Balloons over Waikato Festival 2015

 This is the third year in a row that I have travelled over to photograph the balloons in Hamilton.
I got up at 4am to get ready to meet members of the Rotorua Camera Club at 5.15am 
I did not get a wink of sleep all night so I wasn't  exactly chirpy or perky 

 

But as soon as I set sight on the balloons my spirits lifted and I had the best tine.
We arrived at  half past six to see the very first ones inflating.
I dare anyone to stay on a bad mood when surrounded by balloons of this creative magnitude

This is a close up of one balloon that I thought looked really colourful  

For the first time we were allowed to go inside a partially  inflated balloon. 

This guy had a ball which he left inside for people to play with.
 The concept of  scale came into play which felt dramatic.

I enjoyed taking shots of people interacting with each other and taking photos posing inside this balloon

This is one of my favourite photos.
 Young kids with i-pads taking
The  plastic surround of these i-pads that makes it really child friendly 
What a great interactive way for kids to record those special moments

Memories like this stick in kids minds for years. 
I remember my first Santa Parade at two years of age. 
Balloon Festivals show you the  power of wonder and splendour.

I played around with Nik software with some of these photos to see what effects I could get

Some of the HDR effects make the images grungy and hyper real
 Less natural but different

Black and whites with graphic backgrounds like this can draw attention to the subject without the confusion of colour 
But I still think they look a bit low key

The balloon Fest is such a colour Fest, it's a shame to wash it out.

When everyone dispersed  and only the ball was left, it felt a bit lonely

Outside balloons had been inflating like crazy

This was a parrot pirate balloon and my overall favourite.
 The detail like the ring in the ear.
 Imagine how difficult this would be to design
There were balloons a upon balloons in this one. 
So intricate.  

I have never seen anything so amazingly creative in balloons before.
This is the third time in a row I have been to this festival

Wouldn't I have loved to be up in that balloon ?

Going far away to an exotic tropical island

It would be hard to find anything more beautiful than that

Next year I  am going to book early and pay for a ride on a balloon I don't care how much it costs 

Look how small the men in the baskets are.

I am really in awe of anyone who makes, owns and flies a balloon

There is a lot involved like ground crew to inflate it and air crew to fly it.

This lion  and Noah's Ark were also favourites

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They looked like they had stepped out of a kids story book

And I think that's part of the wonder of balloons as they have a strong connection for us to our childhoods. 
Accessing the inner child me and you are transported to a world of unknown adventures 


 A festival of this size and calibre in New Zealand is  pretty special when  you think about it



They  float away and you feel like you want to be in every single one of them and it's a tiny bit sad to see them go.

But then there's another one going up and it's all on again

There are so many everywhere it's a wonder they didn't have a collision

 
A lovely view when one goes right over the top of you

The dramatic launching of this Resene one showed the flames going in. 
Just imagine if you misdirected.
 A whole balloon going up in smoke and bursting.
It showed me close up how much expertise and brute strength you have to have. 
Men have to hold onto these giant ropes until it's inflated.

I like taking shots of other photographers .

Another favourite of mine came from Taiwan.
 It had pictures that kids had designed. 
I  think this is an excellent idea for a balloon

Kids drawings are gorgeous and how respectful to put them on a balloon

I love taking shots of families with brightly and creatively dressed children at the balloon festival.

This balloon was owned by an Australian  woman. 
The balloon is called Dot.
I would love to interview this woman and I should have gone over to see her. 
But I was so busy taking shots. 
Maybe I  could track her down on Facebook. 
The design was simple yet powerful

They had a woman compere this year and she was very good.
 I hope they have another one next year because she was easy on the ear and gave a different perspective. 





 I would love for Rotorua to have its own Balloon Festival and I  think someone could design a Maori themed balloon in the shape of a Waka with a sail on it. 
Complete with Maori warriors. 
Like out of the famous scene of Lindauers  with the men making it to NZ in the first canoe amid a storm. 
Or failing that some Maori  Kowhaiwhai designs.
 Red black and white would be good. 
Stairway to heaven patterns like on the Kowhaiwhai panels
What about the Birdwoman and Hatuputu?  


Creative Quote of the week

If you have the strength to believe, your dreams will come true.

Te Puea Apple Orchard Adventure

Apples are so good at Te Puea

We normally go about three or four times in the season and pick four buckets full

They are fresh and delicious and I eat about four a day

 At that rate its doesn't take too long to go through four buckets

 If you live in Rotorua you should go out there.  And get cooking something yummy with them lie a pie withy Filo pastry. Or maybe Pork Roast with apple sauce.  

  
Creative Quote of the day
There is more to sex appeal than just measurements. I don't need a bedroom to prove my womanliness. I can convey just as much sex appeal, picking apples off a tree or standing in the rain.

Audrey Hepburn

Aria's Farm adventure with Kerris Browne, Jonathon, Hagger and Ruebin Hagger .

Jonathon Hagger Ruebin Hagger and I went over to see Kerris Browne at her farm. It's called Aria's Farm  and is named after her daughter, Aria. 
Kerris and her husband  Chris run a farm stay business where people pay to stay in the nice  houses they have on the property and can have the opportuntiy to converse and interact with the animals.

They attract a lot of families  from out of town and overseas with kids that have never been on farms before.

 Pigs are one of my favourite animals.

Because they are caring, brainy and cute.

I asked Jonathon to come with me ( next door ) to Aria's farm to  pose for my camera, kissing a pig.

I figured he'd be a good model because he is a marathon runner and he and Kerris already knew each other because they often run the same marathons and I think they both belong to the Rotorua Athletics Club

Jonathon had never held a pig let alone kissed one before but he was very brave following the instructions Kerris gave him to avoid being scratched.

I thought he had a natural and obvious rapport  with animals. He could have been a vet in another  life or maybe even a photographic model for sportswear!!!!

They stopped squealing almost immediately and settled down to be nurtured and admired.

It was so adorable it was hard for me to reject any of these photos.

I think this is one of my favourites.

The pigs are called Saddlebacks

And they grow up to be as tall as your hip. I don't know the exact weight.

They are reputed to be as intelligent or even more so than dogs.

And as long as you put a ring in their nose when you put them into a paddock they wont root it up so that it becomes a bog

They are really affectionate and respond well to being talked to and scratched

 

They like being handled

And they appear to like very much being around people and each other

 They are surprisingly soft to touch , especially around their ears

And providing you hold them correctly they wont bite or scratch you

They respond well if you genuinely like them and they even appear to smile

They are totally adorable and I love living near them

Look at those cute little trotters and snouts

Look at the cute curly tales

Their area is very clean and well looked after, so it doesn't smell awful

Their mother is very willing to feed them and feed them. She is an excellent mother.

And quite attractive in her own way

Other pigs on the farm are long time pets

They enjoy interacting with their owner Kerris

And sometimes personalities start competing for her affections

So dramatic times can occur

Rivals are chased off

But there is always plenty of love to share around

Because this is a farm where animals are free range, not locked up in some overcrowded prison

The pigs have a good life

Roosters are also prized pets

And serve as early morning alarm clocks that I can hear from my bedroom window

They have been handled so much that they are also tame

Although Jonathon didn't quite manage to pick this one up

Another one was obtained by Kerris

And this proved to be very serene

The photography session of this  encounter went on for quite a while and he let them stroke his comb and wattle.

You could tell Jonathon liked the  roosters as well

He didn't peck Jonathon at  all and as long as Jonathon held the powerful legs in check, all was well and safe

The ducks looked clean and happy

They proved to also be friendly

And  were fantastic layers and providers of eggs

Kerris with the help from  Ruebin washed the eggs that she very kindly gave to us 

They came out so startlingly white from what colour the were in the beginning

It gave me an appreciation for the amount of work that goes into providing people with food.

We walked back next door to my place and they handed me the eggs.

Graham my husband made us scrambled eggs for breakfast using half duck eggs and half chicken eggs and I couldn't taste or tell the difference between them.
 They were really delectable and fresh
Thanks to Kerris for a great hour and for being such a willing and healthy looking model
Thanks to Jonathon for being such a brave model and Ruebin for his help.
Thanks to all the lovely natured animals.
You are all  stars.

Creative Quotes of the day

The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved; the pig is committed.

Martina Navratilova

If you keep your feathers well oiled the water of criticism will run off as from a duck's back.

Ellen Swallow Richards