There are times that a story comes together through images.  Many years ago, I thought it might be easy to build a story from just a few images.  But after years and years (and a lot of shooting), I have found that is just not the case.  Sometimes you can luck out and it may just happen;  But those times are rare. If you plan for it, know what might be coming, you can start to see the story unfold as you capture each image.

It was the morning of July 4th;  About 5:30am and I was in the mountains of Southern California.  Our job that day was to help set up and get ready a hot air ballon for campers to have the ride of their life in. We had to set the balloon up and get every kid, counselor and staffer up in a ballon ride by 8:30am.  Easier said then done: I learned that as the air heats up, it becomes harder and harder to have the ballon lift off the ground. Almost to the point of being impossible if it is really hot.  And trust me, it can get really hot in Southern California in the summer.  No matter where you are.

Each year at the beginning of summer, Pat Murphy from Reach for the Stars comes up to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times and gives over 100 campers the ride of their life.    While all of that sounds neat, what is even neater is what this ballon is all about.  Pat’s ballon in one of the only ballons in the US that was built so that children in wheelchairs can come on board and ride in their chair.  So every camper, regardless of how mobile they are can have the same ride as everyone else.  Beyond cool!  As you might guess, I have never set up a hot air ballon.  And I found that I was in for more than just a ballon ride.