film Feb - hot air balloon coming in for a landing - one of the shadows is me
Even though it is just a shadow, I'm pretty sure this is the first time I have appeared in my project. I think (from memory) I am on the right, there are 2 heads close together and then one alone - me!
Cappadocia is a magical place, even more so by hot air balloon. I don't think i could have chosen a better place to experience the wonder of hot air ballooning. I am not frightened of heights or of flying, but prior to the flight I did have a little anxiety, just of the unknown. It was wonderful to watch the balloons inflated in the pre-dawn light, the roar of the gas flames blowing hot air into that delicate shell. It struck me as a bizarre thing that i was hopping into a wicker basket suspended from a bag of hot air.
I shot at least 3-4 rolls of film, and film use was so much more conservative than shooting with digital, I can imagine if I did it again now i have digital I'd fill a couple of memory cards.
The memory of that silent gentle flight is still wonderful, so quiet and smooth, just the sound of the blast of the gas flame occasionally adding air to the canopy.
Our pilot and ground support were brilliant, in this shot the balloon is deflating as we approach our landing point, the white van to the top right was ground support. The pilot gently landed the basket on top of the trailer- with the assistance of ground support crew towing the ropes to get the balloon lined up. I was so sorry that the trip was over.
No way!!! We just went and picked up the balloon of a hot air balloon today - one that had done its 1000 hours of fun. Now it's my turn to create magic with its fabric! AND, my parents are doing a balloon flight in this exact spot in a month or so......I am starting to think we should meet. :)
This is a superb photo. And makes me want to ressurect the 100+kg balloon in our driveway to fly once more!!!
I'm bizarrely frustrated by this! First I want to see the view then I want to see you then I want to feel what it was like to be floating over the view you showed us yesterday then I want to be on the ground watching you float by... no complaints about the photo, it's just stirred up so much I didn't know was inside!! :) Guess that makes it even more of a great photo! (The mountains and balloon in the distance send me on an even longer train of wondering....!)
@filsie65 - that's a good question! Well, to start with, about 10 stuff bags for some camping stuff, then a parachute-like thing for kids to play under/with, then a clown suit, then a cover for our climbing frame outside, then I'll palm some off to other people......then I think I'll try my hand at a teepee..... and that's all I've got planned for now. :)
Another wonderful memory. It looks like it was a spectacular sight. My 85 year old mother went up in a hot air balloon over Nepal last year and waved to children on a school roof. Hopefully I will get to travel more in the years to come. Her curiosity and stamina is in my genes.
This is a superb photo. And makes me want to ressurect the 100+kg balloon in our driveway to fly once more!!!