Here are some pics I took at the 2011 Baton Rouge Balloon Festival in August.  Unfortunately, thunder storms canceled all of the night activities on both Friday and Saturday, including the balloon “glow” and the fireworks.  But the morning events went off without a hitch, and I was able to get some decent pics.  All of these pictures were taken with my D300 and the great 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR IF-Ed.  Liz and Paul volunteered on a “chase” crew, and on the last morning of event, the pilot – Bill Spreadbury, who is also a fantastic photographer – invited Paul to ride with him.  In the last picture in this sequence, you can see Paul and Bill in his balloon, “Bag of Blues.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[author] [author_image timthumb='on']http://johnmurrill.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/About-me-pic.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]John Murrill, the photographer who took these pictures and the Big Cheese of this web-site, cannot stand anything by Dan Fogleberg.  You can see more of John’s balloon pictures by clicking here. Check out Bill Spreadbury’s pictures by clicking here. [/author_info] [/author]