city and State while your hear.
7: Remember, that the Balloon Field is in North Albuquerque, near the county boundary with Sandoval, and is adjacent to Sandia Pueblo. Typically speaking the balloons go south on launch, but does change. The various pueblos take advantage and do all kinds of fun stuff when the Fiesta starts.
8: No, you do not need to be Catholic to attend the Mass Ascensions . (Yes this was actually asked before, I am NOT making this up!)
9: Bring extra stuff for photos. this includes tripods, batteries, lenses, etc.
Luckily, the film stuff isn't as prevalent, because they used to rob you blind on film. Thanks be to god for digital.
10: Have fun!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

 

[K9Kirk]

Very nice pics, (you stayed at the Holiday Inn Express there, didn't you ) balloon fests are awesome and it's always beautiful to see balloons floating around making life seem like a dream.

 

[Soocom1]

Love the shots BTW.
I bet you did have fun!

 

[SquarePeg]

A few points on the AIBF.
First, for perspective, I was at the first one in 1972.

My father knew Sid Cutter very well (because my dad was avionic buff) Sid called him up and told him that there was going to be a balloon launch at Coronado Center (it was small at that time) and he grabbed me and my sister and took us to the parking lot on Louisiana and we watched the launch.
When Warner Bros. licensed the Roadrunner and Coyote Balloons, they started the Coyote and Roadrunner chase.

If anyone reading this has not gone and wants to, some points:

1: PLAN AHEAD!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. The roads get choked up beginning about 4:30is in the morning.
Park and Ride is fine, but you will pay for it.
2: Remember that we have winds here. Sometimes exceeding 70 mph. So sometimes the launches are either postponed or cancelled.
3: Plan on staying a goodly amount of time. I say this because every year is different. Also, traffic leaving is horrible. By staying on field for at least 45 min after the final launch will do your mental health good.
4: Money money money! There is substantial costs involved with the food, and trotskys. Remember this is a tourists haven for merchants.
5: Yes you can go on field and get shots. Just pay attention to what you are doing and who your near.
The balloon crews may ask for your help in holding guide lines.
(which is kinda fun!)
6: Tour the city and State while your hear.
7: Remember, that the Balloon Field is in North Albuquerque, near the county boundary with Sandoval, and is adjacent to Sandia Pueblo. Typically speaking the balloons go south on launch, but does change. The various pueblos take advantage and do all kinds of fun stuff when the Fiesta starts.
8: No, you do not need to be Catholic to attend the Mass Ascensions . (Yes this was actually asked before, I am NOT making this up!)
9: Bring extra stuff for photos. this includes tripods, batteries, lenses, etc.
Luckily, the film stuff isn't as prevalent, because they used to rob you blind on film. Thanks be to god for digital.
10: Have fun!

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

Thanks for the info. Fun that you were at the first one. A great family memory.

Very nice pics, (you stayed at the Holiday Inn Express there, didn't you ) balloon fests are awesome and it's always beautiful to see balloons floating around making life seem like a dream.

haha I wish I had stayed at HI. The motel I was in was updated on the inside but still had that 70's feel to it with the low ceilings and outdoor staircases. It brought back many fond memories of our summer vacations as a kid staying at various motels on Cape Cod and in Maine.

Love the shots BTW.
I bet you did have fun!

Thanks yes it was a blast!

 

[Scott Whaley]

Nice pics, OP. We have a balloon festival in East Tennessee every summer and I have always wanted to go photograph them. You may have just inspired me to do it this year. Thanks

 

[jcdeboever]

Sweet imagery. Glorious color. We have one near me every year. Been cancelled last two years or the days I was planning to go anyway. 4 day event in mid July.

 

[SquarePeg]

Nice pics, OP. We have a balloon festival in East Tennessee every summer and I have always wanted to go photograph them. You may have just inspired me to do it this year. Thanks

Definitely do it! See if you can find some photos from previous years and determine where they were taken from or someone who has been before to help scout out your spots ahead of time.

Sweet imagery. Glorious color. We have one near me every year. Been cancelled last two years or the days I was planning to go anyway. 4 day event in mid July.

Thanks JC - have to say the Fuji colors really made this easy to shoot and process. Most are jpegs that I cropped and brightened a bit on my ipad. Our group is a big range of experience to beginner and lots of different Canon and Nikon shooters plus a few Fuji and Olympus users. Looking at the photos posted by the group, the Fuji colors are much more appealing to me than some of the others. I have a few favorites that I'm going to process the raw file through Affinity because I want to clone out a few distractions and while I'm at it I'll see if I can beat the jpeg results.

Seems these events are canceled just as frequently as they happen - here in New England at least. There were 5 launches scheduled this weekend and they got 2 of them in for sure, I don't know if the Sunday night ascension happened as everyone in our group had left by then. From what I learned, any winds above 6-7 mph put the event in jeopardy but they will wait for the last minute to call it off which can be tedious. Any rain or fog in the immediate area is also a no go.

 

[snowbear]

Nicely done, Sharon. I wish I could have made it up, maybe the next time I get up this way. Did they fly yesterday?

 

[SquarePeg]

Nicely done, Sharon. I wish I could have made it up, maybe the next time I get up this way. Did they fly yesterday?

Thanks snowbear. They did the morning flight I'm sure. Several from my photo group had flights booked and I saw some of the in the air photos which are incredible! Not sure if they went last night at 6pm as the weather was predicted to be rain.