by Amanda Friend
Sometimes, here in Philadelphia, we get a special addition to our skyline. A colorful, hot air-filled addition that is. We have The Philadelphia Zoo to thank for this, as they’re the owners of their very own tiger-striped hot air balloon, which visitors can pay to take rides in. When I was at university, I lived near the zoo and would often watch the balloon rising up into the air. It would fill me with a sense of joy and whimsy each time. So I can only imagine what London-based photographer Tom Parker felt when he saw a sea of hot air balloons rising up one morning during a visit to Turkey. The image’s calming beauty immediately caught our eye, and it was ultimately chosen to be featured on Wonderful Machine’s July print mailer. The image perfectly illustrates how our photographers are “above the rest.”
Printed by Modern Postcard, this promo was sent out to 2990 clients across North America.
Tom was kind enough to fill us in on the background of this photo:
This image was part of a shoot for US Departures Magazine. It was shot as part of an assignment which was centered around Konya in the middle of Turkey, where whirling Dervish dancing originated. This photograph is from an overnight excursion to Cappadocia, which is a geological wonder of the world featuring thousands of rock chimneys set against the background of the volcano Mt. Erciyes.
This was actually shot on the morning after shooting a new Cappodcia hotel, and an afterthought from the main shoot. When we woke we saw this view from my hotel room which was the most arresting moment of the whole trip. Every morning nearly one hundred hot air balloons take to the sky, and we were positioned perfectly to capture them with one of the most dramatic rock chimneys in the foreground.
If you’d like to check out all of our past print promos, see them here.
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