How to Photograph Hot Air Balloons

تقليص
X
تقليص
 
  • الصفحة لـ 1
  • تصفية - فلترة
  • الوقت
  • عرض
إلغاء تحديد الكل
مشاركات جديدة
السابق template التالي
  • #1

    How to Photograph Hot Air Balloons

    How to Photograph Hot Air Balloons

    Some of the most rewarding and relatively easy subjects to photograph are the growing number of hot air balloons floating in the skies. If you have the willingness to wake up early, you can have good luck photographing a very colorful and slow-moving subject to display for your friends and family.



    Now I need to make a disclaimer – while there are many pockets around the world that have ballooning, I am fortunate enough to live in the crown jewel for ballooning, Albuquerque, New Mexico in the US. Each October, the city hosts its International Balloon Fiesta, with as many as 600 hot air balloons and over 800,000 attendees participating in the weeklong event. In December, the second largest hot air balloon festival is hosted in Gallup, New Mexico, with some 200 pilots taking to the heavens. Other New Mexico cities host smaller events (20-50 balloons) during the year as well. The open skies and favorable wind conditions in New Mexico result in spectacular viewing and numerous photographic opportunities. However, you should be able to find good hot air balloons to photograph in most locations with a little planning.
    NIKON D750 + 28-75mm f/2.8 @ 45mm, ISO 1250, 1/160, f/5.6
    الكلمات الدلالية (Tags): غدير معروف
  • #2
    Table of Contents

    تعليق

    • #3
      Sometimes, a pilot will release a small helium-filled balloon into the air to identify the wind direction. These are valuable sources of information for you as well in order to pre-position your shooting location. Account for sun as a factor – having it behind you reduces or eliminates shadows on the envelopes, side shots give you some shadow and a sense of depth, and shooting into the sun can provide silhouettes or filtered light through the colorful envelopes.

      For equipment, I use a Nikon D750 along with two lenses – a Tamron 28-75mm and a Nikkor 70-300mm. This combination allows me great versatility to get the types of shots I’m seeking. Occasionally, I will use a circular polarizing filter to enhance the blue skies and make a nice contrast to the colors of the envelopes. I don’t use a tripod for the morning ascensions as it just limits my mobility.

      تعليق

      • #4
        Camera Settings


        With the low early morning light, and not using a tripod, I usually will start the day with a higher ISO – maybe as high as ISO 1600 – and then gradually reduce that as the day becomes brighter. My shutter speed is generally in the range of 1/160 to 1/320 of a second to aid sharpness. At this point, I am not really concerned with depth of field. Balloons aloft are very two dimensional and don’t require much DOF thought. However, there are other opportunities for very cool photos on the ground where aperture settings are important. I will describe those later.
        NIKON D750 + 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 @ 116mm, ISO 250, 1/250, f/11.0

        تعليق

        السابق template التالي
        يعمل...
        X