Moab

The Hills Have Eyes…..

May 18, 2011 by Justin Balog 13 Comments

…and a post office. I have been wanting to find this post office for the last 5 years or so. The town of Cisco, UT sits just outside of Moab and I pass it a couple times a year when I visit for my spring mountain biking. Surprisingly, I hadn’t been able to find it until this year. Why ‘surprisingly’ you ask? Because there are only a handful of 7 buildings in the town. They might be occupied, they might not? It sure feels like someone is watching you. Anyway, I finally found the post office. Set up to make this image. Then my wife noticed a light was on in the shack behind me. It was a dark and gloomy day, so I grabbed a quick shot and got the heck out.

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Filed Under: Black & White, Gitzo Traveler, HDR, Moab, Nik Software, Nikon 17-35 2.8 AFS, Nikon D700, Photomatix, Processing Notes, Travel, Utah

The Lonely Bunker

April 28, 2011 by Justin Balog 7 Comments

Another experiment in ‘journey’ trumping ‘destination’. I have passed by this little bunker on the side of the road outside of Moab, UT for about 15 years now. Every time I do, I say to myself, ‘I really want to photograph that’. After 15 years, I finally made it happen. With an entire day to drive from Moab to Bryce Canyon, we had plenty of time to explore what the desert had to offer.

Photo Note: I was traveling pretty light on this trip, and didn’t bring my Nikon 45mm PCE lens with me so I used onOneSoftware’s Focal Point to achieve the blurred focus effect. Works pretty slick, and it’s way cheaper than the lens!

Newsletter: I’m excited to announce our new newsletter. As of now I am planning on sending it out about once a month. It might be less frequently, but no way will it be more frequently. I have been hard at work on a new project that I think is going to be pretty fun. I’m also in the middle of a new site design. Sign up for the newsletter and you will be the first to know when its live. If you don’t see the sign up form below, click here.

Our newsletter is powered by Aweber. You can read their privacy policy here. The newsletter will come out every month or so, and there is no way in heck we will spam you. Guaranteed!

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Filed Under: Americana, Gitzo Traveler, Moab, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, Travel, Utah

6965

April 25, 2011 by Justin Balog 12 Comments

We are back from a week of touring the desert. We had a fairly loose plan, so discovery and adventure was big component of the trip. This was probably the second image I made on the trip. We saw this lone engine, out to pasture, near Moab UT. How often do you get a chance to stare down the barrel of a locomotive? Not often, so we decided to go a bit out of our way and chase the image. A lesson I learned on this trip was that your biggest enemies are hesitation and schedules. If you feel there is an image out there, make it. You can never lose by trying. Also, keep your schedule loose so that you can act on your instincts. On these trips, it’s the journey and not the destination. You just have to be lucky enough to be traveling with someone who shares the same idea.

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Filed Under: Gitzo Traveler, HDR, Moab, Nikon D700, onOne Software, Photomatix, Processing Notes, Sigma 15mm Fisheye, Tips, Utah

These Are The Places

April 17, 2011 by Justin Balog 7 Comments

Howdy! I hope you had a great weekend. Sorry for the quick post, but I’m spending a couple days chasing images for my next cinematic project. If all goes well, I hope to be able to share more later this week. I don’t want to jinx it.

Filed Under: Black & White, Landscape, Moab, Travel, Utah

Mural

July 8, 2010 by Justin Balog 0 Comments

I’m sure the mural on the side of this service station in Cisco, UT was once the the jewel of the desert. Now the store stands empty, but the artist’s pride carries on.

Capture Notes:

Nikon D300
Nikkor 17-35 AFS
Gitzo Traveler

Aperturef/4.0
Focal Length30 mm
ISO Speed200

Processing Notes:

Capture – 9 images @ 1 EV
Photomatix – HDR/Tonemapping
Photoshop – Curves adjustment
Nik Color Efex Pro – Tonal contrast
Sized for web
LightAsMagic.com