Last weekend my friend Mel & myself took a day trip to Statesville, NC for the 2011 NC Hot Air Balloon Festival. This has been on my NC to-do for a couple of years. I've never been before & was so excited that Mel wanted to go with me. I took 650 pictures. They were overwhelming and I've been sitting on them for over a week wanting to ignore them. But I finally went through them today and its SO hard to pick which ones to share with you. I'm warning you now: there will be LOTS of pictures in this post! And if you're still hungry for more I'll include the link so you can see them all.
The day was absolutely gorgeous. Bright blue sky & not a cloud in sight. This was the 1st balloon on the day.
I became obsessed with this balloon. Took way too many pictures of it.
Mel & I even got our picture in front of it.
When she & I are together I always take pictures of her. She loves to be in front of the camera so she makes a good subject.
Me on the other hand- getting less and less comfortable in front of the camera. I definitely prefer to be in the back of a camera these days. But Mel got some good ones of me.
Like my sun booger???
We got to Statesville around noon. There wasn't too many people so we took pictures, did a little NC beer & wine tasting, ate a funnel cake and then did some good 'ol fashion people watching.
After a couple of hours of chillin & people watching, it was back to work. At 4pm they brought in 50 hot air balloons & filled them up & let them take off. I couldn't believe all the people that where there by 4pm.
It was a mad rush to get to the balloons
But some just hung back
Balloons were everywhere & people were trying to get as many pictures as they could
A few went up after a couple of minutes
And then it seemed like all 50 of them were up at once
I couldn't get them all on my camera there were SO many (wish I could have brought a really wide lens)
There were lots of volunteers to help with these massive balloons
But the thing that did the main work??? The burner!!!
This is the thing that gets these balloons in the air
And its HOT & it has to be to lift those balloons in the air.
Up, up, up & away!!!!!!!!
After the balloons left, it was chill time until they returned. We hung out while the crowd tried to get a ride of the remaining 3 balloons.
7pm was the highlight of the day. Its called "The Glow". Its where all 50 balloons come back and they all light up their burners at the same time once the sun goes down. Mel & I got ourselves situated on a hill with our tripods to get these night shots. You need your shutter opened longer in order to get all the light into the sensor. Some shots were good & some were great- it all just depended on when you clicked & what balloons were "glowing".
I love how the burner literally lights up the balloon & the people under neat it while everything else is dark.
Spectacular
If you've never been to the NC Hot Air Balloon Festival- I highly recommend it! And a big thanks to Mel for coming along. I had SO much fun. Love ya!
Candice
If you want to see much more of the festival- check it out here
LOVE the photos - as usual! I had such a great time with you... and I know what you mean about the number of photos being overwhelming... I had 550 and still have yet to edit them.
I love how you organized them all for the blog - it's such a great way to showcase the photos and the experience. You're so creative!
Love ya back!
Mel :)
I'm so jealous. They are beautiful and you got so many great shots. I would totally pick a favorite and do a photowrap for the house. Thanks for sharing!
Wow great shots Candice!!!