This past week was the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Nine days of hot air ballooning with over 500 balloons participating. I must open with that this year’s Fiesta went very well especially compared to last year. Just two mass ascensions and one balloon glow weren’t possible due to high winds. In the end, most of the event was able to proceed rather smoothly.

It was an exhausting nine days; nonetheless it was a good time. Fiesta is a time for many to reunite and share in experiencing their favorite sport together.

I was rather split between crewing and doing photos. I swear I said that I would just do photography only this year, but I didn’t… I’ll have to do that next year. Maybe.

For the most part, I am satisfied with the pictures I got this time. I mean, heck, I decided to edit these right away instead of sitting on them for a month again. And I’ve made some good gear purchases just prior to this event. If you don’t want to read about gear, scroll down to see all of the pictures.

Gear Talk Time

Think Tank

The first set of accessories that I want to go over are the Think Tank Speed belt and bags. These aren’t exactly cheap with the belt itself being about $45 and three bags being close to $60 each. Would you believe that the belt and three bags had cost me $225 before tax? Yeesh! However, this system felt good to use, and I was able to have my whole photo kit on my waist with easy access. No more sore shoulders from a sling bag!

In fact, I might use these for more than just photography. They’re just so handy!

Hasselblad X2D-100c

The second gear purchase I made was a bit more expensive. I bought a Hasselblad X2D-100c. Yeah, I’m insane. Insanely poor now. I do wish that I just bought this thing on launch week though. The X2D is just so much better than the X1Dii that I’ve been using since late 2020. Better autofocus, better touch screen, more megapickles, etc, etc. If you’re an X1D or X1Dii user and are on the fence about the X2D, I recommend getting the X2D right away.

A quirk about my camera though is that it is lacking the 5GHz WiFi mode. You see, I imported it from Japan. The eBay store in Japan happened to have a really good price on it, I couldn’t resist! Plus, Hasselblad doesn’t seem to do that “grey market” shenanigans. They will service the camera.

Hasselblad 35-75mm

Lastly, I sent my 35-75mm lens off to be repaired, again. The lens was just not sharp and I couldn’t figure out why until now. Now thanks to the X2D, I was able to better diagnose the issue with this lens. Something was wrong with its shutter: it was double exposing the scene. That was impossible to see with the X1Dii but the X2D’s higher resolution sensor was able to capture the effect of the double exposure. I don’t think you’ll see that effect in the images I have post here since they are just small jpegs so just take my word on it.

I can’t remember if I ever complained about Hasselblad’s service on my blog before. To summarize: they charged me $755, had me wait nine months, and sent the lens back and I couldn’t tell that anything was fixed. But thanks to Hasselblad’s friendly customer service people, I was able to send the lens in again. It had better not take nine months again though…

Wrapping up

Check out my photos below. My next planned event to attend is the Red Rock Balloon Rally (Gallup, NM) in December. I am eyeing the Lake Powell Balloon Regatta (Page, AZ) in November, however, I’m not sure if I can make time for it. Then I just found out about the Gila Valley Balloon Extravaganza (Safford, AZ) right at the end of the year. I should make time for these events. I’ve got to put my new gear to use, right?