4th Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

The annual event that I always look forward to will take place again this year. The Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta will be held again this year for the fourth times from 15 to 18 March 2012.  Congratulations to A.K.A Balloon Sdn Bhd and kudos also to its boss En. Rudy on the success in the past events and on being able to organise the great event again this year.

Please check out the official website of the event here.

I am looking forward to this upcoming fiesta and fervently hope that the weather would be very favourable during the event.

I just feel like sharing some pictures that I took at the previous events. Just to get the adrenaline pumping

One of the crew members adjusts the parachute valve before the balloon envelope is fully inflated during the third Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta last year.

The balloons are prepared to take off during the last year's event

The hot air balloons fly over Putrajaya during the last year's event

The most glamorous balloon - Darth Vader Balloon - made its appearance last year

The pilot pumps in the hot air into the balloon envelope before it takes off during the first fiesta in 2009

The hot air balloons fly over Putrajaya during the first ever hot air balloon fiesta in 2009

Happy ballooning and happy shooting.

The 2nd Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2010

I am delighted to announce that they are going to hold the second Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta just like the first time event last year. This year it will be held from 18 March to 21 March 2010.

The organizer promises that this year’s event is going to be more fun as there will be more participating balloons and more activities are planned for the public. Please check out its official website for details.

Last year it was a big success and I really enjoyed shooting the multi-coloured balloons. I am looking forward to this year’s event and I hope it would be more enjoyable this year.

The last year's picture

The last year's picture

The last year's picture

The last year's picture

The last year's picture

The last year's picture

Please check out my website for more hot air balloon pictures here. And you can also visit my previous blog entries on the 1st Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2009 here, here and here.

Happy shooting and see you there!

1st Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2009

This is a jolly good news to my fellow Malaysian photographers. They are going to hold a hot air balloon festival in Putrajaya this coming March.  Yes it is a mecca for photographers and this kind of event doesn’t come often to our shore in fact it is exceptionally rare.

The last hot air balloon festival that I could remember was when the New Straits Times celebrated its 150th Anniversary and that was more than 10 years ago. Unfortunately I didn’t become a photographer yet at that time.

Never mind.  Let the bygone be bygone. No point crying over the spilt milk. I hope this time I would be able to collect lots of  awesome hot air balloon images. Watch this space

The details of the eagerly-awaited event are as follows:

• The event:  The First Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2009 (Does this mean there is going to be the second, third, fourth?)

• Take-off site: “Monumen Alaf Baru”, Precinct 2, Putrajaya

• Flying area: Height of not more than 1000ft and 5 km radius from take off site

• Landing site: There is ample land in Putrajaya that is suitable for landing

• Date: 19-22 March 2009

• Number of participating hot air balloons: 25 – 20 standard shaped hot air balloons, 5 special shaped hot air balloons

In the anticipation of the fiesta, I am pleased to share some useful links to tips on how to shoot hot air balloons:

1. Tip No. 1
2. Tip No. 2
3. Tip No. 3
4. Tip No. 4
5. Tip N0. 5

And below is the itinerary of the event that I copied from its official website.

Please check out the event’s official website here.

Date	Time	Venue	Activities
19/03/2009 Thursday	7.30 am	Site	Arrival of VIPs and guests
	7.45 am	Site	• Free flight with VVIP/Media • Motorised para glider display • Remote control flying aircraft display
	2.00 – 5.00 pm	Site	• Motorised para glider display • Remote control flying aircraft display
	5.00 – 7.00 pm	Site	Balloon Fun Fly
20/03/2009 Friday	7.30 am	Site	Arrival of guest or VIP
	7.45 am		• Free flight • Motorised para glider display • Remote control flying aircraft display
	2.00 – 5.00 pm	Site	• Motorised para glider display • Remote control flying aircraft display
	5.00 – 7.00 pm	Site	Balloon Fun Fly
21/03/2009 Saturday	7.30 am	Site	Free flight with VVIP/Sponsors/Media/
	7.45 am	Site	• Motorised para glider display • Remote control flying aircraft display
	2.00 – 5.00 pm	Site	• Motorised para glider display • Remote control flying aircraft display
	5.00 – 7.00 pm	Site	Balloon Fun Fly
	8.00 pm	Site	Arrival of VIPs and guests
	8.45 pm	Site	Night glow with music for 30 minutes
22/03/2009 Sunday	7.45 am	Site	• Free flight with VVIP/Sponsors/Media/ public • Motorised para glider display • Remote control flying aircraft display
	2.00 – 5.00 pm	Site	• Motorised para glider display • Remote control flying aircraft display
	5.00 – 7.00 pm	Site	Balloon Fun Fly
	8.00 pm	Banquet	Dinner and prize giving