Well, the peak of summer events in Panguitch has come and gone again this year.  Panguitch held its annual balloon festival and I make a point of attending and taking more hot air balloon photos.  Check out what I captured this year.

The Panguitch hot air balloon festival takes place every year.  The morning launches and the evening glow or candle-lighting are the big events.  During the day, there are merchants to shop and buy from.  During the evening festivities, there are bands which play on the street for all the festival attendees.

Of course, I woke up early for some hot air balloon launch photos.  Thankfully, the weather cooperated with us this year.  Every morning I went out, there were clear skies.  We want safety for the balloon teams so this good weather was worth the terrible light.  Here’s what I captured from the morning flights.

Having shot this festival every year for the past 6 years, I tried for something new and different.  Since there were a couple balloons I hadn’t seen before, that was different.  The position of the tractor the first morning made for something new and different.  The next day, it moved elsewhere.

When it came to the evening festivities, I hoped that we would experience another glow this year.  The previous 2 years, we experienced about the best glows we could.  Every or almost every balloon inflated.  I knew that that momentum couldn’t continue indefinitely.  However, I hoped for some glow.  As it turned out, 4 balloon teams inflated their balloons.  The rest decided to light candles instead.  Still, I took what time I could to capture glow and candle-lighting.  The balloons didn’t stay up for very long, sadly.  So, here’s what I captured.

I found it especially amusing when a pair of balloon teams decided to cross the streams.  Yep, that’s a Ghostbusters reference.  However, they do cross their jets of flame.  You can barely see, but they re-angled the burners to achieve this visual feat.  I managed to capture it.  As there weren’t very many people around to see it, this is a rather unique shot from this balloon festival.

All in all, this was another successful hot air balloon festival in Panguitch and I walked away with some beautiful new photos.  What do you think of these new hot air balloon photos?  Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.