So, to begin this new life I present:
Balloons!!!
Laurie and I were out for a drive and saw two hot air balloons up in the sky. The sun was just right - golden. We chased them for almost 10 miles - taking roads we've never seen. We parked in a church and I was able to snap off a few shots. The one pictured above was cleaned up using Aperture. The colors were flat so I popped the blue sky and green grass - sharpened and defined the edges and added a slight vignette. Instead of placing the balloon in the middle of the shot, I used the thirds rule and put the focus of the shot up to the right. I think it brings some depth to the shot.
I wanted to accentuate the blue sky that was waning in this shot. I focused on putting as much sky in the frame as possible. In Aperture, I upped the blue levels and added a moderate vignette.This was probably one of the best 'shoots' I have been on. The excitement level was at a high level because we didn't know if we would be able to catch the balloons landing. Ultimately, they didn't land and I wasn't able to get close enough with my 18-55 lens to get prime HDR shots. But, I am pleased with the results.
Peace
