Nebraskaland

42 Nebraskaland • July 2021 s Nebraskaland photographers, we do our best to attain the ultimate vantage of a given subject. In an eff ort to capture the attractive landscapes of western Nebraska, I have taken photos from atop many high buttes and from the cockpit of airplanes and helicopters. My new favorite, though, is the oldest of human-carrying fl ight technology: hot air balloon. I was not sure what to expect when my cameras and I were invited to ride the skies during the Old West Balloon Fest in August 2020. I had recently watched the The Aeronauts, the 2019 action-adventure movie about a 1860s gas balloon pilot and scientist who had ventured to fl y higher than anyone had fl own before. It is a great show full of hair-raising moments, but I would advise fi rst-time balloon riders to watch it after their fi rst fl ight instead of before it. Any anxiety was all for naught, though. One would be hard-pressed to fi nd a smoother mode of travel than this one. Shortly after sunrise on that late summer morning, my 13-year-old daughter and assistant, Kiera, and I boarded our space on Teal Octopus amid the hubbub of the excited festival crowd. After climbing into the basket, we received fl ight instructions from pilot Gary Maguire of Allenspark, Colorado, as he occasionally pulled the trigger to send fl ames into the massive structure above us. In what seemed an instant, he gave orders to untether the vessel, and we were off . The takeoff was so smooth that we would not have realized the balloon was leaving the ground if our eyes were closed. As we rose above and among the dozens of other balloons — each more than 50 feet wide and about seven stories tall — I caught a glance of my daughter and the wonder in her eyes. As I gazed over the North Platte Valley, decorated with other balloons, I surely knew what she was feeling. Not only is the liftoff smooth, the open air is extremely calm. The best way to avoid the eff ects of a wind or breeze is to travel with it, after all. Throughout the entire fl ight, there were no sudden jerks of turbulence and no wind in the hair. Even though the ride is smooth, there is a certain element of adventure to going up in a hot air balloon. The pilot can control the up and down with the fl ame, but the direction of the vessel is dependent on the breeze. Mother Nature took us westward from the Mitchell Airfi eld over the North Platte River, the city of Mitchell and agricultural fi elds below. Even though the cockpit was a little tight for reaching gear and exchanging lenses, the peaceful ride was perfect for snapping images, and Maguire skillfully put me at the right altitudes to do so. Time sped by as I captured other balloons picturesquely juxtaposed with a backdrop of the Wildcat Hills. The 35-minute fl ight seemed to end just as soon as it A Pictured is "Big Top," a balloon owned by Mark Whiting of Centennial, Colorado. Hot air balloon rides are the perfect adventure for photographers and those looking for a leisurely stroll across the sky.

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