aggiedad Loc: Corona, ca

I was at the festival a few years ago. At that time, and at the end of the day, most of the balloons were inflated, and provided great shots after dark of the illuminated aircraft.

rjandreoff Loc: Hawaii

Dawn patrol itself is almost worth the trip and crowds. Not to be missed. The rush to the senses was a terrific experience. Get there early. And once the balloons are inflated and the launch begins, the pace is fast! We stayed downtown and took the first bus (3:45?). We did not regret it as it allowed time to scout out the best spots. Take the fastest, widest lens you have. My 50mm 1.8 was plenty fast but not wide enough. My 16-35 F4 was much plenty wide but not fast enough. I compensated with higher ISO (Nikon D4 auto 5000-10000). Ended up with quite a few outstanding shots (maybe 50%). The rest were throwaways due to noise and poor composition. If I had to do it again, any camera with strong low light capability and a wide, sharp, zoom @ f2.8 would have been ideal.

DesignOrc

I was in Albuquerque one year on business, and did not know anything about the balloon festival or the mass ascension. I was in a room on the 19th floor of the Doubletree hotel, and happened to get out of bed as this massive onslaught of balloons came directly toward my window. Wasn't doing photography then, but the colors and shapes were mind boggling.

Judy795

The very best is the prime camping on the ledge above the prep and takeoff field. In 2015 we camped there in our trailer for 5 nights. The balloons rise all around you. We also did a balloon ride during the morning assertion. That was amazing too. In 2015 we could walk all over the prep field. I don’t know if it’s the same now.

In my opinion, the best photos are taken on the ground as preparation is being made, and off the grounds near an interesting site, like the river bed that runs through town. I got lots of closeups of balloons, but they just hang in space without some good foreground or background.

The dark photo is mine. The photo above the river is not mine but this is where I would recommend going.

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sabfish

Thank you.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Depends. How far away will you be. What do you want to include in the image. Where are the balloons in comparison to where you are standing and the direction of the sun.

sabfish

Since I have never been at the event, I am unable to answer your questions.

dwermske

Take a wide-angle and tripod for your evening ground shots (Glowdeo) or early morning shots. Use as long a lens as you have for the sky shots (during lift-off or fly over). You can get the faces of the pilot and passenger as well as great shots of these color balloons during their flight. I used a 16mm-35mm plus a 100-400mm and got some nice shots.