A lot of bustle occurs on the field as the various crews are preparing their balloon to take off.
Here is the "recipe":

• First you have to spread the Envelope on the ground and fix it to the basket.
• Then you fill it with cold air using a big fan.
• Still blowing with the fan, you heat the air using the burner. At this point you need to have someone pulling strongly on a rope attached to the envelope to keep it "round". Otherwise hot air will accumulate on the top of the envelope giving it the shape of a banana.
• Your balloon is now ready to fly ! But keep as much people as possible in the basket until the very last moment or it could leave the ground without warning and... empty !

Date: Sunday, January 25 2009
Camera: NIKON D300
Focal length: 12 mm
Aperture: f/9
Exposure Time: 1/125 sec
Flash: Not Fired