Grandpa Balloon Chaser

in #life5 years ago

I Nearly Missed This

Some days, nothing special is going on, and then all of sudden, BAM, an opportunity presents itself.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about all of the air traffic the skies over my home gets. During the summer, on calm mornings, it's not at all uncommon to see hot air balloons float by. Usually, they do so to the east, following the nearby river as they head south to the fairgrounds.

It's not as likely to happen the further we go into fall though, because the weather generally changes—the winds pick up, the clouds cover and the rain comes down.

But, as I wrote previously, the weather must have been perfect last month as there was one balloon (a blue one) floating virtually over our house, close enough that I heard the blasts of the burners.

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Well, this morning, I was out in my office with the door propped open due to the overnight stuffiness, when I heard something like air venting. I'd heard it before, but for a few seconds, it didn't dawn on me what it was. Then it came to me in a flash:

Hot Air Balloon!

As I rushed outside, the balloon was well beyond our property, still heading south, but seemingly in between us and the houses over on the next street. It would have made for a sweet picture, but I didn't have my iPhone in hand, and regardless, it doesn't have much of zoom.

So, I spent about a minute fumbling around with my Olympus DSLR, which I recently put different parts of away while I was uncluttering and rearranging my office. I hadn't used the camera since, so that meant locating the lens I wanted to use. I immediately found others, but not the one I was hunting for. Finally, after passing it twice, I realized it was still sitting where I left it—on the floor inside a storage area—managed to get it onto the camera, and flew to the door. By then, the balloon was beyond the houses on the next street.

Again, I didn't quite realize what was happening, but then I noticed that the balloon was unintentionally framing itself between the buildings of the property up the rise. It kept heading west, so I had to counter it and try to take the picture when all of the balloon was still visible, but more or less in the middle of the 'V' created by the buildings.

Got It!

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I was in the process of self-congratulations, thinking, Dude, that's a pretty cool photo! Maybe once in a lifetime, when the thought occurred to me, You going to settle for that?

Uh, no?

So, off I went. I jumped into the car and officially became a hot air balloon chaser.

Except, I didn't know where it was going, exactly. It was still heading west, but based on its altitude and course of direction, it looked like it was meaning to land. The only place close to its immediate vicinity where it could land at that point was the park. It has a nice grassy field for softball and other recreational activities. I figured I try there first.

Winding my way through the streets from my home over to the park, I could see the balloon was already west of where I thought it would land, but still fairly close. I stopped my car just inside the entrance to the park and then took another photograph, this time with just the balloon, the pilot, and the blue sky.

What I think is the coolest about this photo is, you can see the pilot slightly leaning over the side of the basket, gauging where he is relative to the ground, while holding onto the controls.

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I moved out to the street, since the balloon drifted behind some nearby trees, and saw that it was heading north. At this point, it was beyond the newer residential developments and coming close to what I thought might be some farmer's field.

I snapped the image of the balloon crossing the road, and then, thought, I've come this far. Might as well see where it lands.

Back in the car I got and up the road I went.

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Within the minute or so it took for me to drive there, the balloon was already barely hovering over the ground. I couldn't just stop in the middle of the road (that would have been an awesome picture, though), so I continued down and then turned around. There was more room on the other side of the street to park, anyway, and I could take the next image from my side of the car.

I don't know if anyone saw me or not. I think maybe they did, but no one came rushing at me, yelling for me to stop, so I took a couple photos and then went on my merry way.

Some Thoughts

I don't know if there's anything original or terribly profound rattling around in my brain after this experience, but it reminded me of other times I'd concluded that some of the best picture taking happens when it's least expected. I can't tell you how many times that's happened.

Now, if you don't happen to be in the right place at the right time, it doesn't matter. So, there's definitely some fortune involved. In this particular case, I was here on STEEM, but thinking about what exactly to post on. Viola! Over comes the hot air balloon.

For me, hot air balloons are not unheard of, but since they're not an every day thing, especially so close, I get excited when it happens. I don't know that I would ever like to ride in one (too much open air, not enough safety), but I'm fascinated by the idea of just being able to get up in the morning, heat up your balloon, and take to the skies.

Okay, it's a little more complicated than that, and yes, that's totally romanticized, but there's this feeling of freedom I get when I see these manmade flying machines. I can't explain it, but hopefully you've felt it on occasions yourself.

The other thing that struck me, that I don't give enough credit to, is I live in a beautiful place. The trees lining the street with the mountain peak off in the distance and nothing but light blue sky—I'm blessed, and spoiled.

So, why am I always thinking about getting out of here?

I don't quite have the answer to that, and I'm not sure I want to delve into self-analysis on this post, anyway. I'll leave you to enjoy the photos of balloon and nature.

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About This Post

Images by Glen Anthony Albrethsen, taken with an Olympus E-3 DSLR camera with a 50-200mm Olympus zoom lens.

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We use use to have an Autumn Chase festival here every year with Balloon day. There would be about 100 or so of them taking off from one park and landing in the park at the next town over.
We would always drive along with them and watch from the highway.
That was long before the days of digital photos. I do believe I still have a few pics floating around somewhere anyways.
It sure was a pretty sight to see all those balloons fill the skies.
I have always loved them. I would have chased that balloon too.
I really miss the festival. Would you believe I still have one of the t shirts lol

hey, @headchange.

They have an Art and Air Festival here where a similar thing takes place. Not nearly as many balloons, but probably a couple dozen, anyway. Having so many would be a very impressive sight—an air invasion!

I can believe you chased them down the freeway. I've been tempted on more than one occasion to get in the car and race them to the fairgrounds, but managed to refrain. Not this time. :)

And I'd also keep the T-shirt, too. Got to wear something, and if it reminds you of good times, even better.

You'll have to scan some of those photos to share then. :)

Well my pics were no where near as good as yours. But you are right it was very beautiful. I would take hours for them all to get From Bristol to Kingsport. They would space out the time between them. Lots of people would be there at the take off point and make the drive over to the landing.
Naturally there were vendors and what not at both sites. They still do one called fun fest but I think there were only 20 or so balloons that came last year. I quit going to those kind of things after the kids were older.
I do still enjoy when one happens to fly over the house. I really need to learn to be like you and keep a camera handy, even if it is just on my phone lol

It sounds wonderful. Well, things change, and we just need to find other things that can we can enjoy our time with, right? If we ever do end up moving from here, the balloons will definitely be something I miss.

I really need to get my iphone car mount up in my car, because there are plenty of times where I'll be going down the road and wish I could use my phone's camera for something I was seeing. It would have to line up through the windshield, but still, I think I could manage that better than trying to drive, hold the camera and push the button.

What a perfect shot!!

Hey, @agromeror.

Thanks. It did take a little doing, but in the end it wasn't that hard to do once I saw what was happening. That's probably the most difficult part—seeing there's even a cool shot in the first place. Camera does the rest.

We're supposed to have some decent weather into the foreseeable future, so I may wind up with more balloon pictures before October is over. We'll see. If the balloons can't make it to their destination because of a change in the weather (maybe too cold?), then they just won't fly.

@glenalbrethsen, great images and thanks for the detailed adventure. And how cool is that?! A big, huge, bright purple cross for all to see.

See you next time.

Well, thank you, @dandays.

I figured not everyone gets the chance to experience a hot air balloon in their neighborhood, so I decided I'd take you all along for the ride. :)

I guess it is a big, bright purple cross. I didn't really think of it in terms of any kind of statement, just part of the pattern on the balloon. Who knows. There's bound to be Christian balloonists, right?

One thing I probably should have mentioned is, I think the balloon may have been spinning a little bit. Not a whole lot, but the close up of just the balloon and the one down the street are basically taken from the same angle, facing west, and between the two, there's a definite shift in where the cross is. The first and last images I was facing south and north, respectively, so the cross wouldn't have been in the same place, anyway.

That trailer you can see at the end of the street in the third image is actually the one in the fourth that came to retrieve the balloon and pilot.

These are beautiful shots Glen! I LOVE that you jumped in the car to follow it as well, but especially that you had one of those realizations that everything is exactly the way it's supposed to be :)

I'm submitting this beauty to c-squared too!

Well, thank you very much for the submission, @lynncoyle1.

I used to do that kind of thing (jump in the car, chase something down) all of the time when I owned the newspapers, especially in the beginning, when I was more or less it. Sometimes it happened late at night or even early in the morning. We had a fire dispatch radio so we could listen in on the calls. You'd drop everything and go.

Haven't really done that much lately, though. Not much of a reason to, obviously.

I'm just glad I managed to get everything found and put together, because my iPhone wasn't going to produce the same quality of photos. One of these days I'll upgrade, because the images my older son can take with his newer iPhone are much better in comparison.

Of course, I hadn't thought about that. Did you like the feeling of doing it again though?

I got a new android phone earlier this year, and the photo quality always surprises me; all of my post photos are taken with the phone. I did have a nice old-school Nikon, zoom lens attachment, the whole deal, but sold it before moving here. Sometimes wish I hadn't, but really, I never used it anymore (pre-steemit) days. It's just easier to have a phone handy all the time instead of lugging that thing around "in case" I saw something that I wanted a photo of.

Yeah, which is one reason why I would upgrade my iPhone to the latest version. I'm sure when phone companies put cameras in, they put a huge dent in regular camera sales, just because of the convenience. Most of us aren't worrying about super great quality photos for our Facebook wall, even though it would be nice to have non-blurry photos of loved ones. :)

re: like the feeling

Well, I had a big grin on my face for about three minutes of this. Or at least it felt like I did. Our neighborhood is quiet enough as it is, but it's very quiet around 9 AM, after most have headed off to school or work. So, I pretty much had the streets to myself, except for a couple of people walking and a couple of cars that I came on at the other end of the street, conveniently where the balloon was landing.

I do actually miss that part. Going to a fire or an accident—you felt for the people, but there was an adrenaline rush to get the photos and to be as invisible as possible while doing it. Didn't always work out that way, but I tried.

There you are again. How do you always manage to beat me to the good c-square submissions?

hahaha just luck I guess :)

Beautiful shots of the hot air balloon! What an expedition you were on being a hot air balloon chaser and all. Those impromptu moments of photography are always best. I can never find my camera in time for those moments. A family of deer stopped by my backyard the other day and of course, they were gong by the time I found the camera and set it up.

Looking at your photo quality..I need new lens! But first, learn how to use the old camera. ;)

Hey, @beeyou.

I've always been happy with the Olympus digital cameras we bought for the newspapers. This E-3 is the last one we bought. Looks like that was around 10-11 years ago.

There was a line of Canon cameras (can't remember now what it was called) that was always considered better, but since we'd bought the Olympus first, we had the lenses, batteries, the battery chargers, etc., which meant we would have to buy the Canon and the new stuff to go with it.

Still wonder now and then whether the Canon was much better. You don't see too many people using the Olympus, though. And now, I'm sure there's all kinds that I don't even know about since I've not even looked at a camera since smartphones started including one.

I'm generally not thinking in terms of Hey, there could be a photo op at any moment! like some people seem to be. I don't even think about video while I'm taking pictures. Different mind set. Means I'm old, right? :)

I love that first photograph @glenalbrethsen. It's stunning!

that would be a competition winner or sure if only there was suitable contest to enter. There seem to be fewer and fewer these days but If I spot one I'll let you know.

Brilliant capture. 😊

Thank you, @gillianpearce.

Just no way to orchestrate those kinds of images. They either happen completely on their own, or they don't. I can't even imagine the time and logistics it would require to actually set up such a photo shoot if it were being planned. All I had to do was find my camera lens. :)

Yeah, I've been noticing that the contests have been dwindling as far as photos go. I think the smartphone one might be working still, but that's about it.

I was actually going to use the colourphotography tag, but then forgot to use it. Doesn't mean it would have worked, but it seemed appropriate for the multi-colored balloon.

Neither the smartphone nor the colourfulphotography are running anymore@glenalbrethsen. That whole set has stopped. In fact smartphone was replaced with blue hour even before they ended. 😊

So now there's blue hour and golden hour and stuff like that?

Obviously, there's a place where all of this is noted, right? And just what is blue hour? Golden hour is like sunset.

So now there's blue hour and golden hour

Not really as the contests are running anymore @glenalbrethsen.

For the few weeks that it ran "blue hour" was a bit of a challenge. Not many people knew what it was. Apparently it's the hour after the sun goes down when everything turns blue.

However, it seems that that only happens in certain climates, hotter ones than here. Many of the photographs entered weren't actually "blue hour" but simply blue. 😂

But, as I say, it's a bit of a moot point since the contests no longer run.

The very best chance for a picture for me was coming into Tulsa from Enid. and I was tired, so I let Debbie drive to her folks house. I was watching a formation of Navy Biplanes in blue with a yellow starburst pattern, and I looked past them an saw a space shuttle on the back of its carrier airplane circling to land.

So IF I had a camera, I could have snapped a picture of the entire span of aviation in ONE picture! Biplanes to space ship...but no camera, SMH!

:'(

Hey, @smithlabs:

Okay. That would have been awesome. :) Just thinking about it, picturing it in my head, is awesome.

But what's the odds of that even happening. At least with the balloon, I know there's a possibility it's going to come over. How do you know that biplanes and a piggybacked space shuttle are going to converge?

Unless you can find it online somewhere, my guess is, you weren't alone in the sans camera department that day.

It was the most stunning sight I have ever seen! They were both in town for some air show, and the shared air space was accidental, but WOW!

I got to thinking about My Father; and I realized that HE had lived through every bit of what I saw that day! The Biplanes when he was a kid, and the reusable space craft when he was an adult!

What an amazing time we live in!

:D

That's very true. It is an amazing time, and I'm afraid too many of us take it all for granted. I've been around for just a little over a half of a century and the changes that have been made in that time period are mindboggling. The amount of technology that has changed over the last 10 years is phenomenal, and it just keeps accelerating. We're supposed to be nearing a giant leap of technical innovation. We may have already reached it.

Meanwhile, we're using it to create Crypto Kitties and places to stash our selfies. :)

The first computer I used in lab experiments was tube type. My first home computer was about 50% home made; and the original 2k memory I upgraded with a wire wrapped 16K expansion! I built my keyboard, and monitor; but it was not very portable!

I have equipment now I would have given my left arm to have when I was in school!

I consult, so I have to stay current, but the mix in technology out in industry is stunning!

I put in the newest gear that is available, but I have repaired and maintained tube type equipment that is currently used in aerospace testing. I have to keep thousands of tubes here for repair work, a well as a tube tester. I have to span 50 years of technology to be the "go to" guy for any repair!

:)

We barely got a computer lab when I was senior in high school. When I say computer lab, I mean about a half dozen Macintosh computers lined up along the far wall. You can imagine how that class filled up really quickly. :) I remember watching the 'smart' kids trying to create something on them, but I don't think I ever got to try one.

My first computer was a Tandy I bought at radio shack that was obsolete long before I took it home. Unfortunately, I didn't know that. I just wanted something to replace my Brother word processor. Don't remember the specs on it but it was laughable probably then, and certainly would be now.

I ended up building the next one. Boy was that a pain. Nowhere near as easy as I understand it is now. Talk about stress. Spending money on something that I had no idea if it was going to work.

When I got into newspapering, we had all kinds of different windows machines. For a while, my partner and I were upgrading every one two years, going from large tower desktops to laptops. When we split, I eventually made the switch over to Apple, and ended up with various iMacs, a MacPro, and a couple Macbooks, including a Macbook Pro. The first time they started using solid state drives. Holy cow, did that make a difference.

You keep going, you'll be spanning another decades' worth of technology, which means you'll be repairing AI androids and human/machine interfaces. :)

They're using equipment with tubes for aerospace testing? What's the reason for that? Must be some kind of efficiency deal or problem with working in the vacuum of space, maybe?

Less impressive than that, it costs millions of dollars to validate a new testing set up, so they just keep making the old ones.

I am using learning programs in controllers (A.I.) right now. I also use the P.I.D. (Proportional Integral Derivative) Loop tuning for process control. Couldn't even do that 20 years ago....

My first computer used cassette tape for storage. I build all of my current ones, but I run Unix. I have used Mac, but I can't get Engineering Software for a Mac; I have three Windows units here. I have a large SSD for my next one. I will build it soon (gotta find time, ROFLOL).

I maintain a CNC Grinder that is a mix of technology, that will grind the OD of a 13 foot Cylinder.

Last Thursday I worked on a 500 gallon plating tank, that used 60 gallons of Cyanide as a wetting agent, so it varies a lot!

:)

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These pictures are fantastic, and you do live in a beautiful place. It is nice to realize how blessed you are, sometime life gets in the way and doesn't let us see clearly.

Very true, @dalipops. Life can get in the way, or like in this case, it can be right in the middle of the action. :)

I think we recognize the beauty regularly. We travel enough that when we end up in places like southern Idaho and a lot of Utah or Nevada, that all have their own kind of natural beauty, we notice the differences even more. You get used to the green and miss it when mostly you see shades of brown.

It is just a little too cloudy and rainy for my wife and I now. It didn't used to bother me as much, but the last few years it just gets gloomy. And my wife has allergies that she doesn't have when she's other places, like Mexico, where she's from, and Southern California.

So, I don't know. We'll probably still be here for another year at least, since we're waiting to see where our sons and their families are going to land. The oldest is in the process of wrapping up college and his wife is due in December, while the youngest and his family are living with us. Probably shouldn't move while that's happening. :)

Congratulations! What an exciting time for you and your family. While I don't know your situation, having your son and family must be challenging at times. We had to move back in with my parents after hurricane Maria, and while I will be eternally grateful for their unconditional love and support, it can be hard at times. So a big thank you to parents like you who are willing to lend a helping hand. It is beautiful to see a family sticking together and helping each other out. I hope everything works out for you and your family.

Oh, as you know, then, we have our moments. It can feel sometimes like our house isn't really ours, but for the most part, I think we're okay. I'm sure everyone but our granddaughter will be relieved when she and her parents are able to move out—though I will miss having daily contact with her. :)

In our case, it's more of a matter of my son being able to get a good enough paying job to afford living on their own. He does have full-time work, but it's not much yet. He's working on a master's degree in education and hopes to get on at one of the public schools as a teacher as soon as he can. He already has an endorsement in Spanish, and hopefully he can start job shadowing soon.

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