Balluminaria 2012 by cdonohoue

Balluminaria 2012

We went to Eden Park this evening to Mirror Lake to see Balluminaria 2012 - and so did the rest of the city of Cincinnati. We drove around endlessly to find a place to park. We finally parked illegally (along with about 1/4 of the city) and hiked a pretty good distance to get this shot. They bill the event as happening from 4-6. We found out that means that all of the vendors are open for business at 4pm and the balloons actually are filled and glowing for about half an hour and at 6 on the button some of them started to deflate. All of the good spots were taken when we got there so we had to edge out some small children and an entwined couple to find tripod room where I could get balloon and reflection. Wall to wall cameras! I used the wide angle lens. That sucker practically takes a shot of what is behind me. I finally nudged the huge guy next to me and asked him to stand side ways (he didn't have a tripod so he was fair game) the next time the balloons lit up. Luckily he was a good sport about it.

I really had trouble getting a decent shot. There was a slight breeze so I found some motion in every shot that I took. The balloons move when they light them and bump into one another. The metering changed as more balloons lit up so that part was really tough. I finally decided on this one.
this is a wonderful shot with those reflections...excellent (lol--entwined couple, love that)
November 18th, 2012  
Wow! Magnificent!
November 18th, 2012  
Stunning shot! FAV and new follower :)
November 18th, 2012  
Beautiful capture!
November 18th, 2012  
AWESOME! what a beautiful subject, Cathy!
November 18th, 2012  
You did a great job!
November 18th, 2012  
Vee
Beautiful!
November 18th, 2012  
Wow it seems it was worth the fight to get the shot.
November 18th, 2012  
Well done with all that effort. It deserves a fav. for effort alone, apart from the composition, the reflections, the colour, and everything else about it.
November 18th, 2012  
Cathy that is a magnificent Balloon glow - wished I could have been there to see it!
November 18th, 2012  
I bet this is wonderful to see in person! So beautiful!
November 18th, 2012  
Stunning shot!
November 18th, 2012  
This is amazing colour and reflection Cathy! love the slim crop too. Awesome!
November 18th, 2012  
Fav, fabulous!
November 18th, 2012  
Ooh, I think I prefer this one to the other. Another fav xx
November 18th, 2012  
Wow, that is stunning Cathy! Well captured!
November 18th, 2012  
came out really great - excellent shot!
November 18th, 2012  
That is such a stunning shot. Gorgeous capture of the light and colours!
November 18th, 2012  
Ooh how lovely - I'd love to see something like this one day
November 18th, 2012  
What an incredible sight that must have been! Your commentary did make me chuckle, can just imagine you jostling to the front and then elbowing the big guy out the way to get an even better view! Us Brits are just too reserved to be assertive, I'd have hovered around not quite getting the right angle... I'm going to be 'doing a Cathy' from now on though!!
November 18th, 2012  
What an experience. Spectacular.
November 18th, 2012  
Oh well done and brave you!! I would probably have lurked at the back of the crowd!! It was bad enough on firework night here and I only had to elbow one child!!! Fantastic shot, what a truly amaizng sight!
November 18th, 2012  
Oh CAthy you have a winner here. Congrats on the PP, FAV and I hope it gets up on the top 20 somewhere because you deserve it for pushing the kids out of the way, breaking up the couple and shoving the guy. LOL What some 365ers won't do for a shot!!. well done.
November 18th, 2012  
What an awesome shot! I love it! Fav :)
November 18th, 2012  
FAV ... Beautiful Cathy!!!
November 18th, 2012  
Gorgeous. Love the reflections.
November 18th, 2012  
Stunning shot! I am so jealous, Cathy! Getting a hot air balloon shot has been on my bucket list for ever! I know what you mean about the wide angle lens - if you aren't careful, you'll get shots of your own feet or tripod! Have to fave this
November 18th, 2012  
Wow...gorgeous!! I so want to experience this in real life.
November 18th, 2012  
Awesome! Fav.
November 18th, 2012  
Well I'm so glad you persevered as this is another fav from me!
November 18th, 2012  
Oh wow, this is a gorgeous shot of an amazing event. It must be so beautiful to witness it. Congrats on the PP x2.
November 18th, 2012  
really cool night shot......it's turned out beautifully...and hey, you gotta do what you gotta do (ie nudge kids out of the way, ask people to turn so you can set the tripod up)....nice work
November 18th, 2012  
This is an amazing sight Cathy, all those beautiful glowing colours!
November 18th, 2012  
You went to and through lots of trouble, but what a beautiful shot! My husband says he is glad he went ONCE to the balloon Fest near me for many of the same reasons.
November 18th, 2012  
Beautiful shot!
November 18th, 2012  
WOW, WOW, WOW. My word this is gorgeous. I could go on and on, but I will just say way to go and fav for sure.
November 18th, 2012  
Fav., saw it on Facebook! Just terrific!
November 18th, 2012  
Love it!
November 18th, 2012  
Two on the PP!
November 18th, 2012  
Oh wow, such a wonderful shot Cathy, great colours and reflections. PP too, well done!
November 18th, 2012  
What a gorgeous shot ..... love the colours :)
November 18th, 2012  
Wowie wow! This is beautiful!
November 18th, 2012  
Wow! This is wonderful scene. fav.
November 18th, 2012  
Wow! What a gorgeous scene!! fav
November 19th, 2012  
One glance and I knew this deserved another Fav for you! Stunning!
November 19th, 2012  
Worth all the elbows! Great shot.
November 19th, 2012  
Gorgeous capture!!! Fav!
November 19th, 2012  
Congrats on PP!
November 19th, 2012  
Wow. Beautiful capture and love the reflections. Just perfect. FAV!
November 19th, 2012  
This is stunning, Cathy. Shoot, I wish that I had known so I could have joined the rest of the city. A fav!
November 19th, 2012  
Stunning capture, Cathy and a FAV. Really nice work.
November 19th, 2012  
Fabulous shot Cathy, absolute FAV!
P.S. I just realized that I didn't have you on my follow list and yet I thought I was following you all this time...strange... anyway, I'm now following :-)
November 19th, 2012  
Pam
The glow, and reflections are amazing. There are so many people there!! Great capture, Cathy!
November 19th, 2012  
You have captured some amazing light here despite these challenges! Wow. Such a great display and with the reflection its double the pleasure!
November 19th, 2012  
I had planned to go to this and forgot it was this past weekend!! I will have to try for next year!! Such an amazing shot!! Well done! Fav!
November 19th, 2012  
I've never been to Cincinnati but this makes me want to go........what a beautiful shot......and a FAV !
November 19th, 2012  
Awesome shot! I would love to go to one of these- it's been ages since I went to a balloonfest. Congratulations on the PP! This is a great shot- it deserves to be there!
November 20th, 2012  
this is just glorious!
November 20th, 2012  
Wonderful shot, congrats on the PP, beautiful lighting & colours :)
November 20th, 2012  
FAV...
November 20th, 2012  
What a fantastic shot and congrats on the PP
November 20th, 2012  
lovely.
November 20th, 2012  
Cathy, this is so beautiful it gave me chills! Love it. Fav.
November 20th, 2012  
Wow, this is gorgeous. Love the reflections and the colors. Fav!
November 20th, 2012  
Wow! Wonderful! Fav (:
November 20th, 2012  
Gorgeous shot!! Fav!!
November 20th, 2012  
Wow! What a splendid sight. fav here too.
November 20th, 2012  
I've been off line for a while. Still unpacking, but thought I would take a few minutes to browse popular and WOW!! Love it! FAV!
November 20th, 2012  
Wow, this is incredible! Instant fav.
November 20th, 2012  
wow Cathy, big big fav
November 20th, 2012  
Absolutely love this one. Gorgeous!
November 21st, 2012  
Wow! Just spotted this on this weeks top 20, congratulations, another fav to you list ; )
November 23rd, 2012  
Oh that is fantastic, awesome shot
November 23rd, 2012  
Congrats on top 10....what an amazing sight and a stunning capture!
November 24th, 2012  
congrats on your top 20 Cathy!
November 24th, 2012  
Well done on top 20. This is a fantastic shot
November 24th, 2012  
Not at all surprised to see this in the top 10--AN AMAZING CAPTURE, Cathy.
November 24th, 2012  
Congrats on number 4 for the week, Cathy - a marvelous shot and very well deserved!
November 24th, 2012  
doesn't get much better than the top ten, Cathy! congratulations! Very well deserved!
November 24th, 2012  
These are amazing, what colour.
November 24th, 2012  
This is fantastic, Cathy!!! Absolutely beautiful! FAV
November 25th, 2012  
That is a truly beautiful shot. Gorgeous.
November 25th, 2012  
Vee
Congrats on the Top 20! I have to give this another FAV!
November 25th, 2012  
Bit late seeing this one. Worth all the Favs
December 17th, 2012  
wow!
January 16th, 2013  
Gorgeous capture Cathy! There is an event close to where we live called. "Balloon Quest" and a number of balloonists show up to highlight their balloons. But it isn't near the water. Great capture of the colors and reflections!
January 17th, 2013  
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