Hi John,
This photograph is an interesting look at how the automatic white balance control on a camera can easily be swayed by a colourful forground.
If you take a look at the people and the vehicle in the back of the photo you cannot help but notice they're blue. Some people might argue this is because they're standing in front of the big blue section of balloon. My guess is, however, that the camera’s white balance has been swayed by the warm tones which are dominating most of the picture.
The some readers might know, the automatic exposure system on most cameras always assumes the subject is always grey, not black or white - which is why when we do photograph white subjects on white background they usually appear dark, and when we photograph black objects on black they appear lighter than they should.
The white balance control in your camera also assumes that most subjects are grey, but rather than dealing with light and dark tones, the white balance is managing colour. If you want to test this idea, try photographing a blue wall using an auto white balance setting and then the manual white balance setting to suit the conditions (make sure you fill the frame with the colour). At an experienced guess I think you will discover the photo made on the auto setting has turned the blue into a more neutral tone.
This same problem also applies to sunsets. Try photographing an orange sunset with the white balance set to auto and then with the white balance setting the “daylight” setting. I think you'll be surprised by the results.
In this image here I probably would have set the camera’s white balance to daylight; this would give you more chance of getting more accurate colours in the photograph. I've adjusted the images sent in to approximate what might be possible when you go for colour accuracy with this photograph.
Also in the image below I have removed the control lead for the vent… now it looks like you are actually inside the balloon.
I hope next time they take you for a spin!
Cheers, Anthony.
Image Doctor's edited version
