Oregon

Cannon Beach Revisited

March 28, 2013 by Justin Balog 3 Comments

As you might know, I never go back and reprocess photos. Why? Well, I feel that as creative people there are so many photos ahead of us that there really isn’t a reason to revisit the past. The future is bright and we should continue to explore. I know some folks don’t agree with me, and it takes discipline not to do it, but that is just the way I work. Everyone is different and that is totally cool. You might be asking yourself…didn’t you already post this image. The answer is yes, I did post this composition last year. However, this is an entirely different image. I shot a bunch of images on Cannon Beach when I visited it…you can’t help it. The place is amazing! Hopefully I’ll have a bunch of information for you about photographing Cannon Beach soon. I’m beginning work on my next free photo guide, ‘The Photographer’s Guide to Cannon Beach’. I will let you know when it’s complete!

Photographer’s Note – This is a single image shot with a Nikon D700 and 24-20mm lens. I brought it to life using Lightroom 4. To achieve the smooth dreamy quality in the clouds and water I used a 10stop Neutral Density (ND) filter which acts like really dark sunglasses for your camera. It allows you to turn a 1 second exposure into over a two-minute exposure. Pretty cool right?

Filed Under: Cannon Beach, Lightroom 4, Nikon 24-70, Nikon D700, One Click, Oregon, Processing Notes, Really Right Stuff, RRS Versa 24, Travel

A Sailor’s Nightmare

January 17, 2013 by Justin Balog 7 Comments

Could you image facing a storm out at sea and trying to navigate the Oregon coastline? There would be no place to hide. I’m sure many a ship have fallen in such conditions.

Photographer’s Notes - I shot this image with my traditional walk around travel kit which at the time was a Nikon D700 and 28-300mm lens, but is now a nikon D7000 and 18-200mm lens. I’d be happy to answer any questions about why I switched to a DX travel kit from my FX rig. The image was initially processed in Lightroom 4, the back and white conversion was handled with Nik Silver FX and some finishing touches were done in Photoshop.

Filed Under: Black & White, Cannon Beach, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, Oregon

Trillium Lake

December 27, 2012 by Justin Balog 12 Comments

Trillium Lake is located at the base of Mt. Hood outside of Portland, OR. It is a magical place bustling campers, canoes, and the occasional swimmer. I originally shot this image as a panorama consisting of 3 images. However, I just loved this single center image and the balance the rock and Mt. Hood created. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Photographer’s Note: The image itself was single frame brought to life with Lightroom 4. I shot it with a Nikon D700 using a 45mm PC-E lens. All of which was mounted on a Really Right Stuff Versa 24. To achieve the motion blur in the water, I slowed my shutter way down using a 10 stop neutral density filter.

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If you’d like to take the course, which I highly recommend, here’s the link and the coupon code. A big thanks to David for making this savings happen! Have a great weekend everyone…..

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Filed Under: Landscape, Nikon 45mm PC-E, Nikon D700, Oregon, RRS Versa 24

Enchanted Stream

December 20, 2012 by Justin Balog 1 Comment

Be honest, if I were to tell you, “Meet me at the Enchanted Stream”. And you came across this place, you’d think this is it…right…be honest? You’d be right…this is quiet little stream in Oregon’s Columbia River Gorge!

Photographer’s Note: This is a 7 image HDR shot with my trusty Nikon D700/28-200 lens. After I toned mapped the images in Photomatix, I performed a few Lightroom adjustments and then it was off to onOneSoftware’s Perfect Effects and Focal Point. Finally, I performed a few selective curves adjustments and in Photoshop and called her good!

New eBook

A new eBook just hit the streets from the good folks over at Craft&Vision. The eBook, A Sense of Place, is pretty cool. It talks a bit about travel photography, but at the same time provides some exercises you can do at home. It’s pretty slick…oh, and beautiful!

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Filed Under: HDR, Landscape, Lightroom 4, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, onOne Software, Oregon, Processing Notes, Really Right Stuff, RRS Versa 24, Travel

Bridge Over The River Zen

December 18, 2012 by Justin Balog 6 Comments

Today I thought we could all use a moment of Zen in our lives. This is a little bridge that spans the Koi pond in Portland’s Japanese Gardens. It’s a beautiful and quiet place that enforces strict ‘no cell phone’ and ‘tripods by permit only’ rules. I wasn’t sure about iPhone Photography so I asked for forgiveness rather than permission.

Photographer’s Note: If you’re looking for a fun way to manage cool focus effects without having to spend several thousand dollars on fancy lenses, you might want to take a look at onOneSoftware’s Perfect Effects. They have a cool tool that allows you to produce some neat effects. I used it here in this image.

Filed Under: HDR, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, onOne Software, Oregon, Portland, Tips, Travel