The morning of the first day of the festival we got up early, leaving the house around 4:15 a.m. for the drive to Albuquerque. We got to the site of the fiesta, parked, walked in, and checked out the vendors, etc., before heading over to the main field where the balloons were beginning to get set up. Just before sunrise a number of balloons were inflated and subsequently took off (the "Dawn Patrol").
It wasn't long before I focused on the the firing of the burners, and how the flames played off of the dark, predawn sky. I was able to get a couple of shots of the balloons as the burners were firing just before take off...
I like this last shot because I was able to get in a bit closer, filling the frame with just the flame and the ballon itself.
The whole fiesta was more entertaining than I expected - and worth getting out of bed at 3:45 A.M. for! Watching over 500 balloons launch in the span of just a couple of hours during the Morning Ascension was a visual treat. Colors, shapes, patterns were in abundance (something I'll write about in a future post)...
Nikon D7000, Nikkor 18-55 DX
Prints of select photos can be ordered here
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