Sundog

A couple of years ago, a friend and I headed out to Antelope Island for the annual balloon festival.  Well, like it is most times on the island it was windy.  Too windy to fly the balloons.  We ended up wandering around and chatting with some of the pilots.  That is when we met Thayne, the pilot of the balloon Sundog.  During the course of the conversation, we expressed that we were disappointed that we weren't able to get many shots, just as disappointed as they were that they weren't able to fly.  Well, Thayne was kind enough to offer to invite us to come to a future flight so that we could get some shots.  Sure enough, a few weeks later, I got an email with an invite to show up for a launch.  So, me and a couple of buddies headed to American Fork on a Saturday morning and met up with Thayne and a couple of other pilots.  We had a great time and got some great shots.  Fast-forward two years to last Saturday.  Samantha and I got up early and headed down to Sandy, UT for their Balloon Festival.  There were a lot of great balloons there, including Sundog.  Since the festival last weekend, I have learned that Thayne and his wife do something pretty cool.  They offer rides in the balloon in exchange for a donation to a charity that they support.  If you are interested, you can find out more at www.sundogballoon.com.

These images were created using Canon gear,

including the new 8-15mm f/4.0L Fisheye lens.