A great spectacle and a great photo opportunity can be had with a visit to the UK's biggest annual hot air balloon event, held every August at Ashton Court in Bristol.

This 4 day event includes a nightglow where the balloons are inflated and tethered after dark and then lit up from within by their gas burners. This is a great spectacle, but take your tripod or a monopod to counteract those long exposures.

Balloons fly early morning around 6am and again in the evening around 6pm, so be prepared for an early start if you want to catch one of the morning flights.

The balloons will fly on Friday, Saturday and Sunday giving us 6 potential flight times and we could see a mass ascent of over 100 balloons.

Even if the weather is not so good the balloons will be inflated and tethered, which make for some great photographic opportunities.

Ashton Court is like a natural amphitheatre with the ground rising on two sides of the launch arena. This gives us a great view and vantage point as the balloons lift off and rise up to our level. Get yourself up to the top of the slope and you can photograph the balloons from a level angle against the sky as they lift off in the mass ascent.

Equipment

From the edge of the arena our standard lenses will be perfect for the job. Balloons are so big that it is quite easy to get a colourful frame filling shot with a modest camera and lens system. As the balloons lift off and drift away a telephoto lens will come in handy for picking out attractive groups of balloons from a distance.

If you are shooting with a digital camera, essential items are batteries and storage media. Once the lift off begins, pictures will present themselves every few seconds and unless you have enough storage there is a great danger that you could run out of storage space. With so many possible picture opportunities the last thing we want is to run out of battery power, so make sure you have 2-3 sets of batteries on hand.

It will be crowded around the arena, especially for the evening flights, so be prepared to hold your digital camera up over your head, using the LCD to frame your shot. Camera shake is generally not a great problem for balloons, but take the usual care.

As the balloons float away a telephoto lens will extend your shooting time and camera shake could then be evident. Taking a tripod to Ashton Court is not a problem as there will be plenty of room to set it up further back away from the launch field and the crowd. A monopod could also come in handy.

There are plenty of food joints for that essential bacon butty in the morning so don't bother with the picnic hampers. Concentrate on your photo gear.

Fact file.

The Fiesta is one of the largest outdoor events in the country, attracting thousands of visitors in a four-day festival.

The event is free and all we pay for is a car parking charge of about £6 per visit. From early morning to late in the evening there is a wealth of family entertainment with lots to see and do. Daredevil stunts, funfairs, music of all kinds and a carnival atmosphere. Ashton court is situated to the West of Bristol city centre just outside the urban area. Check out www.bristolfiesta.co.uk for all the details.

Look out for foreground interest to add a natural lead in to your pictures. The balloon fabric laying on the ground or a partially inflated balloon is what to look for.

Keep your eyes open for picture opportunities other than those in the sky. Once the balloons begin to lift our attention will turn to balloons in flight, but look around you occasionally or you could miss some great pictures.

Some of the shaped balloons can throw up some fun pictures as they are being inflated and deflated, so keep watch as Bertie Bassett sinks to the ground like a giant drunken man.

Balloons are colourful, so watch out for those fleeting splashes of colour as the balloons are being inflated. Close ups can make a great picture with lots of impact.

Don't forget to shoot some of the other bits and pieces that are involved in ballooning, such as gas burners and any other interesting kit you can see.

The Bristol Hot Balloon Fiesta is a great weekend of Photography

Fiesta web site

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