Grand Canyon

Explaining To Do

May 24, 2012 by Justin Balog 5 Comments

After we returned from Toroweap last spring, and we showed this photo to my mom and mother-in-law, I had some serious explaining to do. They were saying things like…”you did what for a photo?!?”. I still don’t think they fully understand the compression effect caused by shooting with a longer focal length lens. I believe this was shot at 300mm? Basically, shooting a longer focal length lens creates the illusion that elements in the image are closer together than they appear. In this case, my wife and the cliff. I reassured them that there was actually plenty of room, it was very safe and there was no cliff at all. I don’t know if they believe me?

If you are new here, or you missed it, here is a movie I made while we visited the southwest.

Filed Under: Arizona, Grand Canyon, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, Tips, Travel

The Story Of Hossedia

December 4, 2011 by Justin Balog 6 Comments

Howdy,

If everything went smoothly, you probably didn’t notice that we changed our domain name. Yep, we are now Hossedia.com (HOSS-E-dia)! If you are wondering why, let me explain. Back around the early 2000s, I was bike racing a lot. At that point I had been racing for about 15 years. Anyway, I hurt myself and had to give up the bike for a while. Needless to say I was pretty bummed out. To get myself out of the funk I was in, I decided I would take my love of photography to the bike races and photograph my buddies. Not only did it keep me involved, it opened up a whole new world to me. I began photographing bike races around the country, and getting to do some pretty cool stuff. It was at that time that I founded Hossedia.com. It was a fun website, much like today’s, where I told stories and shared photos. All of it was positive and really helped me get through a tough time. Long story short, in 2004 my car was broke (broken?) into and my credit cards were stolen. I had to cancel them and subsequently lost my site because my domain host couldn’t renew my account. Bummer….all of Hossedia.com was lost. I started LightAsMagic.com about 4 years ago. At the time it was focused on sharing a bit of my photography. As you know, over the last 4 years a lot has happened. This site has become much bigger than photos. It is about photography, good news, adventure, and the untold stories of the world. Basically, everything Hossedia.com was back in 2000. So here we are, right back where I started 10 years ago, Hossedia.com. It feels good, it’s like an old friend has returned. I plan on staying here for a long time. I will also be announcing a few cool things that I have been working on which are part of the larger Hossedia umbrella. Plus, how many times in your life do you get to make up a word, and bring it to the attention of the mainstream? Feel free to start calling yourself a Hossedian…or go out this week and get your Hossedia on….or if you see something awesome…just say that it is Hossedia.

Anyway, I hope everything went smoothly for you and you didn’t encounter any disruptions in your service. I apologize to all our RSS subscribers for the mass reader updates. Actually, after reading this story, my real hope is that you can embrace my old friend Hossedia like I have. If you have any links or bookmarks pointed here, can you please update them to Hosseida.com. Thanks much!

NEW FACEBOOK PAGE! We have a new facebook page that is bigger, stronger, and faster. Please give it a like.

Hermosa Beach Photo Walk

I will have more details tomorrow, but if you want to get a jump on it check out the event we have planned for Dec 17th at the Hermosa Beach Pier. RSVP Here.

Today’s Image

Here we are looking west from the Toroweap overlook on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The photographer in the foreground is Jason. He was a very nice guy from LA and I didn’t have the heart to ask him to move. Actually, I kind of like the photo with him in it.

Filed Under: Arizona, Gitzo Traveler, Grand Canyon, HDR, Landscape, Nikon 17-35 2.8 AFS, Nikon D700, Sunsets, Travel

The Unpainted Desert – Part IV

November 23, 2011 by Justin Balog 2 Comments

I hope everyone enjoyed this week’s look at the ‘Unpainted Desert’. I thought I would close it out with this image of dawn in the Grand Canyon. It is such a majestic place. In the still of the night you can hear the rapids raging a mile below your campsite. An evening under the stars at Toroweap will surely put things into perspective for you.

I know Thanksgiving is a USA thing, but that won’t stop me from thanking my wife, my folks, my mother-in-law, my friends, and all of you who visit here on a regular basis. You all continue to encourage me and support my belief that the world needs a little beauty and levity during the week. I appreciate your comments, emails, and conversations. I’m very thankful for all of you.

Black Friday Savings

There is a lot of savings being offered in the world of photography right now. Here is a short list of ones you might be interested in.

Nik Software – Get the entire suite of Nik Products at a huge savings. I pretty sure my coupon code LIGHTASMAGIC still applies.
Think Tank Photo – If you purchase over $50 worth of gear using any of these links, Think Tank is giving our readers 11 free products to choose from. Here is a list of Think Tank products I personally use. Airport International V2.0, Retrospective 10, Skin System and Digital Holster.
Reed Photo – My favorite lab hasn’t announced it yet, but they told me they are putting something together. So, if you are looking to print something, give their FB page a look.
BH Photo – Well, they have pretty much everything and some really good deals running on their holiday specials page.

Filed Under: Arizona, Grand Canyon, News, Nik Software, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, Series, Software, The Unpainted Desert, Travel, Uncategorized

Southwestern

July 5, 2011 by Justin Balog 12 Comments

If you are an email subscriber, you might need to click here to view the movie.

It has been a long time in the making, but I finally finished the project I began working on in April. These movies aren’t easy to make. Not only do you have to be focused and patient on location, you have to keep the muse going when you get back home. That being said, it is totally worth it! I’m more than happy with how it turned out. I really hope you like it too. If you have any questions about it, feel free to leave a comment. You can also find several of the locations from the movie in my ‘Behind The Scenes’ gallery on facebook.

About The Music: Sixteen Horsepower, the band featured in the Southwestern, is a band with its roots here in Colorado. Growing up they were more myth than reality. Before I was old enough to see them at a bar, I would sit outside the clubs hoping to catch a listen.They are a storied band, with a long history, and these songs will never do them justice. You will at least get a taste of the Denver music scene, but to truly understand the genius of Sixteen Horsepower, you need to see them live. I intended the playlist to be 16 songs long, however iTunes only accepted 9 of my suggestions.

Click Here to load the playlist into iTunes.

Movie Stats:
1 – (AND LAST) Ascent of Angel’s Landing in Zion, NP. (These videos are not for the weak of heart)
1 – Camera: Nikon D5000
1 – Lens Nikon: 16-85 VR
100 – Seconds of time lapse footage
3,000 – Images used to produce the time lapse footage
3.3 – Hours of realtime shooting
5 – National Parks
7 – Days
1 – Once in a lifetime moonrise over the Grand Canyon (too bad my battery ran out)
1500 – Miles

Filed Under: Grand Canyon, Moving Pictures, Nikon D5000, Travel, Utah

Me, The Tree, And The Pentatonic Scale

May 17, 2011 by Justin Balog 14 Comments

I decided to post another image from our recent adventure to the Grand Canyon. It will probably be the last for a while. I have so many beautiful image and memories I want to relive them many months down the road. However, like the moment I described in yesterday’s image, I experienced another beautiful moment just a minute or two earlier while making this photo. The sun wasn’t up as I approached the Toroweap overlook. It was still quite dark and my headlamp guided the way. I noticed this beautiful tree just kicking back and staring at the sky. I decided to join in to take a look myself. There it was, this brilliant moon just hanging in the sky waiting for me to awake. I’m not sure if it was waiting on me, Ptolemy might disagree, but I did feel like I was sharing a cool moment with the tree. As the tree and I stared at the sky, I began to hear a beautiful melody in the distance. It was the most melodic whistling I had ever heard. There was something unique, that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I listened intently, because it was so surreal. I then realized it was Jason, another photographer we had met the night before. Although he currently lives in LA, he was originally from Japan. His whistling was pentatonic like most Asian music. The tree and I stood there for another minute or so listening to his 5 beautiful notes, together, staring at the moon. Eventually he noticed me and invited me over to share an apple with him.

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Filed Under: Arizona, Grand Canyon, Landscape, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, Processing Notes, Travel