2022 Photo Meetups
Great Texas Balloon Race
We're inviting interested Plano Photography Club members to join us in Longview, Texas early on the morning of Saturday, June 18, 2022, for some amazing balloon photography.
The Great Texas Balloon Race is a world-class event attracting the very best competitive pilots from across the United States and the world.
Considered by many of the pilots that compete there to be the best run event on the circuit, the Great Texas Balloon Race earned Longview the official designation as "The Balloon Capital of Texas" by the Governor of Texas in 1985.
Activities Schedule
- Date: Saturday, June 18 (Admission is Free)
- Starting Location: Maude Cobb Convention Center || 100 Grand Blvd, Longview, TX 75604
- 6:00 AM CT - Pilot briefing for race competitors at Maude Cobb Convention Center
- NOTE: While you will not be able to attend the actual pilot meeting, you will be able to mingle with the crew outside in the parking lot to help determine from where you will shoot
- Target locations will also be posted on the race website as well as on Facebook
- You will have two photo opportunities: (1) during the inflating of the balloons, and (2) shooting the balloons on their first drop
- 6:45 AM CT - Competition Flight for Great Texas Balloon Race over Longview
- 7:00 AM CT - Special shapes static inflations, locations to be announced (check balloon race web pages) – these are the really cool balloons and they do not race
- 11:30 AM CT - Lunch at Country Tavern Barbecue || 1526 Fm 2767, Kilgore, TX (903.984.9954) - the home of the Best Ribs in Texas (video)
- NOTE: The restaurant is located approximately 16 miles from the Maude Cobb Convention Center, but you are going back toward Dallas; for those of you who live in the Metroplex, in East Texas, 16 miles means 20 minutes, not 1 ½ hours
Submitting Images
Please send your top five (5) images in JPEG format to clubphotos@planophotographyclub.com. As this is not a formal shoot and press passes are not available, we have not promised images to the race organizers.
Include your NAME and GreatTexasBalloonRace in the file name(s) (e.g., PhileasFogg_GreatTexasBalloonRace_1.jpg). Standard photo sizing rules apply: the maximum dimension (long edge) for submitted images is 4096 pixels; the maximum file size is 10MB.
Submitted images will be displayed in a website scrolling gallery as in the past. Please note that no one will be able to download copies of these images from the gallery; you may add a watermark to the image if you wish.
The photo submission deadline for this activity is Saturday, June 26, 2022.
Questions: Contact Cliff McKenzie, Vice President of Events (email | phone).