People

Grandma’s Tamales

February 13, 2013 by Justin Balog 0 Comments

My Spanish is limited. I can do my best to navigate the market and get us to dive sites, but I don’t have much left after that. I do know how to say, “I’d like to take your photograph”. I found an interesting trend in the countries I travel to. Outside of the US, people are excited to have their photograph taken. Inside the US, or US citizens in other countries, rarely like to have their photo taken. The kind lady here makes tamales for the taxi drivers in Cozumel. You can see a few of them in the background. She has a little stand set up in the center of town. When I asked if I could take her picture, she offered a quick smile then went about making her tamales. The drivers laughed and said she charges $25 for her photo. I offered to pay her, but she politely refused and offered me one of her tamales instead. This is why we travel and open ourselves to new experiences. To meet people, smile at one another and eat some amazing tamales!

Filed Under: Cozumel, Lightroom 4, Mexico, Nikon 14-24mm 2.8, Nikon D700, People, Tips, Travel

French Women

February 5, 2013 by Justin Balog 5 Comments

Not to sound creepy, but I shot this image with my camera hanging around my neck and a shutter release cable running down my sleeve. Hmm, on second thought…that sounds pretty creepy. I made a lot of photos using this technique in Bordeaux that day. I read about the technique from a great street photographer so I decided to give it a try on a walk between my hotel and the Saint-Andre Cathedral. I thought it worked out pretty good. Something you might not have considered is that it provided a unique perspective because the camera was about a foot and a half lower than eye level.

Photographer’s Note – In terms of processing, this image is a single photo processed in LR4. The B&W conversion along with the selective coloring was all done within NIK SEP 2.

Filed Under: Bordeaux, France, Lightroom 4, Nik Software, Nikon 20mm 2.8, Nikon D700, One Click, People, Tips, Travel

Getting Ready

November 6, 2012 by Justin Balog 3 Comments

Today’s Photo

A lone bull rider prepares himself for the challenge ahead. When I was working on the story about the professional bull rider, I quickly learned these guys are not only responsible for their own training and coaching, they seemed largely responsible for their own physical therapy and medical care. They’re definitely one of the more interesting athletes I have had the opportunity to meet.

Snapseed Winners

The winners from yesterday’s Snapseed give away are Michelle, rpward51, and Alex. Congrats all! I know you are going to love the software. If you didn’t win, don’t worry I have two more contests coming up in the next week.

Filed Under: Nikon 17-35 2.8 AFS, Nikon D700, People

The Player!

October 18, 2012 by Justin Balog 0 Comments

I met this gentleman late one afternoon while walking along the pedestrian mall in the heart of Playa Del Carmen. There was no doubt about it, he played a mean Accordion. I would have enjoyed hearing him with his full band, but today he was rocking it solomente.

Question for Nikonians – I’m considering upgrading my 85mm 1.8D (the lens I used for this photo) to either a 1.4G or 1.8G. I’d love to hear your thoughts about either of them. Thanks!

Filed Under: Lightroom 4, Mexico, Nikon 85mm 1.8, Nikon D700, People, Playa Del Carmen, Tips, Travel

Life @ 24 1.4 – Part III

October 10, 2012 by Justin Balog 6 Comments

Meet Marcus. Remember yesterday I mentioned that the Nikon 24mm 1.4 is a people lens. That’s really where it shines. Had I not been exploring the streets of Nevada with it, I would have never met Marcus. He’s a local barkeep that invited me to learn about the history of his pub. Here are a few things I would have never learned had I not been photographing with this lens.

There are two local biker gangs in town.
The tile trough along the bar was used by patrons that didn’t want to walk all the way to the restroom.
I’d wouldn’t stay at that hotel, the 3rd floor is haunted.
This town is littered with underground tunnels.
If you see someone under a pool table in that bar, they’re either dead or passed out.
This town has a large transient ranching population.
Until recently, the train ran right through town. It was rerouted because people were idiots and tried to beat it across the tracks.
I wouldn’t call this town, ‘Vegetarian Friendly’.