[DigitalCoyote]

Howdy!

My college town's annual balloon race is taking place this weekend. I was lucky enough to attend last year and got to ride in a balloon as a reward for taking pictures for the VA. I've since purchased an SLR and would like to improve my skills with what I feel is a challenging subject.

Does anyone have any hints or things that they wish they'd known the first time they did something like this? Are there any pieces of equipment (like a remote shutter release, for example) that they they would feel are indispensable? What about camera settings (IE shutter speed, ISO, aperture, mode) do you think work best?

I have a Nikon d60 camera with 18-55mm and 55-200 mm lenses, a few basic filters (CPL, UV, FLD.), a smallish lens hood, and a gorrillapod at my disposal.

I apologize in advance for being so nosy, but my first low-light (night) shoot was middling at best and I expect to take pictures from a bit before dawn until noon.

Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated!

--DC