First Photo Contest Entry

I have officially entered my first photo contest. It's the Colorado Springs Balloon Classic Photo Contest. It's a pretty small contest, with fairly small prizes, but I'm excited just the same. Grand prize is a hot air balloon ride for two.

Back on labor day weekend, I got Kiernan out of bed early and we went downtown to watch. I'd never been to the balloon classic but thought it sounded like fun. I had no idea what to expect, so I just packed my camera and a couple of  jackets and off we went.

When we got there, there were so many people that I had to drive around for about 10 minutes looking for a parking spot. I ended up parking in some little neighborhood on the other end of the park, not anywhere near where I had intended. It turned out this was a good thing though!

We got to the park and we were on the end overlooking a pond. The contest was already starting so I found a spot on the ground for us to sit, got the camera ready and prepared. It was a brisk morning for September, and I was very glad to have had the forethought to pack our jackets. We ended up sitting next to this friendly older couple who had been to multiple Balloon Classics and were able to give me some of the details.

Take Off

Beginning the Descent

As it turns out we were in a great location for the take-off. The balloons would take off from the other side of the park, come up over top of the trees towards us, and then some of them would descend to the water, touching the bottom of the basket and then rise up again to go over the trees behind us and beyond. The older couple near us explained that this is part of the contest and it demonstrates control of the balloon. It was awesome! We both had fun, me because I got some excellent photos and Kiernan because hey, what's better than huge balloons for a 2 year old?

Touchdown!

Balloon Over Pikes Peak

 I took over a hundred shots and selected a few for minor cleanup and entry once I heard there was a photo contest. This could be the break I'm looking for. A chance to get my name out there if I am lucky enough to place in the top 3 for the category I entered in. This is a very small contest, and not well advertised, so I'd say chances are actually pretty good. I've included the photos I entered in this post for your enjoyment.