PHOTO BY ZACH ROSE
Each October, more than 500 balloons ascend over the Sandia Mountains at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which has been called the most photographed event in the world. (Organizers claim that shutterbugs snap 25 million photos over the course of the week-long festivities.) People travel from all around the globe to attend, but Zach Rose, who took this shot, ended up here completely by accident: He got a flat tire on his way to Roswell, New Mexico, and his tow-truck driver told him about the event. While other photographers clustered on the festival grounds, Rose dropped into a manmade waterway he found on Google Maps. “It’s really mesmerizing seeing so many dots of color on the open desert sky,” Rose says. “Having a breakdown is never all that fun, but it can often lead you somewhere you hadn’t expected to go. It’s one of the best parts of being on the road.”
