Processing Notes

Colorado Ice Fisherman

January 31, 2013 by Justin Balog 6 Comments

….have one heck of a view!

Photographer’s Note – I’m grateful scenes like this are less than 45min from my front door. This image was a quick grab with my Nikon D7000 and 18-200 VR I. Yep, in Colorado you can just be cruising along, pull over, shoot a quick photo and then go rescue some dogs (that’s another story for another time). I performed the black and white conversion using Nik Silver Efex Pro. However, before I did that I used Nik CEP ‘Details Extractor’ selectively on the tops of the mountains.

Filed Under: Black & White, Colorado, Nik Software, Nikon 18-200 VR, Nikon D700, Processing Notes

Dreams In The Distance

January 14, 2013 by Justin Balog 3 Comments

Howdy! I hope you had a great weekend. It was cold here in Colorado…like Chicago Cold…like it hurt to breathe cold…like I spent the entire weekend in hibernation cold. Thankfully, I will heading to the Yucatan in the near future.

News – I will be making an appearance on Trey Ratcliff’s variety hour tonight. Once I have a link I will try to share it on the various social channels, so keep an eye out.

Today’s Photo – I shot this image just north of Mea Arch in Moab, UT. After a memorable sunrise at the arch, it was time for some coffee! As I drove back to camp….this scene caught my eye. Coffee was going to have to wait….

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Filed Under: Lightroom 4, Moab, Nikon 70-300 VR, Nikon D700, One Click, Processing Notes, Travel, Utah

The Stars Were Aligned

January 9, 2013 by Justin Balog 8 Comments

If I enjoyed operating in the cold and dark of the night, I could really get into astral photography. Although I consider myself a bit of yeti, I’m better suited for astral photography closer to the Equator. I do enjoy it, and have a special lens just for it, the Nikon 24mm 1.4g. However, I like to use it in flip-flops. This image was shot on New Year’s Eve, a bit before midnight. You are looking at Twin Lakes Colorado. On the other side of those mountains is Aspen. I wish I had captured the Milky Way, which was off to the right a tad. A great friend that was with us that night, was experiencing the Milky Way for the very first time in her life. Sorry I missed it Amy…I promise to get it next time!

Lightroom 4 Users – I processed this image (with a single click) using an AWESOME new pack of presets I found from a very cool Pacific Northwest photographer, Dave Morrow. The presets are super easy to use…seriously, they are rad! Do yourself a favor and pick up this great pack of presets here ( $4.99 CLICK TO GET THEM )

Don’t believe me? Here’s the before image….

Filed Under: Colorado, Lightroom 4, Nikon 24mm 1.4, Nikon D700, One Click, Processing Notes, RRS Versa 24, Tips

Gooseberry Mesa

January 8, 2013 by Justin Balog 4 Comments

Today’s photo is of the famed Gooseberry Mesa outside of St. George UT. I shot the image handheld with a Nikon D700 and 28-300mm VR II. I was just driving by on a mountain bike trip a while back, jumped out, shot the photo and off I went. Later I rode around the top of the mesa…one of my favorite mtb. trials of all time!

In terms of processing….

1) I applied a standard camera profile and lens correction in Lightroom 4.
2) Then I opened it up for editing in NIK SEP 2.
3) I applied the ‘full dynamic’ (harsh) preset
4) Burned the bottom edge.
5) Bumped up the fine structure in the clouds a bit.
6) Then used a few selective control points to shape the light on the mesas.
7) The I seleniumed it…I’m a sucker for selenium!

Here’s the before/after screen shots from Nik SEP 2.

Before

After

Filed Under: Black & White, Nik Software, Nikon 28-300 VRII, Nikon D700, One Click, Processing Notes, Travel, Utah

Cabin In The Woods

January 3, 2013 by Justin Balog 4 Comments

Yep, I’m that guy that leaves a New Year’s Eve party to go photograph the cabin it’s happening in. The days of massive parties are long since behind me. Heck, I’m lucky if I make it to midnight. I’m more a ‘few friends and board games’ type of guy now….so it wasn’t that big of deal that I left. There was plenty of hot-coco waiting for me when I returned. I hope everyone enjoyed their New Year!

Continue for Capture/Processing Notes…

Filed Under: Colorado, Lightroom 4, Nik Software, Nikon 17-35 2.8 AFS, Nikon D700, Processing Notes, Really Right Stuff