Monday, September 6, 2010

Up in the Air

The end of summer is rapidly approaching. As this is Labor Day - that means school starts in the morning. One of the things that really tells me summer is about to end is the NW Art & Air Festival. 3 days of morning lift-offs, crafts, entertainment & food & more. 40 balloons from all around come to Albany for this festival. I love to watch them inflate and take off. From dark to dawn, the late summer sunrise is always beautiful to watch Add to that the stunning colors of the ballons and you have a wonderful start to a day.
The balloon fest is a great time for people from towns nearby to watch as the balloons unpack, inflate & launch. The amount of small digital cameras, cell phone cameras & DSL cameras is amazing. The amount of pictures being taken that weekend has to be in the high thousands
I always am amazed at how fast the people disappear from the launch field after the balloons take off. :) Many off the chase the sailing balloons but many returning home to take naps.


This was a great year for me, I was the Official Photographer. I was honored & thrilled to be asked. I loved being able to walk around taking pictures of anything & everything. I enjoyed being able to talk so many people, including the people cooking dinner for the band "America" that was playing in the park on Saturday night. Having the badge that said that I was the event photographer allowed me to go back and take a few pictures from the stage before the band came out. I spoke with the bands manager and was allowed to come backstage to take a few shots before & during the concert.
The concert was good. It is hard to believe that America has been around for 40 years. They have some awesome songs.



Being the photographer I really wanted to get some good shots and since the weather was great I decided I was going to spend the $30 and take the helicopter ride that they always offer at the festival. Plus I hadn't made it to the airport yet so this was the perfect time. I walked around looking at all the planes on the field, watching the small planes take off, circle the town and land. I walked around the hanger featuring WWII memorabilia. Amazed that they looked good given how old they were. I headed to the airport office to ask when the helicopter rides were going to start. They were a bit startled to find out that the guy hadn't shown up yet. So off to call and find out what was going on. Sorry was the reply, no rides that day. How sad!!!


All in all it was an awesome weekend. Now to prepare for work on Tuesday.