One of my favourite aerial images. I was in a hot air balloon which was a first for me and the experience had some good and some bad points. The good was how smooth and silent it was. When you’re travelling at wind speed it’s completely silent which, when you’ve shot aerials mostly from fixed wing planes, is a blessing. It’s a stable platform (another blessing) and there are no wings, wheels or struts to get in the way. And I could fly much lower in the balloon than I can in a plane so it’s a shot I normally couldn’t get (and the main reason I like it so much). The bad? Having no control over where we went or what time we took off. Also, at $440 a flight it’s not cheap. The landing was a bit of a shock, too. Instead of setting down on the grass near Albert Park lake we had a hard landing on the road behind the lake, crashing head on into a LandCruiser. Nobody was hurt but I think the pilot’s ego copped some damage. (Did you notice the face on the building, top right?). Colour version here.
Image ID: 1003
