Flying High At Lewiston Balloon Festival
Early morning flight before the rain on 8-16 in Lewiston-Auburn ME taken from the bridge facing the falls.
Early morning flight before the rain on 8-16 in Lewiston-Auburn ME taken from the bridge facing the falls.
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Aug, 2014Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in the early hours at a balloon festival in Lewiston/Auburn Maine on the bridge that is over the Androscoggin River facing towards the train tracks. This was with my first DSLR (T3i Rebel) that I was still trying to understand. This was also the first time photographing hot air balloons. The balloon festival is an annual thing and I wanted to get out there and play with the new camera. So the balloon festival was high on my list of things to shoot while visiting from California.Time
The photo was taken around 5:30 or 6 am. The sky was overcast and there was a possibility of rain, which started just as we left to get breakfast. Thankfully it held off long enough for me to get some photographs of some amazing balloons.Lighting
The lighting for this was a little difficult to work with. With it being early morning light and an overcast sky, it challenged me for sure. I am still learning and experimenting to better understand how to handle lighting like this. I had never shot during this time of day with an overcast sky. I tend to shoot more in the late mornings and mid to late afternoon when the lighting is warmer and more agreeable.Equipment
All I had was my T3i Rebel with a basic lens and a UV filter. No tripod or flash. I was working with natural light and a steady hand. I tend to travel light when I go out to do photography, especially seeing as most of my work is done on hikes and road trips.Inspiration
I wanted to photograph balloons for a while now, but never had a chance to do so. I missed the chance to photograph them when they were filling them up, but I still enjoyed getting the photographs I took. This shot was one of my favorites because it featured the river, and a lovely shot of the balloon crew firing off the burner to get more lift to clear the trees on the other side of the river. If it would have been darker outside it would have had an appearance similar to a paper lantern.Editing
I did very little post processing for this. Most of it was lighting, saturation and color adjustments. The original image was a little flat due to the natural light. After adjusting the colors popped more. I prefer to shoot so that I can do minimal processing, not because I hate doing post processing work, I want to share with the viewer exactly what I see.In my camera bag
My bag is very simple. T3i Rebel camera, basic 18-55mm lens, UV filter, polarizing filter and battery charger. I also have a light weight tripod and mini tripod I bring when I know I will need it. My camera setup goes with me everywhere, even to work (my laptop bag has a camera compartment). I have plans to add a macro lens and maybe even a small telephoto lens for the nature photography I do.Feedback
Be patient. Especially with unkind lighting conditions such as these, auto is NOT your friend because the camera will try to slow the shutter down or engage the flash which will do some weird things with your image. Breathe when you shoot. A nice big exhale when hitting the shutter can steady the hand if you don't have a tripod. Don't be afraid to take some bad photos either! Sometimes you find gems in a series of bad shots. Most importantly have fun and enjoy the show. The balloons move slowly and all go in the same direction. Find the spot where you can get varied shots. You won't be disappointed. For this shot, the bridge was not far from the park they were taking off from, and was right under the flight path. Some of them were no more than 20 feet above our heads as they passed over.
