Aiken 2007 – The Inaugural Ford Trucks Equestrian America Balloon Festival was held in a farm field normally used for horse events in east Aiken on a Friday night and Saturday morning. Must have been a success because it came back in 2008 for the whole weekend.
Aiken 2008 – For the 2nd Annual Ford Trucks Equestrian America Balloon Festival we went both mornings. The first 13 photos are from Saturday and the last 13 are from Sunday.
Aiken 2008
Lil' Pirate Inflated - Here the Lil' Pirate balloon is nearly all inflated, but has started to sway. The one to the right is also getting pushed around by the less than optimal winds. I don't know what the max wind speed they have for not launching these balloons, but this morning it was right on the ragged edge of that, with occasional gusts exceeding it. (09/20/08)
Lil' Pirate Inflation - This was one of the shaped balloons and the biggest one at the event. (09/20/08)
Lil' Pirate Flys - After yesterday's aborted launch I bet these guys were happy to see their balloon get to fly today. (09/21/08)
The Balloons Rise Over Aiken - And there they go. I can hardly wait until next year's festival. (09/21/08)
The Sun Rises Over the Trees - A group of spectators watches some of the last balloons take off. (09/21/08)
Full Sky - Today also saw lighter winds so that there were only one or twp balloons didn't get airborne. We lost count, but I bet a couple dozen actually got to fly. (09/21/08)
Out of Catchy Titles - I got a million of these floating balloon pictures. (09/21/08)
Puff the Magic Dragon - You just knew I was going to use that somewhere in reference to this balloon didn't you? (09/21/08)
Peek-a-Boo - The dragon balloon peeks its head above one that has yet to launch. (09/21/08)
Floating Away - This balloon showed up, unlaoded, filled with air and took off while others were stil waiting around for who knows what. (09/21/08)
Glowing Balloons - Both of these are brightly colored and the early morning sun just accents that. (09/21/08)
Deutsch Heißluftballon? - Very German flag like color scheme... (09/21/08)
First to Launch - That honor belongs to the sponsor of the Ford Trucks Equestrian America Balloon Festival. (09/21/08)
Flat Balloon - The Lil' Pirate doesn't look so fearsome first thing in the morning. (09/21/08)
Sunday Morning - Another early start this morning led to another interesting sky. (09/21/08)
Punch in the Nose - This morning's pesky winds punch Hagar in the nose. Right after this was taken the crew let out the air and scratched the launch. [That is Donna and my shadow in the foreground.] (09/20/08)
Hagar the Horrible - An HDR image created in Paint Shop Pro X2. (09/20/08)
Ascension - Up, up and away... (09/20/08)
Breathing Fire - Lame attempt at trying to salvage an under exposed image. (09/20/08)
Here Comes the Sun - The sun rises above the trees surrunding the polo field. (09/20/08)
Lil' Pirate Deflated - After about 20 minutes of preparation the winds were just to strong and they had to deflate the Lil' Pirate. I think he looks like he is saying, "Awwww." Somewhere around a dozen balloons did get into the air, but I'm betting at least that many tried and couldn't or didn't even try setting up. (09/20/08)
Bump - Although I didn't quite catch the moment, these two bumped lightly on the way up. (09/20/08)
Tandem Launch - These two balloons were setting up right next to each other and launched nearly simultaneously. (09/20/08)
Gloves - The Shining Stars Balloon Team has a place for everyone gloves to hang on the inside of the trailer door. Only 3 of the 12 pairs are in use, I wonder where the rest of the crew is, still in bed? (09/20/08)
Powderhouse Polo Field - Three images stitched together using a program called Panorama Maker 3 that came with the camera. (09/20/08)
Oh Dark Thirty - Because we live only a mile away we walked over to the Festival and arrived pretty early, but we weren't alone as there were already quite a few cars parked across the street at 6:45 AM. (09/20/08)