Balloon flights are exciting. It’s a blur of bulging bright nylon escaping the firm ground. All the bright colors, well I have always found to be a rush. With this image I wanted to take the crisp visual image of the balloons and turn it into a visual experience; the feeling of the moment rather than the detail of it.
This image was captured at a Hot Air Balloon Race in Calgary. The middle balloon, Tequila Sunrise, is being piloted by my mother, Nola Laurie. With a field of hot air balloons, each inflating with twin 40-foot flames before being released by the ground crew, makes for a noisy but thrilling moment.
In 2006 this image was selected for display at the Professional Photographers Association of Canada annual print exhibit.