Figured I'd post a few from the NJ balloon festival a week or so ago. All in all the day was fun, however the balloon flights were limited in numbers and duration due to the moderate wind. Also, for those attending these, I would recommend the morning launches as it appears the dusk provided me some difficulty shooting as the sun was behind the balloons, forcing me to set the K10 to overexpose by 1-2 stops inorder to get detail out of the people and front right side of the balloons. The sky was rather gray/overcast, the overexposure really killed what little cloudes you could see. I ordered a UV & polarizer for the 24/50mm lenses I have and the 300 FA* after this event as even the normal shooting during the day the haze in the air and other elements were really visible, hoping they will be useful when I go to hawaii in a week.
Also, if you like shooting people/families this event would be a perfect place for you. As there are tons of people. I did notice on guy walking around shooting people, didnt seem to be with press or anything, seemed kinda creepy as he was using what looked to be a 300-400 canon zoom on a monopod and was shooting from a distance. Also, if you want practice with a long lense (all shots were hand held) this is good event for that as well.
this was as we were leaving, soom balloons (due to wind) couldn't take off/inflate fully. they usually hold concerts (some disney people, so its kid friendly, I was just there for the balloons)
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