After a week of conducting workshops at the 2012 Gulf Photo Plus, several instructors including myself went for a balloon ride. It was an early morning for all of us, 4 am wake-up call for a 4;45 am pick-up at the hotel.
I grabbed this photo of David Nightingale snoozing during our drive to the desert.
There were two balloons waiting for us when we arrived at the launching site. The morning temps were cool with a light breeze. I had been in a balloon only once before, a much smaller one. This balloon held a total of 16 people, we sailed to 4000 feet above the ground.
After only a few minutes of heat being added to the balloons, we were off the ground. If you have never been in a hot air balloon before, it surely is a must do. One strange thing you notice right off the bat, as soon as you take flight any breeze you felt on the ground ends. Since you travel with the wind, there is no visible reference of wind other then the ground moving below you.
At an altitude of 4000 feet we could see the Rocky Mountains of Oman. The pilot was very insistent that we not land there....
My friend and fellow instructor Chris Hurtt is seen enjoying the view standing at the edge of the basket. There was no shortage of cameras of the trip.
Here are a few shots of the desert sands which passed slowly beneath us.
I'd like to thank Brenden Jack for arranging this wonderful adventure for us. It was a balloon ride I'll never forget. DT
No comments:
Post a Comment