Fun ride on the yellow balloon. I captured this image during the early morning mass ascension at the New Jersey festival of ballooning, which is held every Summer in Readington, NJ in late July. The telephoto lens allowed for some sharp details of the col
Jun, 2021Views
200
Likes
Awards
Staff Favorite
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 30 rank
Top 20 rankTop 10 rank week 1Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at the New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, which is held annually in the summer at Solberg Airport in Readington, NJ. The New Jersey Festival of Ballooning is the largest summertime hot air balloon and music festival in North America. Since I was with a group attending a photography field trip at the site, we had access to the launch field for close shots of the preparation and ascension. This is a shot taken with the telephoto lens of one of the large balloons once it had gained good altitude, carrying several passengers for the morning balloon ride.Time
We showed up at the launch field before 6 AM to be able to capture all the action during preparation and inflation of the balloons. The balloons started the mass ascension between 7:00 - 8:00 AM that morning.Lighting
We were very lucky with the weather that day, enjoying a clear, sunny morning at the field where the event was held. The abundant sunlight allowed for some excellent lighting against the rising balloons.Equipment
This was shot on my former Nikon D5600 DSLR using a Nikon 100-400mm telephoto lens. The camera was mounted on a very sturdy tripod. No other equipment was used. Both the the telephoto lens and the tripod were provided by the instructors running the photography workshop that day.Inspiration
Attending a Ballooning Festival had been on my bucket list for a long time. And having the opportunity of getting up close to the balloons during preparation and ascension was a very unique and rewarding experience thanks to the photography workshop we attended. I was very grateful to be able to borrow the telephoto lens for close-up shots of the balloons and the riders during the ascension, I really liked the details on the photo. I loved the perspective of the subjects viewed from the ground, and adding to the composition the brightly colored balloons with their patterns, along with the lucky passengers.Editing
I did fairly minimal post-processing on this photo using Luminar 4 software. The photo already contained enough vivid colors and sharpness thanks to the quality of the telephoto lens used and being mounted on a very stable tripod.In my camera bag
I carry my only DSLR camera, a Nikon D7500. I mostly use the Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD lens (this is my goto lens while traveling), and also carry the following lenses: Nikon Nikkor AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8G Lens Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR zoom lens Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR Lens I also carry an Olympus Tough TG-6 Digital Camera (specially for underwater and macro photography) and recently purchased a DJI Osmo Action 12MP Digital Camera as additional gear for underwater photography and videos.Feedback
Get up really early that morning and try to get to the ballooning site as early as possible. I highly recommend you get access to the actual launch site, whether it is through a special pass or as part of a photography workshop. In terms of equipment, bring the camera of your choice and a good quality telephoto lens (the 100-400mm lens worked great for this type of shots). I also recommend you bring a wide angle lens to capture several balloons as they are ascending. A sturdy tripod will be beneficial for added stability when using the long lens, specially if the lens is a bit heavy.
