Island Capture (aka Silverph or psilver)
For me, finding small, elusive birds is one of the hardest to shoot. Little did I know that hot air balloons can be a challenge as well.
Before this event, I turned to Flickr for photos of previous hot air balloon events to give me an idea on how to shoot this awesome activity. However, most are taken of balloons in the air or on a large field where the balloons are usually spaced apart in preparation for the ascent.
One of the main event is called, "Balloon Glow" where they all light up in the sky, mimicking Christmas tree lights! The day before the event, I was imagining all these and I thought, that alone will make this trip all worth it. Unfortunately for us, this was the third time the balloons were not ascending as planned. Northern winds have prevented this from happening; but of course, the people paid a lot of money to see these colorful towering behemoths light up the sky.
So they did just that, blow up the balloons in to one big bunch, firing at random. I wish they did lit up all at the same but they didn't and the last thing I knew, they were deflecting the balloons one by one; they didn't even leave the ground, even an inch!
There were so many elements you have to think of that time. First are the subjects which are the balloons plus the elements surrounding them -- the people, fence, sky, random lights, and more.
One way to shoot this is by using a telephoto lens and crop in on just a portion of the balloon -- like the basket for instance, full of people and the burner being ignited. Another is by shooting the envelope (main balloon) while it is being lit inside. those things though have been done countless times before. Finding a new perspective proves difficult and even impossible. People were everywhere, and the balloon's position just right against the fence means there is no space to really work on.
What I did was to switch to an ultra wide zoom (12-24mm) lens so I can go up to the fence and hopefully isolate the balloons from the other elements. It didn't work for me because I did not like the extreme perspective of the balloons.
Another problem I found was about exposure. Being lit in different places at different times with varying intensity means relying on the camera is not an option. Since the flame burns very bright, it just messes up with exposure and end up with a dark composition. A possible solution is to greatly exaggerate compensation but I opted to switch to manual mode and keep on shooting.
Time was also another thing to keep in consideration. Capturing this even at dusk or dawn is optimal. Since the flames from the balloon has a warm overall mood to it, I thought that contrasting it from the cool blue sky can be interesting. The challenge was to find the right moment where all or almost all of the balloons are fired up and pray hard that you have set the right exposure for that type and intensity of light!
About the image:
This may seem an ordinary image for most people but I chose this image because it showed everything that was happening at that moment. I thought that this image tells a story -- the line of balloons, the firing of the propane, the different types of people (from kids to seniors), the condition of the environment,the vibrant contrasting colors, the temperature difference between the flame and the sky and even the fence in between the people and balloons.
I think I also did follow some rules of photography here. The two persons (left and right) as the framing element, the balloon on the upper right side is following the rule of thirds, the vanishing point, etc.
I did not do any editing on this image whatsoever. It turned up just the way I like it.
I welcome opinions and (not too) violent comments. =:P
Thank you for visiting.
For me, finding small, elusive birds is one of the hardest to shoot. Little did I know that hot air balloons can be a challenge as well.
Before this event, I turned to Flickr for photos of previous hot air balloon events to give me an idea on how to shoot this awesome activity. However, most are taken of balloons in the air or on a large field where the balloons are usually spaced apart in preparation for the ascent.
One of the main event is called, "Balloon Glow" where they all light up in the sky, mimicking Christmas tree lights! The day before the event, I was imagining all these and I thought, that alone will make this trip all worth it. Unfortunately for us, this was the third time the balloons were not ascending as planned. Northern winds have prevented this from happening; but of course, the people paid a lot of money to see these colorful towering behemoths light up the sky.
So they did just that, blow up the balloons in to one big bunch, firing at random. I wish they did lit up all at the same but they didn't and the last thing I knew, they were deflecting the balloons one by one; they didn't even leave the ground, even an inch!
There were so many elements you have to think of that time. First are the subjects which are the balloons plus the elements surrounding them -- the people, fence, sky, random lights, and more.
One way to shoot this is by using a telephoto lens and crop in on just a portion of the balloon -- like the basket for instance, full of people and the burner being ignited. Another is by shooting the envelope (main balloon) while it is being lit inside. those things though have been done countless times before. Finding a new perspective proves difficult and even impossible. People were everywhere, and the balloon's position just right against the fence means there is no space to really work on.
What I did was to switch to an ultra wide zoom (12-24mm) lens so I can go up to the fence and hopefully isolate the balloons from the other elements. It didn't work for me because I did not like the extreme perspective of the balloons.
Another problem I found was about exposure. Being lit in different places at different times with varying intensity means relying on the camera is not an option. Since the flame burns very bright, it just messes up with exposure and end up with a dark composition. A possible solution is to greatly exaggerate compensation but I opted to switch to manual mode and keep on shooting.
Time was also another thing to keep in consideration. Capturing this even at dusk or dawn is optimal. Since the flames from the balloon has a warm overall mood to it, I thought that contrasting it from the cool blue sky can be interesting. The challenge was to find the right moment where all or almost all of the balloons are fired up and pray hard that you have set the right exposure for that type and intensity of light!
About the image:
This may seem an ordinary image for most people but I chose this image because it showed everything that was happening at that moment. I thought that this image tells a story -- the line of balloons, the firing of the propane, the different types of people (from kids to seniors), the condition of the environment,the vibrant contrasting colors, the temperature difference between the flame and the sky and even the fence in between the people and balloons.
I think I also did follow some rules of photography here. The two persons (left and right) as the framing element, the balloon on the upper right side is following the rule of thirds, the vanishing point, etc.
I did not do any editing on this image whatsoever. It turned up just the way I like it.
I welcome opinions and (not too) violent comments. =:P
Thank you for visiting.