Call me old fashioned - I think we should bring back Hot Air Balloon as a mode of transportation. The balloon rides are mesmerizing- from the fabric envelope to the vent designs… to the burners that blast out flames controlled skillfully by the pilot as you float.. up up and away… It is so serene floating up in the air while enjoying the birds eye view of the world below from the balloon’s basket. Second only to a ride in the balloon basket is watching the balloons being launched at the Balloon Festivals. From October 1 - 9, 2016, Albuquerque hosts the International Balloon Fiesta which is dubbed the Desert Kaleidoscope, is one of the most photographed events in the world. I fell in love with the hot air balloons watching them at the Plano Balloon festival. Attending the Balloon Fiesta and capturing images of the Balloons dazzling up the desert sky is something high on my list.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions and Official Imaging Company is the Presenting Sponsor of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, second year in a row. Fiesta-goers are reported to take more than 25 million photographs capturing the colorful balloons, dynamic laser light shows and brilliant firework displays in New Mexico’s beautiful desert landscape.
The Fiesta is a great fall festival weekend for families. Kids will be captivated as more than 700 colorful hot air balloons will ascend into the beautiful skies of Albuquerque, New Mexico – which is also a great backdrop to take family photos (maybe even a holiday card). Canon Explorer of Light Ken Sklute shares with us some tips and tricks to capture stunning images at the event.
Capturing From Above
There is no better place to capture a sunrise than flying in a balloon during the Mass Ascension at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta on a crisp October morning claims Ken. While drifting along with the gentle breezes, you will be surrounded by over 800 other balloons. If you are planning on photographing the excitement that is Fiesta, he suggests you first arrange a flight in one of the hot air balloons. Contact the ride concession to purchase your ticket for one of the Mass Ascension days. You will be a part of the beauty with balloons in front of you, behind you, to the left, right, above and below you. Many of the balloon envelopes have turning vents so your pilot can rotate the balloon, providing all of the passengers a new perspective of the surroundings.
Once rising into a pod of balloons, he recommends to look for:
- Balloons at various distances from mine, creating depth in the sky.
- The light from the sun at a 90 degree angle to the balloons, creating dimension.
- A foreground balloon to give balance to the balloons in the background.
- Clouds that create lighter and darker balloons.
When flying as a photographer, Ken usually has two camera bodies on his shoulder — the first is an EOS 5D series camera with a wide angle zoom such as the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L and the other is EOS-1D X series with the versatile EF 70-200mm 2.8L IS or EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS lens.
Capturing the Balloon glow
The Balloon Glow is an exciting and colorful event where many of the pilots inflate their balloons at sunset, keeping them tethered to the ground, and use a special burner that creates a bright, warm light within the envelope, giving the balloons a light bulb like appearance.
Equipment Needs
Mid-range zooms like a 24-70mm or 24-105mm (equivalents for APS-C sensor cameras would be lenses like a 15-85mm or 18-135mm) allow Ken the versatility of a wide-angle lens and a short telephoto for compression of the balloons. Lens compression is an effect created by using a longer focal length lens to capture a scene where you will visually bring the background closer to your subject. You can create the impression that there is more distance from your subject to the background by using a wide-angle lens.
To ensure sharp, shake-free images in this dusky environment, a tripod is a wise investment you will not regret! Be sure to bring along your cable release or intervalometer to trip your shutter without having to touch the camera itself. Here are a few additional tips for minimizing camera shake during longer exposure, for tack-sharp images even in low-light:
- Enable the "mirror up" function on your camera. This will allow the mirror to rise on the first depression of your cable release. The second time that you depress the cable will now allow the shutter to fire with minimum vibration when you're tripod-mounted.
- Canon generally recommends that stabilization on Image Stabilization (IS) lenses be turned off when you know you'll be on a solid tripod. This will prevent the IS from actually vibrating your camera when it is mounted on your tripod.
- Lastly, make use of Live View when focusing at the balloon glow. It will be dark and challenging to see through your viewfinder to find focus visually and the use of auto focus may also be a challenge. Using Live View provides you with the ability to "zoom" in on your subject either 5x or 10x to focus precisely where you would like to.
Ken Sklute who has be attending the Fiesta for decades explains that “Nearly 900 "balunatics" come to Albuquerque, NM to fly the drainage of the Sandia Mountains, which create a phenomenon called the “Albuquerque box." When active, the box effect allows a pilot to take off from the field and fly south. Then as the pilot takes the balloon higher, the winds change 180 degrees and the balloon is now heading north, allowing the pilot to navigate right back to the launch field and effectively land where he took off from, if the pilot chooses to do so. The box effect is not always active, but keep a watchful eye out for it, as it is something unique to the Albuquerque event.” Apart from being a renowned photographer and ballooning enthusiast Ken Sklute is also a commercial hot air balloon pilot. You can read more of his Tip for Photography and also capturing the fireworks at the Fiesta.
You can find out more about the Events at the festival , balloons and pilots participating this year and current schedule here. I love checking The Balloon Cams during the Fiesta where you can view live images of the park, a time lapse and previous webcam images.
Photo walk with a Canon expert
While you are there at the Fiesta make sure to stop by Canon’s tent. Canon tent will be located in the center of Main Street and in the 7-11 Balloon Discovery Center on the south end of Main Street. The Canon tent offers balloon fiesta guests the chance to speak to a product expert from 4am-11am and 3pm-10pm throughout the event. Experts will be there to help suggest the right product for photo enthusiasts to borrow and shoot with for the day! Anyone who borrows product or stops at the Canon tent with their own equipment will also be invited to sign up for a photo walk with a Canon expert. There are two sessions each day - one at 5:30am and the other at 5:00pm.