Hot Air Ballooning in New Jersey video and photos for the Star-Ledger

Quick Chek NJ Festival of Ballooning

Quick Chek NJ Festival of Ballooning
Chuck Wagner, of Milford Delaware, flies his Dela-Bear balloon amidst more than 100 hot air balloons at the Quick Chek Festival of Ballooning in Readington, NJ, the weekend of July 24. The festival flew hot air balloons twice a day, in the early morning and evening, for three consecutive days at the nations largest hot air balloon festival. (Video by Mahala Gaylord/The Star-Ledger)

All Points West Music and Arts Festival

I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to have the chance to photograph all three days of the All Points West music festival in Liberty State Park, Jersey City this past weekend. The lucky part: I got to see some awesome musicians like Jay-Z, MGMT, Gogol Bordello, and Xavier Rudd among many others. The unlucky part: I was soaked and covered in muds 2/3rds of the time. Maybe the mud was itself a blessing because it made for some pretty cool pictures. I've always been told that photographing performances is almost like cheating at photography because the lighting and backdrop is all set up for you- all you do is wait for the moment. So going to a music festival to photograph just such musical performances I gave myself the task of finding beautiful photographs I could claim for my own. Many were provided, not just in the performers, but in the awe inspiring crowds of fans attending.