It’s time I made another entry in the behind-the-scenes series I’ve been writing. Today, we have another entry in the hot air balloons category with the 2019 Panguitch Balloonfest. It was the second time I could attend such a summer festival. See what it was like.
This balloonfest was a change from the last year’s event in weather conditions. The 2019 Panguitch Balloonfest featured cloudy skies which added interest and drama to the otherwise blank blue background. Thankfully, those clouds were only clouds. If they brought serious wind or stormy conditions, then the flights would have been canceled for safety reasons.
These clouds also provided better lighting for photography than the previous year did. The clouds made the light more even overall. It wasn’t harsh or direct so my photos appear much more pleasing to the eyes because of this fact.
If you couldn’t tell from the photos and video, it was a great turnout that day. The balloons launched to everyone’s delight. I came back with a handful of hot air balloon photos to add to my portfolio. Here are some examples from that day and that launch.
If you’d like to see more of my hot air balloon photos from that day in the field, then check out this article. It will show you all the images I took that day in addition to more details about the shoot itself.
So, now I turn things over to you reader. What do you think of my 2019 Panguitch Balloonfest photos now that you can see the bts video? Does it add something to the photos for you? Do the clouds indeed add something to the images which black sky would not? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. I always appreciate your constructive feedback on the matter.
Yes indeed the clouds add character to your photos. This was what Howard Hughes, a famous aviator, aircraft designer, and movie maker ran into when he was shooting his first aviation movie. He had reels of live aviation footage that he shot and had a hard time getting Hollywood to seriously take interest in his movie project because he shot all this footage in the sky without clouds. You could not see any movement in the footage because there was no background reference. Everything looked static throughout his original footage. He eventually re-shot his aviation movie against a cloudy sky and made a successful and popular movie for audiences world wide. This same thing applies to your work here. Great job!
Thank you. Glad you enjoy! Indeed, I’m not surprised to hear that others in similar industries experienced similar issues with the clouds.