The First Sunrise of Fall 2014

Sunday morning I went to Waterfront Park to try to capture the first sunrise of fall over the Ohio River Bridges Project. As I drove into town in the dark a heavy rain began falling. I thought the chances of a dramatic sunrise were slim but I went ahead with my plans. I wanted to show the progress that has been made on the bridge towers and the cranes along the site. Fortunately the rain was short lived and the sky was beginning to open up as the sun rose. Unfortunately the clouds were still blocking the first rays of sun and I had to content myself with capturing the last remnants of them.

I shot three frame bracket sets of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures because I knew that I would need to process the scene as HDR in order to reveal details in the shadows and highlights. I neglected to bring a tripod with me but I did have a monopod so I boosted my ISO to 1600 early in the shoot. I was aware that doing that would introduce some noise but it was the best compromise I could be comfortable with. The first image in this post is one of those ISO 1600 brackets and close inspection will reveal a lot of grain in the final image.

Ohio River Bridge Towers on the First Day of Fall 2014
Ohio River Bridge Towers on the First Day of Fall 2014

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The second image is a little later in the morning after the sky had cleared somewhat and show the tower bases and the cranes in a lot better light. I was able to capture the first direct light on the bridge and the work site but by that time the sun was much higher in the sky and the clouds had moved out of the scene. If you look closely you can see all three tower bases and the progression of their construction. Near shore there is only one tower base visible while in mid-river the towers are a little taller and further north you can see the towers there have passed above the Kennedy Bridge in the background.

Ohio River Bridge Towers on the First Day of Fall 2014 #2
Ohio River Bridge Towers on the First Day of Fall 2014 #2

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