Ontario

Voted On The Island

February 28, 2012 by Justin Balog 9 Comments

Niagara Falls Ferris Wheel

Because I shoot a lot of photos over the course of year (2011, it was around 30,000), I created a gallery on my various social outlets where I post photos that don’t make it to the blog. What else am I supposed to do with all those image? This photo was really well received by the kind folks that follow us over on Facebook, so I decided I better share it with everyone. The people spoke, and it was voted on the island (errrr…blog). If you’re curious, this is the ferris wheel overlooking Niagara Falls.

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Filed Under: Canada, Gitzo Traveler, HDR, Niagara, Nik Software, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, Ontario, Processing Notes, Software, Travel

Leading Up To The Falls

February 22, 2012 by Justin Balog 2 Comments

When you are standing near Niagara Falls, it is easy to get hypnotized by the falling water. It really is an amazing sight. If you ever visit, I’d suggest your find a way to view the falls from above. They have all sort of hotels around the area and a few observatories. From above, the perspective shifts. You can see the entire river for miles as it leads up to this wonder of the world. The entire time I was secretly hoping someone upstream would throw a huge log in river so I could have watched it go over the falls.

The Davis Phinney Foundation Opportunity Of A Lifetime

If you are a regular reader, you know I do my best to promote the Davis Phinney Foundation. You can read more about it, and my passion for it here. I was notified by their coordinator that they have a special involvement with this year’s Ride The Rockies. I promised them I would pass along this message. They only have 1 spot left, so if you want a guaranteed spot on an iconic ride and help people living with Parkinson’s disease, here is your opportunity.

Contact me if you are interested and I will put you in touch my contact at the DPF.

From the DPF……………

The Davis Phinney Foundation is thrilled to announce that we have been selected as one of the nonprofit collaborative partners for the 2012 Ride the Rockies annual bike tour, one of Colorado’s premier cycling events. One of the many benefits of this partnership is that we have received ten guaranteed discounted entries to this year’s event, which we are using to form a Davis Phinney Foundation team. Since you are one of our loyal supporters, we want to extend to you the opportunity to be a part of this exclusive team before we make the entries available to the public.

THE RIDE
More than 3,500 cyclists are expected to apply to the Ride the Rockies lottery in hopes of securing one of only 2,000 entry slots. As part of the Davis Phinney Foundation team, you’ll participate in this fully supported, seven-day trek through the mountains of Colorado. The non-competitive tour begins on Saturday, June 9th and finishes on Friday, June 15th. If you have wanted to add an epic ride to your bucket list, your wait can be over. You’ll be supporting the Davis Phinney Foundation while living out one of your dreams.

FUNDRAISING
To receive one of these coveted entry slots, you will be asked to raise (or donate) $2,500 to the Davis Phinney Foundation. One hundred percent of the $25,000 raised will fund programs that help people living with Parkinson’s to live well today. Specifically, the donations will help bring The Victory Summit® symposium (a day-long event for people with Parkinson’s and their families) to Colorado in 2012/2013.

EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS
In addition to the benefits you’ll receive by participating in Ride the Rockies, riders with the Davis Phinney Foundation team will receive a commemorative jersey, a signed copy of The Happiness of Pursuit by Davis Phinney, dinner with the team, and most importantly, the knowledge that your participation and donation will help improve the quality of life for countless numbers of people with Parkinson’s.

Filed Under: Black & White, Canada, Niagara, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, Ontario, Tips, Travel

Under The Falls

June 8, 2011 by Justin Balog 25 Comments

Sometimes you have to put your camera at risk to make an image. This was a risky situation for my gear. Before you ride the elevator down to the bottom on Niagara Falls, you are issued a cheap plastic poncho to keep you dry. They don’t issue one for your camera. Needless to say, it was a once in a life time moment, and that wasn’t going to stop my D700 from doing its job. I tried my best to time the waves of mist that rolled over us. Not for fear of my gear, but I wanted to avoid water drops on my lens. I caught a break in the mist, and made the image. No kidding, I shot 2 quick frames and my camera was soaked. It was like I showered with it. That being said, the Nikon weather sealing held up and it is still doing its job. I’m proud of it!

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Filed Under: Canada, HDR, Niagara, Nik Software, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, Ontario, Photomatix, Travel

Niagara Through The Window

May 30, 2011 by Justin Balog 4 Comments

I made this image of Niagara Falls from the window of a hotel room. I posted a time lapse of the falls from this same location over on our Facebook page. How I wished for someone to make a run at the falls in a barrel. I could have used it to add a bit of scale and perspective to the image. It’s hard to tell just how massive the falls are. If only someone were to wave from a barrel, you could easily tell that it’s 34 million gallons of water a minute falling 165ft.

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