I was on my way to Lackawanna State Park on a late November morning when this drifted overhead. As luck would have it, there was no place to pull over safely where I could get a clear shot. I had to wait until I made it to the park's parking lot. By then, the balloon was in its descent. On top of that, I had to twist off the wide angle lens I had on the camera and grab the 300 mm zoom out of my bag.
I'm not fast and the balloon was getting lower and lower. The task now was to get the envelope in focus and not the trees. There was a major sigh of relief when I loaded the pictures in to the computer and saw I had a decent photo. The basket is a bit fuzzy, but the colors of the balloon really pop against the brown trees and the blue sky.
As I said on social media the day I took the photo, if you ever have the chance to take a hot air balloon ride, do it! It is one of life's great joys, especially when the burner is turned off and it's the silence of drifting over the countryside.
By the way, if you the "F Troop" reference, congratulations.
Tomorrow, coordinating with a friend.
