Mass Ascension

Here are some of my photos from the first mass ascension of the fiesta on Sunday morning (Oct 7). There are several, but it shouldn't take too long to scroll through this post, as I'll try to keep the words to a minimum.



The "show" began with a handful of Dawn Patrol balloons preparing to fly up before the others. As I mentioned before, this was a very exciting time. I used my sister's tripod for many of these photos so I could do 1-2 second exposures. I only wish I had rented a better lens for this event, since I just had to use my kit lens for its wider angle.




The balloons did a bit of glowing for a pretty light show.


Then they began taking off one at a time to cheers from the crowd. An announcer told us the balloon names as they lifted off.




As it started getting lighter, other balloons were being inflated.




This balloon went up and the national anthem was sung.



More and more balloons were ascending. They say the balloons leave in two waves, but it seemed more like they just went up at all different moments over the course of an hour or so.


My sister (who appears in a couple of these since I kept stopping to take pictures while she walked ahead) and I really liked that swirly one.





R and I were kind of making fun of the fact that lots of people were holding up their iPads to take pictures. I guess it's a sign of the times, and my dad was saying that it makes it much easier to email the photos to people, but it seemed kind of silly like there's got to be a better way to photograph the event. I don't own an iPad, though.



Lots of cute balloon designs and shapes. I tried to include several in this post.






It seemed like every time we turned around, several new balloons were being inflated. It was impossible to keep up with all of the different styles.





That zebra had a little trouble with his nose falling toward the ground. It took awhile before it could actually take off.




A butterfly that I think I photographed better that night.




I really liked this one for whatever reason. My sister got me one of the cards (balloon pilots hand cards out to the kids who collect them).



On the left, someone is trying to take a creative photo of their friend "holding" the penguin's camera, I guess.




The people who direct the balloons for takeoff are called zebras because of their striped outfits. Some take the name literally in how they dress.


And that's my summary of mass ascension! It was a great morning. Next up I'll post photos from the evening events. Thanks for looking!

Nephieces

 
I thought I'd start off with some non-balloon pictures. The nephieces (my easier way of referring to nieces and nephews at once) certainly didn't get equal camera time this trip. Their interest in family outings and being photographed fluctuates with each visit, and I realized I hardly got any photos of my nephews C or Z. S has lots of senior portraits that I'll show you later, though.


 

 
Kind of a funny series of these two girls who are so alike that they either love each other or are fighting. Things start off happily.



Uh oh....N is a little jealous of J's camera time.

 
And now she won't look at me, because she's pouting.


She's over it! We took the kids to a pumpkin patch where they had this corn pit that was quite the hit. And not just because that rhymes.

 


 

 
N loooves having her face painted, and waited patiently in line to get this done.


General play time.


 

 


 

Purple potatoes! They look almost like candy.

 

Getting a taste and a whiff of the dandelion.



The ever-popular phone games.



 







Have a nice weekend. :)

Vacation

I leave tomorrow. The days have been a nice blend of appreciating the weather and scenery, spending time with my nephieces (and siblings), and (in my case, at least) being lazy.


Each morning, the scene from my sister's house is something like this. R takes whoever wants to join her around town to see the balloons.


My nephieces love using my phone to play Angry Birds. I've never gotten into that game myself, but they never seem to be tired of it (though that theory hasn't really been tested, as they have to share it between them during the moments when I give up my phone).


I forgot to share one of my fireworks photos with you before. I have several to post, because I went a little crazy at my first opportunity to use a tripod during a big fireworks show.

Today my parents arrive, and we have one day of the entire family being together! Now I need to get off the computer and spend some time with the kids and prepare for the airport trip. Talk to you soon!

Sisters

Today was another busy day of looking at balloons in the neighborhood, shopping, and taking my niece's senior portraits. Here's a cute photo I took of my nieces while out doing the senior photos.

The weather is so nice. How is it for you? I know it's nice back in Salem as well (or at least it was when I left).

Dawn Patrol

Hi, friends. :) I'm in New Mexico and can't post much, but thought I'd share a quick photo. It's unedited, so I hope to show you some better ones later.

My sister wrote up a thorough explanation of our attempt to see the first mass ascension yesterday, so go there to read more about that.

I was pretty disappointed and unsure of when we'd have another opportunity like that, so I suggested we try again today, even though that meant waking up super early for the second day in a row. It was definitely harder to wake up, but it was worth it.

This photo is from the very beginning of the morning events. They send up a few balloons while it's still dark and do a little glowing before the rest of the balloons are inflated. It was one of the most exciting parts of the morning. There was happy anticipation all over the field, and I felt really lucky to watch something so cool. This picture doesn't really capture all of that, so I highly recommend experiencing it for yourself.

I'll be back again tonight for some other balloon events, and some day I will post lots of pictures, probably many of them repetitive. My camera just wouldn't stop. ;)

Have a great Sunday!