Ready to Touch the Rio Grande
Shot of a hot air balloon getting ready to kiss the river. Taken from another balloon I was in above the Rio Grande River in Albuquerque, NM....
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Shot of a hot air balloon getting ready to kiss the river. Taken from another balloon I was in above the Rio Grande River in Albuquerque, NM.
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Jul, 2016Views
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photoBeard
July 23, 2016
WOW! Thank you for the feature in the store! Thank you to all that have liked this picture and the awards.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from another hot air balloon I was in above the Rio Grande River in Albuquerque, NM on a bright sunny morning in April.Time
This was probably around 8:30 or so in the morning on 4/22/2013 after getting up early to go for the balloon ride. They had to get the balloons all spread out and assembled and inspected before getting them full of hot air and ready to launch. You can see the long shadow from the gondola on the water with this balloon.Lighting
For the colors and light outdoors to get this it had to be a morning ride, and most are morning rides around here. The light had just come over the Sandia Mountains a while before this on the east side of Albuquerque. The morning light is so wonderful here in New Mexico for outdoor shooting.Equipment
Since I was in a large gondola of a hot air balloon with about five other people there was no tripod and I was using a Canon 5D with an EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens and a circular polarizing filter because of the light and reflections from the water on the Rio Grande River.Inspiration
This was my first ride up in a hot air balloon and I shot quite a few pictures while we were up but this one was just like something right off of a calendar right there in front of me when that balloon went down to touch the water. Kissing the water is special, if you get a chance to do it, and we did also just before this one. The wind has to be right and you need a good pilot in your balloon and that day we were in luck!Editing
I did the basic white balance, exposure and contrast in Lightroom and added more color and filters in OnOne out of Photoshop for the final look then back to PS for the final save and check colorspace. I was lucky with the light that morning and the positions of our balloon and that one.In my camera bag
I usually have a Canon 5D and 5D MkII bodies and the 24-70mm f/2.8L along with an f/4 70-200mm L and a f/1.8 50mm EF along with circular polarizer filters and a few ND filters for bright sky's. Also have added a 100mm f/2.8L Macro for a prime and for macro work if I want.Feedback
Go and get your self up in a hot air balloon on a sunny morning and have the most unbelievable ride of your life. That was truly a special ride, my wife gave me this ride for a Christmas present but I had to wait for it to warm up to get the ride scheduled even here in New Mexico. Remember if it is cold on the ground it's much colder up there!
