For me, the Cedar City SkyFest is another opportunity to take pictures just for the sheer love of photography. I look forward to it. Last year, a group of us photographers got together to shoot this event and it was fun to be there together and then share our photos with each other after. This year, I went by myself and I wished we would have organized something. I’ve been wanting to start up a photography group here in Cedar for a long time now. But more on that later.
I’ve decided Cedar City is a really good place to photograph balloons. It all has to do with the timing of the sunrise from behind the mountains. Balloons always launch in the morning. Before the sun comes up and starts heating up the atmosphere, the air is very calm. If you’ve ever been water skiing or wake boarding you have probably experienced choppy water and glass-like water. You can then relate to what the skies are like. In the early morning, the air is smooth as silk. It is a beautiful thing to fly in. As the sun heats up the atmosphere you start to get air currents flowing. Even if it is not windy, when it is hot, the air is surprisingly turbulent. So balloons launch a very specific times. They start getting ready before it is even fully light outside most of the time. By the time they take to the air, it is just after sunrise. Sunrise today was officially 7:19 am, but in Cedar, it takes the sun a little longer to rise above the mountains. So, by the time the balloons are ready to take off, the sun is just peaking over the mountain. So you get the first rays of light hitting the balloons right as they are ready to take flight. I think it makes some pretty cool images.
Tonight they will do the night glow, where they inflate their balloons in the dark and light them up. I’ve yet to see balloons inflate at this event. Every year so far the weather has turned windy or rainy preventing them from doing their thing. I’m hoping tonight’s weather will be good.
Update: Got skunked at the glow event. There was a slight breeze that prevented any of the balloons from inflating. Got to see some impressive flames light up the night sky though. Maybe next year.
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