American Express moment.

If theres one person who needs a American Express card (does anyone remember the comericals or im dating myself?) is Steve Balogh, i posted a quick blip on Steve and Doug Gatto a month back but, I thought alittle more depth was due scince, for most of us we wouldnt have any pics of ourselves doin what what we love. I was gonna right this big detailed story of Steve, but I think its better coming from the Artist, and That is what Steve is in many ways a talented photographer thats self taught, like most artists, and muscian talented in playing many forms, and of course a regular Joe that just loves be around bikes, and friends. i was also gonna include a shot of his mug but for some reason i couldnt..

Note, some people think I'm a professional photographer, I'm actually
employed as a manufacturing engineer. I hate calling it a hobby, as I've
enjoyed some pretty good perks from it. This took a while, I had to edit
out too much detail that I started with, hopefully this flows better and is
interesting to read
I caught the "photo bug" on my eighteenth birthday when my mom gave me a
35mm Minolta point&shoot camera. It still amazes me to this day just how
well that camera works. That immediately lead me into buying 35mm SLR
cameras, extra lenses, and experimenting with different films. I had also
purchased back then a special Macro lens and experimented with closeup
photography.

Since then my accomplishments are as follows:

1. I shot thousands of dollars worth of product photos for my previous
employer, using pretty much just the macro lens with our parts set up in a
light booth. The photos were used in a company brochure and presentation
books for a presentation for a "Big Three" customer.

2. Afterwards my current employer sent me for vision system training in
the mid-nineties to learn how to use the digital imaging software used in
factory automation. This was before digital cameras were being massed
produced for the public. My photograpghy skills gave me an edge at
troubleshooting. I was rewarded with some new knowledge of digital
imaging, and a pretty decent salary increase.

3. I've shot about eight weddings af friends, + I was also paid to shoot
an anniversary party.

4. Other subjects I've picked up in the last few years include
musicians. A former coworker of mine is also a rap artist, and paid me do
do a photoshoot for his website and other promotional materials. Myself,
I've played bass since I was 16, added an electric guitar about four years
ago, and three years ago I picked up a rare instrument called an "NS/Stick"
created by Emmett Chapman and Ned Steinberger. I recently photographed the
entire Chapman Stick festival in Ann Arbor. My photos were used in a
website article for the event, and some may be used by one professional
Stickest in his upcoming instructional book for the Chapman Stick. I will
not know until next year what may or may not be used. My photos from the
Stick festival included the Stick inventor Emmett Chapman himself, along
with some of the top professionals known worldwide. Getting photos of
Emmett actually performing is something few people ever get a chance at.

I switched to digital cameras around 2000 starting with a point and
shoot Nikon Coolpix 950, then moving over to the Canon D30, selling off all
my old Minolta film gear that I used since 1984 (However I kept my point &
shoot Minolta from 1984, and still have it today). In 2004 I sold the D-30
and picked up Canon's MKII digital SLR.
Last year I picked up the full version of Photoshop CS2, bringing back
some of what I learned from my vision system training.

My first digital race pics were MTB pics of my friends, but I eventually
found it easier to shoot more pics, as sometimes it's hard to tell who
people were when they went by. Sometimes I would miss people I knew by
trying to shoot only those I could recognize. I soon learned that I could
combine my cycling and photography interests in one afternoon, by shooting
racers I don't know. Races really test your skills, you only get one
chance to take each shot, there are no re-takes if you make a mistake.

If someone were to ask me what the best photo I've ever taken was, I
would have to say the one of Mike Rabe smiling while riding his cross bike.
He hated having his photo taken. After he passed away, I ended up
finding out from his family and friends that was one of the best photos
ever taken of Mike. Most people ended up with pics of his hand trying to
cover their lens. I took that photo with a huge telephoto lens I had just
received the week of that race. He wasn't racing, just riding over to the
finishline to watch. I've been offered cash for that photo by his family,
but I've always turned it down. Some things in life are worth far more
than money, you just can't put a pricetag on things like that.
Thanks Steve from all of us.