3rd Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2011

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 640, f7.1, 1/4000 sec

Rain and Haze dominated the sky over Putrajaya during the weekend. In spite of that, thousands of city folks flocked to Precinct 2, hoping to catch a rare glimpse of the giants in the air…

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 250, f4.8, 1/160 sec

Double Whammy. As though gloomy skies weren’t enough, a lift-off late into the evening (due to rain) compounded the difficult conditions for balloonists and photographers.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f4.8, 1/160 sec

Nervous Clown. An airborne balloon keeping a close eye on a paramotor flying around it.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f9, 1/250 sec

Vietnamese Cat. Participating balloonists from 24 countries, including Malaysia, thrilled the crowd on the ground.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 3200, f8, 1/500 sec

Into The Clouds. There is beauty in adversity, photographically…

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 2500, f6.7, 1/200 sec

Maybe I Should Have. It was amazing to see so many cameras of all shapes and sizes pointed towards the sky. I am sure events like these help camera sales greatly.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 200, f5, 1/125 sec

Every Cloud Has A Golden Lining. For those who didn’t flee the rain, the heavens rewarded them with a beautiful sunset over the Putrajaya Lake.

Olympus E-PL2, ISO 400, f4, 1/5 sec

Night Wait. The Night Glow event finally got underway at about 9 pm. When will organisers realise that such events should be conducted during the ‘magic hour’ when the sky is still bluish instead of pitch black? The Olympus IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) means no tripod was required. It was hand-holdable even with a very low shutter speed.

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4 thoughts on “3rd Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2011”

The night glow is meant for the night….more ever we need to respect the Magrib and Isyak Prayers.

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TV Smith on March 22, 2011 at 2:15 pm said:

I understand the religious obligations. Maybe the glow event can be done earlier at dusk. Visually, night doesn’t mean it must be total darkness. I think a better time (aesthetically) would have been around the time of the evening lift-off on Saturday, when there was still light in the sky.

Around the time the paramotors were flying into the sunset? I suppose the lift-off will then have to be earlier. I know. You can’t control weather and the resultant delays. Just hoping.

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