The Quick Chek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning Returns to NJ July 24-26, 2015

The balloons are returning to central NJ! For the 33rd year, the QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning is happening at Solberg Airport in Readington, NJ from Fri. July 24 to Sunday, July 26, 2015. The number of photo opportunities (especially when about 100 balloons are in the air), are always incredible. I’m personally excited to see the Darth Vader balloon return, joined this year (for the first time) by Yoda.

The weather, based on a quick look at weather.com is looking ideal for all three days of the festival, which is important because if it is too windy, the balloons are not permitted to launch. There are planned morning and afternoon balloon ascensions on Saturday, July 25, and Sunday, July 26 at 6:30am and 6:30pm. There is also a “Balloon Glow” during the Saturday evening concert that is a truly incredible spectacle.

Photo from the Saturday evening “Balloon Glow.” ©Andrew Darlow

Special Opportunity for Amateur and Professional Photographers

On Friday morning 7/24 at 6:30am the festival organizers allow members of the press as well as amateur and professional photographers/videographers to attend a “Pre-Festival Media Launch” for no charge (parking is also free). I plan to attend once again on Friday morning to take photos with many other pro and amateur photographers and videographers. Experiencing the sun rising with the balloons all gathered in one place is truly breathtaking. Below is a self-portrait from last year’s Media Launch taken with a GoPro camera. I’m sporting one of my favorite ways to carry my gear–using The Wedding Photographer’s Vest from TheVestGuy.com. Another favorite accessory (the Peak Design Capture PRO Camera Clip), allows my camera to hang securely from my chest. For more information, including parking instructions, see the bottom portion of this page on the festival’s website.

Hanging out with two cameras in tow during the media launch. Two cameras makes is possible to easily get wide-angle and telephoto images quickly. Photo © Andrew Darlow

I also mentioned the Media Launch on the Meetup Group that I run (it’s called The Art of Photography, Photoshop and Lightroom). Anyone who is passionate about photography is welcome to join for no cost. I will be announcing a few workshops and other events related to photography in the upcoming weeks.

What to Do at the Festival

There are many family-friendly events at the festival, and there are MANY food options, including a multitude of food trucks and a “pop-up” QuickChek store. The bands that they have lined up look fantastic, and there are quite a few musical acts that play both day and at night (see the schedule for exact dates and times). You can either purchase reserved seats if you want to get close to the stage, or you can just enjoy the show from a lawn chair or blanket outside the main show area with your ticket to the festival since all of the concerts are all held outdoors. I was there last year for the Joan Jett concert, and she and her bandmates rocked the house!!

Music acts at the 2015 QuickChek Festival of Ballooning.

For a good overview of the show, here is an informative interview from CBS News with Executive Producer of the show, Howard Freeman.

Ticket Information and Discounted Tickets Available Until 11:59 pm Thurs. 7/23/2015

Ticket information can be found on this page, including links to information on how to purchase balloon ride tickets. General Admission Tickets are $10 for children (age 4-12, children 3 and under are free) and $24 for adults when ordered by 11:59pm on Thurs. 7/23/2015. After that, they are $15 and $35 respectively. Other ticket options can be found under the “Tickets” section of the website.

Any general admission tickets purchased are valid for one day only. You can also avoid a $3.50 per ticket online ordering fee by purchasing tickets at a QuickCheck store (here is a link to a page where you can search for a QuickChek location).

BookCon 2015 Returns to NYC 5/30-31 – Tips for Navigating the Show and Links

Love Books? I know I do. For the last three years I’ve been attending the BEA (Book Expo America), which is primarily an industry show for the book business. Last year, someone got the idea of running a consumer book show akin to Comic Con, which is a huge event that celebrates all things related to the comic book industry, held annually in multiple cities. I must say that it was a very good idea! Last year’s BookCon show was packed with people celebrating the very wide world of literature, from romance novels to stunning photography picture books (I personally favor these over the romance novels, but that’s just me).

BookCon will be returning to the Jacob Javits Center in New York City on Saturday, May 30 and Sunday, May 31, 2015. Last year was the first running of BookCon, and it was held on one day, but this year (undoubtably due to its success), it’s running for two days.

One of the entrances to Book Expo America 2015 (same location as BookCon 2015). I think Snoopy is starring in a new movie and some new books too!  Photo © Andrew Darlow.

There are panel discussions, author interviews on a big stage and in conference rooms, as well as many, many book signings. One of my favorite interviews/presentations last year was with author and photographer Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York. Brandon is returning this year, and here’s a link to Brandon’s presentation and poster signing schedule at the 2015 show. I also got to see Grumpy Cat up close, which she didn’t appear too excited about, but I didn’t take it personally :).

An example of what you’ll find at some of the booths at Book Expo America and BookCon. Booth Photo © Andrew Darlow. For more information about this vendor, visit Beaver Books.

A Few Tips for Navigating the Show

Walking the show floor without a plan can be overwhelming, so I recommend taking a look at what’s happening at the show, then decide which talks/booths you’d like to visit. If you want to get a book signed by a specific author, you can bring your own copy (they may or may not have copies of the book available that you’d like to own).

BookCon Ticket Information

BookCon Adult Tickets for Saturday are $35 when purchased online prior to the show and $45 when bought onsite. Sunday tickets for adults are $30 when purchased online prior to the show and $40 when bought onsite. And as I noted last year, definitely consider bringing the kids! A good portion of the show contains children’s books, games, etc. Tickets for children 6-12 are just $5. If last year is any indication of the attendance, I would recommend purchasing tickets in advance. It’s a good way to reduce wait times when you pick up your badge for the show, and to avoid the possibility of it being sold out. I noticed that all the VIP tickets are already sold out for this year’s show.

Viva le Book!

BookCon 2015 Quick Links

Main Show Page
General Info/FAQs
Link to Buy Tickets
BookCon Twitter Feed
BookCon’s Facebook Page

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A Photo From the Jersey Shore with Commentary by Digital Photo Academy Instructor Bill Blanchard

Today I’m happy to bring you another image with technical data, thoughts and comments from photographer and instructor at Digital Photo Academy, Bill Blanchard. This time, the subject of the photo is one of my favorite places, the Jersey Shore.  You may recognize the Fun Town Amusement Pier in Seaside Heights, NJ. The entire pier (as well as Casino Pier on the other side of the boardwalk) was heavily damaged during Hurricane Sandy (October, 2012) just about nine months after this photo was taken (1/10/2012). Unfortunately, the stately ferris wheel in the photograph was so badly damaged that it was demolished in the spring of 2013. And to add to that, a devastating fire in September of 2013 badly damaged the Fun Town Pier. I think photos like this underscore how quickly things can change in a location. I visited Seaside Heights just a week before the fire, so when the fire happened, it underscored for me the fragility of almost everything we see and experience on a daily basis.

Photo ©Bill Blanchard, All Rights Reserved (click for a larger version)

Here are Bill’s comments about the image:

“Cold winter days often make for clear, crisp skies, and I took advantage of that here. When I saw this scene, locked behind a cyclone (a.k.a. chain link) fence, it went black and white in my head. I found a break in the fence and poked my lens through and shot it as the black and white I knew it would become. The only way I could get the detail I was seeing in the sky and the deep shadows was by shooting it as an HDR image. I made it black and white as part of the HDR processing.”

Technical Information:
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter speed: 1/800
ISO: 500

HDR Processing in Photomatix to a TIFF file. TIFF file was then processed in Lightroom to create the final image.

You can learn more about Bill, and check out some of his other images on the Digital Photo Academy site by visiting this page: https://digitalphotoacademy.com/portfolio/bill-blanchard

Please note: The Imaging Buffet receives no compensation for bringing these images and tips to you, and we have full editorial control over the content. As a part of our relationship with Digital Photo Academy, you will find information about The Imaging Buffet and upcoming workshops and events on their website.