Processing Notes

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

San Francisco Sunrise

March 26, 2013 by Justin Balog 9 Comments

This was one of the most creatively heartbreaking images I had ever shot. The night before, the staff of the Fairmont (find out more about it in our travel guide) arranged for me to photograph the sunrise from the hotel’s roof. Pretty cool right?!?! After hanging out and chatting with a very friendly security guard, the sun slowly made its way up. Not being familiar with a San Francisco sunrise and not wanting to overstep my welcome, I gave up, shot this photo and returned to my room. I peeked out the window only to see a hint of what I was sure was the most incredible sunrise I have ever seen. Imagine all those clouds lit up as if they were on fire…well, I never made it to the roof in time to photograph it. That sunrise will forever be my white whale…it was the one that got away. Ah well…it made for a good story and this photo turned out alright.

Photographer’s Note – This is a single image shot with a Nikon D700 and 17-35mm 2.8 (I longed for that lens for over a decade). I brought it to life with Lightroom 4 and a few Nik Software filters. Did you see that you can get the entire Nik Collection for only $149.00 now…WOW!!!

Click Here To Get It – If you use the coupon code LIGHTASMAGIC you save even more money and get it for $126.00…yesterday it was $500!

Filed Under: California, Gitzo Traveler, Lightroom 4, Nik Software, Nikon 17-35 2.8 AFS, Nikon D700, Processing Notes, San Francisco, Travel

Visions of Belize – Under The Mayan Sky

March 21, 2013 by Justin Balog 2 Comments

This will be our last look a Belize for a while. I have a lot more photos to share, and they will make their way to the site in due time. For now, I leave you with this image. When I look at the night’s sky. I remember that this is the same sky that the Mayan’s looked at 4000 years ago. It is the same sky the inspired them to build pyramids, make art and write music. I wonder and I hope that it will inspire all of us to do the same. I hope you have enjoyed this tour of Belize. Better yet, I hope it has stirred your own muse to visit. If not for the scenery and history, visit the people. We made many friends while we were there and I hope to see them all again soon. Thanks Belize!

Photographer’s Note - To process this photo I used Dave’s Kick Butt Lightroom preset. I highly recommend them. CLICK HERE to get them.

Before Dave’s awesome presets….

Filed Under: Belize, Lightroom 4, Nikon D700, One Click, Processing Notes, Really Right Stuff, RRS Versa 24, Sigma 15mm Fisheye, Tips, Travel

Visions of Belize – San Ignacio

March 13, 2013 by Justin Balog 1 Comment

Folks in tourism never know what to make of us. People normally ask, “Where should we go? What’s worth checking out?”…inevitably they suggest a beach or some other tourist trap. You probably know by now, I’m not the ‘swim up bar’ type. To avoid this, I like to ask…”Where do YOU go, where do YOU like to hang out?”. If you want to learn about the world, you don’t learn about it through landscapes (well, if you’re a geologist you might) you learn about it through people. Those are the places you want to go. On this day, we politely asked the woman below for directions. An hour later we had walked with her to the local market, shopped for produce with her, had lunch together and exchanged contact information. I shot the above photo in the local market she took us to. During our visit we learned she was a retired school teacher in the town of San Ignacio. This information would serve us later when we were stopped and questioned by the police….no kidding, we told the officer we had lunch with what turned out to be his school teacher. At that point we were friends and the city was ours to explore (complete with a police escort if we so desired..we didn’t, the town of San Ignacio is a comfortable place to walk around).

As I always say, the world is far too small to be a jerk (normally, I use another word) and this just goes to prove it!

Meet our tour guide and savior…Amina Estrada!

Photographer’s Note – As you know, the Nikon 24mm 1.4g has become my storytelling lens of choice over the last year. This is just another reason why I love it so much. The image was converted to B&W via Nik SEP 2.

Filed Under: Belize, Black & White, Lightroom 4, Nik Software, Nikon 24mm 1.4, Nikon D700, One Click, Processing Notes, San Ignacio, Tips, Travel, Visions of Belize

Just South of Currie Nevada

February 20, 2013 by Justin Balog 4 Comments

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the rest of this week is a look at the images I made on an adventure planned via my iPhone with the help of a longtime prospector. The goal was simple…we asked Jay to find us some ghost towns. That he did…The adventure took us from the town of Crescent Valley, NV to Elly, NV by way of Currie and Cherry Creek.

This image was shot just south of Currie, NV at what used to be a Pony Express stop. Years ago this was rocking rail line transporting ore from the areas around Elly, NV. Now…well, you can see what it has become.

Photographer’s Note - I shot this photo with a Nikon D7000 and 18-200 VR Lens. I processed it using Lightroom 4. To achieve the selenium look I used a ‘Duo-Toning’ technique to add some blues to the shadows. If you are interested in this lens, I have a full review of it here (Click Here).