Spent the weekend at a Balloon Fair in Montague, CA. This year I shot mostly people, but on the last morning the wife and I hiked up a local hill to watch them float by the mountains and land.
Nikon D700
Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 EDIF @ 54mm
400 ISO
f 11
1/500th
Metered on the balloon and locked focus and exposure
No filters, minimal PP. Just a little bit of a grad filter to tone down the sky and some vibrance.
Great comp on the balloons. I would crop the right side to get the foreground balloon off center and loose the "little" Mt. on right. Check for dust spots. Great light on the balloons!!! Bob
Hi John,
Beautiful early light with 3 balloons positioned nicely with each other.
Bob's suggestion of a crop from the right IMO will work and I looked at that possibility.
I almost suggested that crop but also like the image the way it is.(centered between 2 peaks) Could use a small amount more room on the right
In the repost I added room to the top and the bottom(quickly) to show what more room would look like since I felt the balloon was too close to the edge and more base was needed.
As Bob mentioned to watch the dust bunnies on the upper and lower right. Pleasing image!
Great balloons. Too bad the mtn was in the morning dullness....that's a magnificent mountain. Makes me homesick--I used to live there. (if you needed a shot of just balloons, you could do a vertical crop and with a bit of cloning, could have a total shot of them alone.
Love the triangle composition of the three ballons. They seem to have just the right amount of space between them. I like Dave's repost with the added room at the top and bottom. That makes a bigger difference than I would have thought. I'm envious as I've never had the chance to see or shot more than one ballon at the time.
Thanks for the replies, in the print I added a little to the right side and more to the top as Dave did, no need for canvas -- I just loosened up the crop a little. I do need to look for dust bunnies, I get lazy until it's time to print! It's a bad habit and the gentle reminder was a needed nudge.
In addition to the above comments on the wonderful color, background, lighting, and placement, I also really like that you were able to get some activity from the people in the foreground balloon.
Hey John,
Sorry....late to the party as I am still in the Tetons but now I have internet! I like that you got seperation between the balloons. Dave's tweaks took it up yet another notch. Overall.....nicely done with the hazy conditions too.