Away We Go

The French brothers, Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier, ingeniously developed a remarkable hot-air balloon in the charming town of Annonay, located in the Ardèche region of France. They demonstrated this incredible invention publicly on September 19, 1783, achieving an unmanned flight that lasted an impressive 10 minutes. After undergoing a series of experiments involving unmanned balloons and even sending animals into the sky, the first balloon flight with humans aboard took place on or around October 15, 1783. This significant tethered flight was performed by the intrepid Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier, who made at least one tethered ascent from the yard of the impressive Reveillon workshop in the bustling Faubourg Saint-Antoine area. Remarkably, later that same day, Pilatre de Rozier made history by becoming the second human to rise into the air, reaching an altitude of 26 meters (85 feet), the precise length of the tether he was connected to. A few weeks later, on November 21, 1783, the world witnessed the very first free flight with human passengers. Though King Louis XVI had originally decreed that condemned criminals would be the first pilots, de Rozier, along with his companion Marquis François d'Arlandes, successfully petitioned for the honor themselves.

When I first made the move to Colorado, I would occasionally spot hot-air balloons gracefully flying through the sky. Each sighting would evoke warm memories of my childhood, reminiscent of the times when my parents would take us to The Philadelphia Hot-Air Balloon Races. I can vividly recall the enchanting experience of watching those colorful balloons gently float upwards and away in both a peaceful and exhilarating manner. After settling in Erie, Colorado, my rare sightings of these balloon wonders transformed into a delightful regular occurrence. Despite the frequency, my excitement never waned; it was always renewed whenever I caught sight of them. On the day I captured this particular photograph, the weather was beautiful, albeit with a cloudy sky casting a soft glow. I managed to take the photo while standing directly underneath the vibrant balloon as it magnificently ascended into the sky, with the bright, bold colors of the balloon beautifully contrasting against the muted, washed-out backdrop of the clouds.

Location: Erie, Colorado