Over the weekend I went to the Rocky Mountain Balloon Festival here in the Denver area. This was actually the first time I attended one and I will certainly be back again. It was a wonderful event and I met balloon owners from Florida, Nebraska and other parts of the country.

The Saturday night “Lite In The Nite” session allowed me to get pictures of balloons glowing from the flames of the burners. Sunday’s sunrise launch was equally wonderful and I came away with lots of great photos of balloons in the sky, mountains in the background, etc. Can’t wait for next year’s event.

The number of photographic mistakes I saw was huge. So many people did these things it makes me cringe.

1. Using a P&S camera and FLASH – when you’re 50-100 feet away from a huge balloon, do you really expect your dinky flash to light it up? Kill the flash, use a tripod.

2. Not using a tripod – I have to give credit to the 20 percent of photogs who were using tripods. Unfortunately, it limits your mobility and as the crowds grew, it became more difficult for these folks to maneuver.

3. Using your camera phone – Whaddaya, nuts? Sorry, but real pictures deserve to be taken with a real camera.

4. Long, heavy lens and the camera screwed to tripod – If your long lens has a separate tripod mount ring then this is what should be attached to the tripod. Screwing into the camera puts too much stress on the lens mount.

5. No lens shade at sunrise shoot – Same lady with long lens, the shade was reverse mounted on the lens. Simple rule: Always have a lens shade mounted (properly) on your lens, unless you’re using a flash (it gets in the way of the flash sometimes).

6. Not getting close enough – Getting shots of inside the balloon while it’s being inflated are cool. Just ask before you stick your nose camera in.

7. Taking your entire camera inventory – A lot of guys with big photo backpacks. Think a little before you go somewhere. What do you really need? Can you leave the bag in the car, take what you need in a small bag or pouch, and travel lighter? I went with a 17-50/f2.8 and a 28-105/f3.5-4.5 in a pouch on my belt. Wound up only using the 17-50 !

If you can, do a bit of research before attending an event. I saw photos from last year and had a rough idea of what lens to take. While there Saturday I scouted for my Sunday sunrise location. Found a nice hill overlooking the launch area with mountains in the background. All it takes is a bit of preparation and thought.