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Balloon Festival



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Hot air balloon festival in Hillsborough, New Hampshire

Hot air balloon festival in Hillsborough, New Hampshire
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cameraNIKON D70

settings Aperture f/4.5 Shutter 10/8000 Focal Length 500/10 

upload_dateOct, 2015

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this picture from a hot air balloon at about 400 feet at a balloon festival in Hillsboro, NH.

Time

It was about 6:30 a.m.

Lighting

The lighting was purely natural morning light as the sun rose above the horizon.

Equipment

Nikon D70, shutter priority mode; lens was a Tamron 17-50mm, focal length 45mm. f/6.3, shutter speed 1/500th second

Inspiration

We were in one of many balloons in the air on a cool July morning, and what better vantage point then from another balloon. I loved the pink-tinged clouds and the mist rising out of the valley.

Editing

I do minimal post-processing, just some small adjustments to levels in Photoshop and occasionally some cropping. I often take two versions of the same shot - one full frame and one to crop.

In my camera bag

I always carry my camera body, which I have since upgraded to a Nikon D300, the Tamron lens used to take this photo, and my Nikon 28-300mm lens. I find a tripod cumbersome to carry around, so I hand hold as much as possible, unless I am shooting in low light or using a low shutter speed. I have a combination monopod/walking stick that I use if I am hiking in the woods.

Feedback

If you want to shoot hot air balloons, get to the location early in the morning, when the light is coming up, rather than at the end of the day when the sun is going down. This give you more shooting time. Better still, book a morning flight in one of the balloons. There is nothing like floating gently in the basket of a hot air balloon - it is a magical experience that should be on everyone's bucket list! Afraid of heights? So am I. Just don't look straight down, and you will be fine, I promise - and you won't want to look down once you are up there with all of the other balloons. Just set your camera for continuous shooting, keep your eye to the viewfinder, and lose yourself in the wonder of it.

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