EVENT: August Meet-up @ NASA Ballunar Festival

[tjavery]

Howdy all,

The August photo event for Houston will be at the Ballunar Festival. The details:
Date: Saturday, August 27, 2005
Time: 7:30pm (to capture the balloon glow event at 8pm)
Location: JSC (Johnson Space Center)
More info:
- http://www.eballoon.com/schedule_of_events.htm
- http://www.ballunarfestival.com/
(many thanks to saroy for providing this info in another thread
http://www.texasphotoforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1240)

Directions:
• Take I45 south
• Exit NASA Road 1
• Take a left (go east) on NASA Road 1
• Drive 5 or 6 miles
• Turn left on Saturn lane, go into JSC thru main gate
• The balloons should be on your left, you will see them from the road
• NOTE: There is a $10 entry fee into JSC. Parking is available there.

How to Meet Up:
There will be many other photographers there, I'm sure. Looking for a group of people with tripods and cameras won't necessarly hook you up with TPF members.

I suggest as many people as possible wear their TPF tshirts. Look for those shirts, and wear your own if you have one. Get yours here: http://www.texasphotoforum.com/store.htm

NOTES:
1. Apparently, parking is $10 at JSC. If you find alternate, free parking, then go for it! But do so at your own risk.
2. The Ballunar event actually spans 3 days: 26-28. If you can't make the 27th, then you'll also have two other days available to see the balloons.
3. The "Balloon Glow" is scheduled for 8pm on Saturday.

*note* the time has been moved given the recent information posted- the balloons will take off from different locations and converge at the JSC around 6:30am. It appears that they will not all take off at 6:30am from JSC as originally thought. I believe the best time to capture the most balloons in good lighting will be at the Balloon Glow event at 8pm.

[PhotoSpidy]

talked to glen, as of this moment, (if nothing goes wrong) we will be there, i think ash will love it, since we have been in texas, i havent gotten around to taking her to see anything at nasa, and she has been nagging :shock: . so this will get me off the hook :lol: what time are we planning on getting there?

[Glen_A]

We will try to be there and btw...thanks TJ for your efforts in finding good spots for us to to do group shoots and organizing it. My family does appreciate it, we always have a good time!

[Wendy]

I may be out of town that weekend, but if not I'll definitely be there. I'll know in another week or two if I'll be around. I love the Ballunar Liftoff Festival!!!

[Abel]

lisa and i plan to attend... sounds very cool.

[Steelsun]

Admission is $10 per vehicle.

Maybe schedule a meetup at a nearby parking lot and people could carshare.

[jeffkohn]

This sounds fun. As of right now I think my schedule's open and I should be able to attend.

[PhotoSHO]

Is anyone going to that event on Friday night August 26th?

[camptown]

Does anybody know if there are any commercial restrictions on the photos taken there?

CT
amtaylor.com

[DPetito]

I am looking forward to coming. Questions: What time and how do we recognize each other? I always wanted to go to a ballonn festival so thanks for organizing this event to bring it to our attention.

Regards,

[mramos]

Bay area Blvd has Baybrook mall with alot of parking. There is also a wolf's camera that is part of a shopping strip there with alot of parking. Just in case someone needs some gear. I'm off this weekend and will be there.

[saroy]

I wouldn't park at Baybrook Mall -- too far away. The balloons congregate at NASA JSC, where there is plenty of parking. On Friday morning, they launch from all over Clear Lake but tend to move towards JSC. All the Ballunar Festival events are at JSC.

[Wendy]

Sarah, I think the reason they were thinking of parking somewhere else is because there is an entry fee of $10 per car load. So, if we meet up somewhere else and carpool in, it's less money for everyone.

If most of you are coming in from Houston, parking in front of Wolf Camera probably would make it easiest to find each other and it would be on the way to the festival.

How long is everyone planning on staying? The balloon competition is at 7:00 AM and they'll probably start lifting off around 6:30 - 6:45 AM. The balloon GLOW isn't until 8:00 PM that night, though. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't plan on staying all day long like that. Any thoughts on which would be better if we had to choose, the lift off that morning or the balloon glow that night?

Also, does anyone know where the balloons launch on Saturday morning? I've always been Saturday evening and I know they launch from offsite and fly to JSC for the competition and the balloon glow. Sarah said they launch from all over the area on Friday morning, but what about Saturday morning? I can't find that information on the website anywhere. Sarah, do you know?

One other thing. I think different balloons participate in the balloon glow on Friday night and Saturday night, if that matters to anyone. Saturday night is the "UFO Balloon Glow" which has all the special shapes. Friday night has all the regular shapes participating.

[ndsimm]

Dang it!
I have a wedding that Saturday afternoon, when are you guys talking about going???

[tjavery]

I've updated the main information (first post) with specific details. Check it out!

The only uncertainty I now have is to meet at 6:30am to capture lift-off or meet at 7:30pm to capture the "balloon glow" event scheduled for 8pm. What do y'all think? I'll change the meet-up time based on majority vote.

6:30am is appealing because it's early and might be less crowded. You will be able to see the balloons lift off against a somewhat dark sky (sunrise is a little after 6:30am).

7:30pm is appealing because the Balloon Glow event is scheduled for 8pm. You're guaranteed to see lit-up balloons against a dark sky. However, it's a main event and will be very crowded (and difficult to meet-up as a group).

p.s. I cannot make this event, but I will be thinking about y'all while I'm out of town :-) Get some good shots!!!