Two Mornings in New Mexico
Dawn Patrol
It is mid-October and I’ve been home less than two weeks since the start of July. I’m not complaining, just a bit tired and looking forward to a relaxing winter in Tucson. There’s been something to photograph almost every day and many of those subjects required early morning light, which meant departing my lodging during early morning dark. I just had two more early mornings left on my schedule and I was excited about both. I wanted to photograph this year’s Annular Solar Eclipse in northern New Mexico and try to place the ring of fire within an arch. It took a couple of days of location scouting and a lot of help from friend Peter Jamieson to make this work.
However, that is putting the eclipse before the balloon (as the old proverb goes). Our route passed right through Albuquerque during the middle of the 51st Annual Balloon Fiesta. From a modest gathering of 13 balloons in 1972, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has grown to become the largest balloon event in the world. Each year during the first week in October, the Balloon Fiesta features about 550 balloons and 700 pilots, and attendees are allowed to wander freely amongst the balloons and witness all aspects of pre-flight. I have photographed a number of balloon events and even flown in a balloon over the Serengeti, but I’ve never seen a sky so filled with balloons or witnessed a pre-dawn ascension. Thus begins Two Mornings in New Mexico.
It is mid-October and I’ve been home less than two weeks since the start of July. I’m not complaining, just a bit tired and looking forward to a relaxing winter in Tucson. There’s been something to photograph almost every day and many of those subjects required early morning light, which meant departing my lodging during early morning dark. I just had two more early mornings left on my schedule and I was excited about both. I wanted to photograph this year’s Annular Solar Eclipse in northern New Mexico and try to place the ring of fire within an arch. It took a couple of days of location scouting and a lot of help from friend Peter Jamieson to make this work.
However, that is putting the eclipse before the balloon (as the old proverb goes). Our route passed right through Albuquerque during the middle of the 51st Annual Balloon Fiesta. From a modest gathering of 13 balloons in 1972, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has grown to become the largest balloon event in the world. Each year during the first week in October, the Balloon Fiesta features about 550 balloons and 700 pilots, and attendees are allowed to wander freely amongst the balloons and witness all aspects of pre-flight. I have photographed a number of balloon events and even flown in a balloon over the Serengeti, but I’ve never seen a sky so filled with balloons or witnessed a pre-dawn ascension. Thus begins Two Mornings in New Mexico.
