A few weekends ago I attended and photographed the Bluff Balloon Festival in the small desert town of Bluff Utah. This is not the first balloon festival I have ever been to, we have one here in my home town of Ridgway CO each year that offers spectacular opportunities to photograph balloons flying with the San Juan Mountains as a backdrop. This was the first time however I got to fly in a hot air balloon.

The Bluff Balloon Festival is particularly amazing to photograph because of the landscape. Located in South Eastern Utah, desert towers and red rock sandstone abound making a spectacular backdrop for the colorful balloons in flight. My primary task at the festival was to be part of the chase crew. I helped to inflate the balloon getting it ready to fly and then by driving around in a truck following the balloon on its flight ready to help it land and dismantle it. This of course limited my mobility when it came to photographing the event, but by being a crew member I earned the opportunity to fly and shoot from the air. It was well worth it.

I have photographed from planes before, but never from a hot air balloon. Photographing from a balloon is pure joy. No windows or doors to contend with. No vibration to cause camera shake, and the silent slow pace lets you really enjoy where you are.

Below is a slideshow of my images from the event. The music is by Colin Hay.

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