August 2017 — Grand Teton National Park, USA
Film Photography — Nikon FM2
Nineteen of us traveled together that summer.
After the USANA convention, we drove north to Yellowstone and Grand Teton, turning the trip into something between a conference and a vacation.
In Grand Teton, we stayed at a beautiful Airbnb cabin.
Wide land.
Endless fields.
The kind of place where the sky feels bigger than you expect.
Most of that land you see in the distance —
it all belonged to the host.
It felt unreal.
One morning, I woke up earlier than everyone else.
The house was still quiet.
I thought I would start preparing breakfast.
Coffee first. Maybe eggs.
Just an ordinary slow morning.
Then suddenly —
a deep rumbling sound outside.
Low. Heavy. Not like a car.
I opened the door.
And there it was.
A hot air balloon floating across the sky.
So close.
So quiet.
So unexpected.
There was no time to think.
I just ran back inside, grabbed my Nikon FM2, loaded with film, and stepped out again.
Pointed. Framed. Click.
Only one or two shots.
No checking. No preview.
Just trust.
What I remember most wasn’t the balloon.
It was the feeling.
The air was cold.
The grass still wet.
The sky unbelievably wide.
Everyone else still asleep.
And for a few minutes, the whole world felt like it belonged only to me.
Free.
Open.
Endless.
Sometimes freedom looks exactly like this —
A small balloon
floating in a very big sky.