Anyway, when I was told about the hot air balloon event about 30min drive from Atlanta, there wasn’t a second thought.
With lots of anticipation for grand shots of hundreds of hot air balloons taking off at the same time on a endless plain(which made me wonder because there is no such thing as endless plain in Georgia), it was a little confusing when I pulled into a parking lot of a local sports field without any balloon in sight. It was hot, the sun was blazing and people were all sitting in the shade. The big question was, where are the balloons???
Then I found the schedule, which said that the balloons were off to a competition. It didn’t mention what kind of competition it was. Was it about speed? Was it about technical skills? I don’t know. All I know was it was definitely not a spectator sport. After about an hour of wait and watching less than exciting dances by the local community and dog training demonstrations, my friend arrived and we decided to leave for a while to get something to eat before the balloons came back.
It was getting late and close to the evening and I started to wonder if I was going to be able to get any good photo at all, however I kept thinking photos of balloons I’ve seen shot in the late afternoon glowing in the flames, which kept my hopes up. It was until when we returned to the parking lot when we realized that the balloons have already arrived. However, there was a huge suspicion that they weren’t flown in, but “trucked-in” to the fair ground. Well, that was a little disappointing considering that they should make a grand entrance by landing gracefully onto the bare and boring tarmac.
It was time for the ride demos and the crowd were gathering fast, signing the waiver forms and getting in the line to ride the balloon. So I was wondering how are 9 balloons going to give hundreds of people a ride in a night? Well, it wasn’t really a “ride”. A ride refers transportation from point A to point B. In this case, it was from point A to point A… Basically, the balloons were tied to the ground with ropes. The balloons will take its passengers up for about 90 ft and then come right down to the ground, like an elevator, except that it takes you to the same floor. Oh well, another part of the dream chipped away. So what’s next for me?
Photos of course!!! Photos of balloon glowing lively from the powerful after burners that shoot flames. As the night got darker, the balloon glow became more visible. It was time to reveal the ultimate photography weapon--- the Tripod! Well, this is the poor man’s alternative to expensive fast glasses. However, I soon realize that those beautiful glowing sharp images of hot air balloons are impossible with what I have. With the balloons swinging in the air left and right, all I will be able to capture are moving balloons due to the long exposure.
So was it a series of disappointment? Well, it’s like going to the zoo as opposed to going to the real African Safari, but the elephants and giraffes are still real. At least I can tell people that I have seen real hot air balloons with photos to show for. I just hope that the real African Safari trip on a hot air balloon won’t be too far off in the future.
More balloon photos HERE
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