OT - Balloon Classic ( +2)

Went to the Colorado Balloon Classic at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs yesterday and today. A couple from yesterday.

Reflections

Ah, the ol' splash & go. Doesn't always turn out like the pilot envisions.

Nice stuff. Do you have a tighter shot of that balloon hitting the water (or a crop)? Might be nice.

Nice! I'm still wading through mine from Saturday morning...
I've got some tight shots of a few of the balloons splashing that I'll try to throw on here.

Here's one that I got from Saturday morning that looks like they were inches from filling the bucket and going under! This one is cropped in from a larger view that includes Pikes Peak in the background.

Jim Bennett
Highlands Ranch, CO

Actually, when I went back and zoomed into the basket, they may have actually put the leading side briefly under water! Of course, this picture is terrible, but you can still see the left side at the water line. It looks to me like they were extremely close to disaster, except that they were not far from shore.

Jim Bennett
Highlands Ranch, CO

DJ,
That's a nice reflection shot. I was down at the southeast corner of the lake and the water there was far too choppy to get reflections like that. Here's the same shot from my angle.

Jim Bennett
Highlands Ranch, CO

I always enjoy nice, bright balloon shots and these are no exception.

Thanks everyone.

Jeff, here's the balloon from the first image doing the splash further up the lake. Somehow the basket is OOF!

Bob, looking forward to seeing your balloons images!

Jim, I shot that balloon also and thought the same thing. Nice comp. and background in your multi-balloon image.

One more for good measure.

He just keeps going . . . .and going. . . .and going . . .and going.

It's funny that the basket in the water in the next to last photo looks almost like a conoe! Maybe it's some new kind of watercraft...

Jim Bennett
Highlands Ranch, CO

Well, at least the Energizer Bunny showed up. I heard an announcement before it started that they almost didn't come to this show, due to the economy.

Actually, this was the first time that I went to this balloon festival, since I live right near Chatfield State Park. Other than having Pikes Peak for a background, I was able to get many better photos at the Rocky Mountain Balloon Festival before it was discontinued last year. I'm still very disappointed how the state park helped to kill that excellent balloon festival.

Jim Bennett
Highlands Ranch, CO

One of the few I got with Pikes Peak in the background...the wind wasn't favorable for photos on Saturday, and the launch was scrubbed today due to wind.

As very windy as it was here in Highlands Ranch on Sunday morning, I'm surprised that the launch wasn't scrubbed also on Sunday. If the wind down there was also coming out of the south, it would have blown them away from the lake and prevented any good photos anywhere other than the actual lauch site. I'm glad that I only went on Saturday.

Jim Bennett
Highlands Ranch, CO

Very nice! Looks like a lot of fun!

Really enjoying those shots, guys. Love the bright colors of the balloons. D.J., I really like your comps and processing!