How to shoot hot-air balloons

This weekend is the annual Colorado Balloon Classic in Colorado Springs' Memorial Park.
The balloons take off around 7 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The balloon glow is Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. All events are weather dependent.
Gazette photographer Jerilee Bennett has shot the festivities for years and offers some advice to anyone shooting the event.
1) Don't bring a tripod in the morning. The more flexible you are the better and the light is good enough to use a faster shutter speed. A tripod can be useful at the glow.
2)Prospect Lake is a good place to shoot. The balloon reflecting on the water can make a nice image.
3) Try following the balloons in your car to get a different angle and background. She once capture a balloon landing in a field with the moon in the background.
4) Play with the light and angles. Have fun shooting with your camera.
5) Look for interesting people to put in the foreground of your photo. A child on the shoulders of his parent with the balloon in the background is an example.
6) Look inside the balloons for patterns and interesting shadows. Don't get in the way of the pilots.
If you get some nice pictures, send them to me at christian.murdock@gazette.com and I'll try to post some on our blog.

My favorite sport to shoot

Track has to be my favorite sport to shoot. So many different angles and ways to capture the sport in photos. Here are some fun pictures from the World Athletics Championships in Japan.



Associated Press photographer Thomas Kienzle shot the Women's Javelin with a fisheye lens.



Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder shot this nice action of China's Li Runrun during the Men's Long Jump competition.



Guttenfelder also shot this funny picture of Mozambique's Maria de Lurdes Mutola sitting on top of a photographer after pulling out of the Women's 800m.

Lunar eclipse

Los Angeles Times photographer Al Seib shot these pictures of Tuesday's total lunar eclipse. The Earth's shadow crept across the moon's surface early Tuesday, slowly eclipsing it and turning it to shades of orange and red. The total lunar eclipse was the second this year.

Nice try

Gazette photographer Kevin Kreck nailed this shot from the Mitchell High School softball game against Mesa Ridge. Mitchell High School center fielder Chelsea Jennings, left, collided with right fielder Jailen McCray as they chased down a fly ball. Luckily no one was hurt.

Graphic moment

Gazette photographer Mark Reis shot this feature yesterday. The lines at the bottom of the pool, the bright red swimsuit against the blue water and the lifeguard enjoying a moment to herself make for a great feature. It's a nice slice-of-life photo.

Klunkers and Crested Butte

I spent the last couple days in Crested Butte working on two stories with Gazette reporter Melissa Cassutt. I think there are more bicycles in the Colorado mountain town than cars. I found this picture at the softball field Tuesday evening. Talk about some cool old bikes. For a local look at the cruiser bike scene check out Friday's Out There. Reporter David Philipps and photographer Carol Lawrence give us insight into the new klunkers being sold in Colorado Springs. Philipps might even post some more photos of the modern klunkers on the http://www.gazetteoutthere.blogspot.com.



Look for a fall travel story on Crested Butte and a story on author Sandy Cortner who wrote "Crested Butte Stories...Through My Lens" in September.

Ascent 2007

Check out the two audio/slideshows online at www.gazette.com from the Pikes Peak Ascent race Saturday. The first one follows the volunteers at the final aid station before the finish of the race at http://www.gazette.com/interactives/ascentaid.
The other slideshow displays race photos from the start and finish at http://www.gazette.com/interactives/ascent2007.

Five days and counting...

The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon are just days away. Both races are fun to shoot with all the energy from the runners and fans and natural beauty of Pikes Peak. If you want to get pumped for this year's races or if want to see what goes on, check out last year's audio/slideshow former Gazette intern Hunter McRae and I did at http://www.gazette.com/interactives/ascent2006. The Ascent was my first audio slideshow and is still one of my favorites.

Through the eyes of our intern

Our summer intern Mike Terry, who's pictured here with Elvis, created an audio/slideshow about his experience as a summer intern. His last day at The Gazette is Saturday, Aug. 18. Check it out online at http://www.gazette.com/interactives/summerintern.

A compassionate moment

Gazette photographer Kirk Speer covered a multiple-car crash this morning. He did a nice job of looking beyond the obvious and shot this image of a firefighter helping an infant who was involved in the crash. He captured a compassionate moment rather than the typical accident photo. I used this photo on the cover of our metro section.

U.S. Mountain boarding championships

Last weekend I covered the U.S. Mountain Boarding Championships in Aspen, Colo. The Outthere story will run in The Gazette in a couple weeks. Photo opportunities were everywhere from the colorful athletes to the great action. I shot with my wide lenses low to the ground to get a feel for the big air they were getting and with a 400-mm lens to get close and to clean up the busy background. Talk about a fun and crazy sport. I think I'll stick to snowboarding.

Our new Fine Arts Center

Gazette photographer Kirk Speer spent the last two days covering the opening of the recently expanded Fine Arts Center in downtown Colorado Springs. Here are some pictures that didn't make The Gazette printed edition this weekend. For more stories, pictures, and multimedia presentations visit www.gazette.com.

An electric shot

Gazette photo intern Mike Terry shot the lightning Monday night from Palmer Park in Colorado Springs. Here's how Mike described capturing the shot:
"When photographing lightning a long exposure and tripod is almost always necessary. This photo was taken at F/16 with a 30 second exposure. The three lightning bursts all occurred within moments of each other around 15 seconds into the exposure. Allowing the shutter to stay open lets the ambient lights from the city as well as the glow in the clouds "come up" and be visible in the picture."