The Ballarat Saleyards.

Another part of "MAPping Ballarat" involved getting pics of the local farmers in the pre-dawn darkness of the saleyards, which for me was a lucky quirk of fate. This was due to the cancellation of our first balloon flight over Ballarat, as the weather was not the best for a balloon flight.



It gave me the opportunity to race back to the saleyards as I'd noticed activity there on the way past and had thought how good it would be to photograph this scene. These farmers bustle around in the early morning gloom, illuminated by strip flouro lighting, in preparation for the days sales, and it gave me an opportunity to do a bit of "fly on the wall" photography.




Having a camera that can be rated at 6400ASA helps too as it allows you to shoot in very low light, with very little apparent noise, which is a quantum leap in digital technology.

Deflating an air balloon.

After the dawn balloon flight and deciding whether or not to land in neighbour John Fraser's property, we decided on the the dry bed of Lake Burrumbeet. Early morning low light combined with a wall of diaphanous material being deflated with the help of fellow photographers and passengers made for a great silhouette




Of course the only problems were the constant condensation on the lens due to the very cold cameras and very warm air inside the balloon and then the even gretaer problem of finding your way out through acres of rip-stop nylon once the envelope was deflated.

Flying over Ballarat.

One of the greatest aspects of my work is that I meet many people, and then get opportunities to do really fun things. The most recent one was a dawn balloon flight over Ballarat as part of the MAP Group (photography group), in the project "MAPping Ballarat".




The fact that you're so close to the ground means that you can talk to startled residents getting their newspapers off the lawn, or speaking to livestock in the fields as the burner roars into life every few minutes.

The only forms of air transport I've yet to experience now are parachutes and hang gliders, and I haven't given up on them yet either.