Hot air balloon trip - do you have any photography tips?

This Saturday (my birthday!) I will be making a trip in a hot air

balloon. The trip will be about 2 hours before sunset, and the

weather will be hot and cloudless. The balloon will be floating at a

height of 150 to 300 m (about 450 to 900 feet).

 

My equipment: Canon EOS 30 camera, Canon EF 28-135 IS USM lens,

circular polarizer filter. I'd like to shoot Fuji Provia 100F slide

film.

 

Do you have any tips for making nice photos on a trip like this? What

should I watch out for? Would you recommend me a different kind of

lens and why?

 

reagrds,

My advice, Just have a great time. :)

 

Although you might find 135mm is a little short for 900ft. I wouldnt worry about it. I don't think that presents a need to go out and specifically buy a new lens. Unless of course, it would be a 'Happy Birthday to yourself' scenario, b/c you wanted one anyway.

 

In that case, I would pick up something like a 70-200 (with TC?) or 70-300. I am not a Canon Guy, but I am sure someone can point out a nice lens to buy. I have gotten alot of great shots from my 70-300 f4-5.6. My 70-200f2.8 I havnt used enough yet. But I am planning on a 1.4x TC. I find for my use 300 is the most I would ever need. Your needs may differ.

 

That said, I still dont think it warrants buying a new lens just for a 2 hour trip :D

 

Remember to post your pictures when you get back!

 

Nick

It really depends on what you want to shoot. If you want to shoot landscapes from the air, then you should be fine. However, landscapes are hard to do well from a Balloon. I found the best shots I got were of the balloon itself and my wife and I in the balloon. You can really take some neat abstract shots while in the air. If the sun is right, you can get some great shots of the balloon's shadow on the ground.

 

One the coolest shots I got was after the actual Balloon ride. The balloon was being cooled down and deflated and had laid on it's side on the ground. I walked up the the edge of the opening and took a wide angle shot of the inside of the balloon. It really turned our great. The guy who owned the balloon actually let my wife walk into it for another shot.

 

You will use the wide end of your zoom alot. If you could barrow or rent something like a 20mm or wider, I think you would really use it alot. The basket you will be in is a pretty cramped area and the wider the angle the better.

 

One key item, the neck strap!! Make sure you have a good one and use it at all times.

Agreeing with Jim the filling or landing of the baloon make very great subjects and a 20mm is nice to have then. When you get a chance to shoot buildings of special interest for you get some long lenses, if possible maybe with an other body and faster film, otherwise just enjoy.

<center><img src="http://members.aol.com/hzoi/skygypsy5.jpg"><p><i>Fred Bookwalter pilots the </i>Sky Gypsy<i> over Sierra Vista, Arizona<br>

Minolta X-570, MD Fish-Eye Rokkor 16mm @ f/8, Kodak E100VS</i><p></center>Might want to bring something wider than 28mm if you want to get your pilot in the shot. I had fun with my 16mm fisheye and my 20mm; the trick is to keep the horizon as straight as you can to avoid distortion.

I had the chance to do photography at the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, some years back. My best photos were of preparation for the ascension in the early, pre-dawn hours. The filling of the envelopes with the industrial sized fans, then the lighting the burners makes for magnificent color images.