This year's Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque got sandwiched in with the remnants of a couple hurricanes from the Gulf of California, but it has gone pretty smoothly. I don't have much tolerance for the crowds at the launch site, but an early morning breeze often brings a good number of balloons over the neighborhood and one often lands nearby.
Even in calm air it is a tricky business to bring a balloon down on city streets.
This star spangled craft touched down in a dead-end a couple blocks from our house.
The chase vehicles delivered fresh propane bottles and a new load of passengers.
The balloon took off again and joined the pack heading south.
I decided one morning to try following one of the balloons with my motorcycle. I thought I would intercept the landing near Old Town, but I ended up on a tortuous chase which took me deep into Albuquerque's South Valley. I watched the balloon come to ground finally in a mobile home park near Coors Blvd.
I used 135 and 50mm Takumar lenses on my Pentax K1000 for these pictures. I thought the combination did a pretty good job, though a zoom might have made the shoot a little easier.
Old cameras, film and motorcycles? You are a brave man!
ReplyDeleteMy Albuquerque client was on Coors By-Pass, so I spent a lot of time on that side of town. I miss coming to Albuquerque.
In my defense, I didn't attempt any photographs while I was on the motorcycle.
ReplyDeleteGreat pursuit, indeed a zoom may be best for these subjects. An 80-200 has worked nicely for me in air shows, although sometimes I wished for something a bit longer.
ReplyDeleteThose deep blue skies and colored balloons are the ultimate bright color subject.
If I had gotten my brain properly in gear I could have used my Nikon EM with its 35-70 zoom. It has a bit of a problem with the central focus area blacking out if your eye isn't in just the right position, but it probably would have done ok with this subject.
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