Balloon Glow

[ykj]

I would appreciate some advice as to how I could have made this better. This was the perfect opportunity for me to practice taking long exposure night shots, but not sure I did it the best I could. Our local newspaper published this shot on the front page. Thanks for any help you can give. I value all your opinions....Yvonne

Camera: Pentax K10D
Exposure: 4
Aperture: f/13.0
Focal Length: 18 mm
Focal Length: 18.0 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[jdepould]

Compositionally it's a little static. I certainly hope you have other photos.

This one just looks like a snapshot, taken from standing/eye-level.

I'd love to see it closer, maybe a telephoto of just parts of the balloons.

Or something super wide from farther away, to get a really big sky.

[ykj]

Thank you for your suggestions and comments. I had never been to a balloon glow, but they don't all light up at the same time, even though that is the plan. There were so many balloons and I tried to get in as many as I could that were lit. I have over 50 shots, but this one had the most color. Since this was all very new to me, I was so focused on getting it all in, that I pretty much was zoned out on other aspects. I was finally invited by one of the balloon pilots to come into their area and take some shots, but by that time they were shutting down. I have shots like you described, so will certainly go back and check them out with a different perspective. I do appreciate your advice, which is why I joined DPS with little experience, but ready to learn.