San Diego

Castles Under Construction

July 18, 2012 by Justin Balog 4 Comments

Hmmm…that is a pretty lame title. Try to cut me some slack, I have to make up titles every Monday through Friday. They aren’t always easy and the muse isn’t always with me. I posted the processing screenshot of this image this weekend in our various social circles. Here is a breakdown of what I did. The image is a 7 shot HDR image, processed in Photomatix. The resulting .TIFF was the color/contrast corrected in photoshop. At which point it was then brought to life using this technique I pioneered with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. I added a little Glamour Glow to the arches to make it a bit more dreamy and finally ran some dark luminosity masks to deepen the shadows. I also cleaned up a bunch of light spill in Photoshop.

For the adventurers out there, who could careless about how the image was processed and just want to know where it is so they can visit it, it is from Balboa Park in San Diego, CA. Hope to see you there!

Filed Under: California, HDR, Nik Software, Nikon 17-35 2.8 AFS, Nikon D700, Processing Notes, Really Right Stuff, RRS Versa 24, San Diego, Travel

The Mysteries Of The Night

May 22, 2012 by Justin Balog 5 Comments

Can anyone guess where this is? I’ll give you a hint, the folks in San Diego might have an advantage. If not, maybe you can ask your friends. 100 points to the fist correct answer.

Photographer’s Notes

It’s easy for me to get into rut. When you try to share images nearly everyday, you start to do things a certain way and sometimes it’s hard to experiment. I try my best to keep things fresh for both of us. I want to make sure you are enjoying your visit here and I need to make sure I am growing as an artist. That being said I decided to jump into onOnePhoto Tools to give this image a little something’ something’. I forgot how easy and fun it is to apply some cool effects that help your creative vision along. I thought I’d share the before and after to prove it to you.

Before onOne Software Phototools

After onOne Software Phototools

Filed Under: California, HDR, Nikon 17-35 2.8 AFS, Nikon D700, onOne Software, Processing Notes, Really Right Stuff, RRS Versa 24, San Diego, Travel

iPhone Friday

April 20, 2012 by Justin Balog 0 Comments

Next week we will be starting our journey along the shores of La Jolla. I downloaded the photos, and I’m pretty excited to share them. I’m still deciding if I want to run the series for one week or two? Until then, here is a sneak peek at the San Diego Area via Instagr.am. You can see where these photos were taken here on TheFrontier.

iPhone Photography San Diego

Fitness Challenge Update

While we were out in La Jolla, I was able to get in some time on the paddle board. The big race is less than a month away. I’ll be honest, I’m a bit nervous. However, thankfully I will have a practice run with one of the best SUPers on Maui. Here is a shot of me dialing in some practice. At least, I have come a long way from not being able to stand up on the board back in October! Back then all I could do was paddle on my knees and play some mean ‘air paddle’ in front of the Stevie Ray memorial.

Filed Under: California, iPhone Friday, iPhone Photography, La Jolla, San Diego

iPhone Friday

February 10, 2012 by Justin Balog 7 Comments

Last weekend when I was out in San Diego, I had the opportunity to sit down and have dinner with the fine folks from Nik Software, the makers of Snapseed. You can read my full review of it here. To pay tribute to their hospitality, I thought I would share some photos I made around their hometown. The following photos were all made with an iPhone 4 and Snapseed. Thanks for the great tool Nik. The best $4.99 I have ever spent. Also, thanks Josh for the ride home. I was a little nervous about returning on the bus.

You can purchase Snapseed for your iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iHomeComputer) device here.

Over dinner, I learned a couple of fun and interesting things about the company. The one thing I did learn, and I think it is apparent in the quality of their software, is that they have a very harmonious balance of engineering and creative talent. I often get asked, why buy Nik Software when you can just do it in Photoshop? After having a beer with one of their engineers (who has a PhD in differential geometry and loves listening to some Billy Idol when he is algorithming his way to glory), you realize that Nik can do things with pixels that other software just can’t. Nik’s creative team then takes the collective brain power of 65 brilliant engineers and funnels that into one rockin’ product.

Have a great weekend! I look forward to seeing you back here on Monday. I will be sharing some screen shots of what I’m working on this weekend over on Facebook and G+ so feel free to give those social outlets a like or circle.

Fitness Challenge Update

Well, things are going along pretty good. I have added a new type of workout. I wanted something that I can do quickly, confuses my muscles, and is intense. This is what I have come up with.

10 stair sprints
10 pullups
50 pushups
40 Thrusters w/ 45lbs bar
50 Dips on the side of a bench
100 crunches
1/20 of a mile of lunges
50 kettle-bells
10 burpies

I started at 16:58 for the workout and now I am down to 15:00 even. Things are improving!

Filed Under: California, iPhone Friday, iPhone Photography, San Diego

iPhone Friday

February 3, 2012 by Justin Balog 2 Comments

Last weekend I was out in San Diego training for the Olukai paddle board race in May. It’s pretty hard to train for a stand up paddle board race in Colorado during the winter. I was staying with a good friend and didn’t have a car so I ended up walking, taking ferries, and riding the bus to the beach. I Went full minimalist on the camera gear and only carried my iPhone. It was pretty liberating. I instagr.am(ed) my way across San Diego. Here is what I saw along the way. You can find the complete adventure, and the photo locations, here on The Creative Frontier.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, we will see you back here on Monday!

iPhone Photography San Diego

Fitness Challenge Update

If you are a regular here, you know I run a fitness challenge every year. We all state our goals in Nov. and try to make them happen by May. My goal this year was to do a stand up paddle board race called the Olukai. When I set the goal, I had never even stood on a paddle board, let alone race one. That was the beauty of it! It was totally uncharted waters (pun intended). I had no idea what to expect or what I would encounter. Instead of updating you about my fitness, I thought I’d share a few of the things I have experienced that I never would have had I not tried something totally new. I share these things hoping that it will encourage you to do the same. I’m learning more and more about the journey….the destination is just icing on the cake.

Spent some quality time with a few of my photo buddies in Austin.
Paddled a five mile stretch of Lady Bird Lake on my knees.
Was nearly run over by the UT women’s crew team….they weren’t stopping.
Actually went on a photo-walk with some of the nicest guys you could meet.
I participated in a Bordeaux wine tasting with thousands of other people around the world.
Fell in love with nookie…no, not that nookie…I’m talking fried chocolate chip cookie dough.
Visited (by paddle board) the Stevie Ray memorial in Austin.
Reconnected with an old college cycling teammate.
Rode cruiser bikes with my wife for 30 miles along the California coast.
Surfed a few waves.
Overcame (well, overcoming) a healthy fear of white sharks. It still bothers me a bit when I’m alone in the grey waters a mile off the coast of California.
Chatted with a Navy Seal and thanked him for his service.
I was scolded by a surf shop operator for drinking coffee…apparently he couldn’t keep up with my questions at 10am.
Paddled along side a family of dolphins.
Got Plineyed(sp?)
I’m spending a lot of time on a balance board in my living room.
Got into land surfing (long boarding around the parks here in Colorado w/ a paddle).
On my paddle board, I explored the kelp fields off of La Jolla and watched sea lions play.
Fell off my board more times than I would like to admit.