When Virginia contacted us about her wedding, she was very clear about her vision and she loved that we had a more artistic approach to our photos. Then she told us the exciting part—she wanted us to photograph their engagement session at the Statesville Hot Air Balloon Festival! We were so excited about it, but also nervous as heck!! We were all about it! We had never been to the festival and we really didn’t know exactly what to expect. Oh, but to have a session at the balloon festival! Wow! We heard all of the stories about how long the lines are and how you have to get there really early or you will be waiting. All we could think about on the way down is what if we got stuck in traffic and we missed the launch all together. All of these different variables are basic things that anyone attending would have to deal with. Then there are the photographer variables. How will the weather be that day? What if it rains? Which direction will the sun be in when the balloons launch? Will it be cloudy or bright and sunny? Yeah, we were pretty much in knots before we got there simply because we didn’t know what to expect!
We did arrive early and didn’t hit much of traffic on the way in. Once we got there the line was backed up REALLY far. The nervousness set in again… After waiting 20-30 minutes in line it finally started moving. We finally made it inside and immediately started scoping out places to shoot. At this point, there weren’t any balloons out. They were just coming onto the field in the backs of trucks and on trailers. We decided to ask someone how close that we could get to the balloons. He said as close as the owners will let you get to them. We were totally shocked because we figured that we would have some sort of barrier we would have to stay behind, but that wasn’t the case! After waiting about an hour, all of the balloons were starting to unload and we were right there in the middle of them. We were actually so close that we were dodging ropes as they inflated the balloons! We were very respectful of course and kept our distance, but it was absolutely amazing watching these beautiful pieces of flying art being brought to life.
We moved through all of the area quickly--one thing we weren’t prepared for was how quickly the balloons get inflated and off the ground! We only had about 30 minutes of actual shooting. It was so loud we couldn’t direct Virginia and David too much because they couldn’t hear us and we couldn’t hear them! Honestly, there was no need for direction for them—they had the most amazing chemistry. It was like no one else was around and everything came together perfectly. At the very end of the session we actually had the opportunity to go inside of a balloon. There were kids (and adults) running around the inside and we could see the shot we wanted, but wasn't sure that we would get it. In last moment--we had the best luck when everyone in the balloon was out of the frame and we started clicking the shutter!!
We were so happy with how it all turned out and would love to do it again. It is very unpredictable circumstances, but if you get lucky the results can be amazing!! We hope you enjoy the photos of these two wonderful people!!
For more information on the Balloon Festival you can check it out here--- http://www.carolinaballoonfest.com
Much love~
Joey and Brook
