Chance Encounters

You never know what you may encounter when you venture out. That is why my camera is always with me. I wished I had a dollar for every time my wife said, “I wished I had my camera”. I’ve grown accustom to grabbing my camera when I head out the door. I’ve been known to get a few miles from the house and turn around just to get my camera. I realize that most people have camera phones, so technically most everyone always has a camera with them anyway. However, I have to have a viewfinder, and I have more versatility with my DSLR. Below is a description of my chance encounter from this weekend.

On my way back from shooting some Tri-X 400 in Downtown Franklin, I noticed a hot air balloon rising from the East. I drove about 3 or 4 more miles and decided to turn around and see if I could get some shots. I pulled over to the side of the road and took out my DSLR and shot a frame as it crossed the road. It appeared to be descending, so I headed in that direction to see if I could find the landing zone. Luckily the balloon was landing just off the road I was traveling. I parked and got the following shots.

The Chase Begins

Hot Air Balloon over Highway 31 in Thompson Station, Tennessee

Defying Gravity

If I never take a balloon ride, I will be just fine. I like to stay grounded if you know what I mean.

Landing Zone

Landing at the Tollgate Village

Rendezvous

Girl Power!

I love this shot! The men stand around while the woman does the work.

This reminds me of the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the lady says that the men may be the head of the family, but the women are the neck and can point the head in the direction they want to go. That may not be it exactly, but you get the idea.

Defeat!

I really like how colorful these balloons are. It would be cool to find out when there will be a group of hot air balloons taking to the sky. That would make a nice shot against the right background. I will have to do some research on such events. Thanks for stopping by!