Tag: Aperture 3

Sam’s Volvo Build

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Sam's Passion Black and White HDR version
Sam’s Passion Black and White HDR version

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This photo of my friend Sam was taken when he was building a Volvo streetrod in 2013. Sam is an incredibly talented car builder with several cars to his name. He usually chooses cars that other folks ignore for one reason or another. His past projects include a Ford Anglia, Nash Rambler, 53 Willys Hardtop, 60 Ford Falcon and a 60s Studebaker Lark. His reputation for sound construction has people lining up to buy his creations even before they are finished. Sam likes them “loud and nasty” and he usually manages to stuff a V-8 into these small cars.

Sam’s passion is chassis engineering and he likes to work with unibody cars. This Volvo was the latest one to roll out his shop door and like all most of his previous builds it was sold in a matter of days. I always enjoy a visit to his garage because I never know what he’s going to tackle next. The night I shot this image he was totally engrossed in what he was working on and that gave me a chance to shoot without his knowing what I was shooting.

This image is a black and white conversion of a color HDR image that I converted using Aperture 3. All adjustments were done with the tools in Aperture 3 which is still my favorite image editing software. I entered it last night in the Louisville Photographic Society monthly competition for “People Working” and it took First Prize.

Sam's Passion Color HDR Version
Sam’s Passion Color HDR Version

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I am including the color HDR version that I used to show the difference that the two processes have on the same image. This image is from a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures that I merged using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and completed in Aperture 3.

Sam at work on his Volvo Project.
Sam at work on his Volvo Project.

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Sam's Garage in Black and White
Sam’s Garage in Black and White

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I’ll finish this post with another color HDR image that I processed as a black and white using a preset in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 that I adjusted to my taste. One thing to notice is the way that HDR allowed me to expose for the shadows in the garage and also expose another frame that allowed the fence and the outdoors to render in the final image.

Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span Construction Site

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Ohio River Bridges Downtown Span Construction Site
Ohio River Bridges Downtown Span Construction Site

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This image shows the Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span construction site looking south from the Indiana approach. The triangular form in the right hand side of the photo is the base for the western section of the north tower that will support the new bridge. Across from that form you can see the rebar structure that will also be formed and filled with concrete to build the eastern section of the towers. These two sections Continue reading “Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span Construction Site” →

Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span Construction Progress

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span, January 2014
Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span, January 2014

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Yesterday morning I decided to shoot an overview of the Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span foundation progress. I wanted to show the entire river crossing foundation work that has been accomplished so far. I went up on the Big Four Pedestrian Bridge to get far enough upriver to capture the view from shore to shore where the bridge will cross the Ohio River. I knew I wanted a panorama so I shot with the final cropping in mind.

I used a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures that I merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and finished in Aperture 3. Currently most of my HDR work is being sent back to Aperture after very minimal tone mapping in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 using the Balanced preset as my starting point and then adjusting exposure, contrast, highlights and shadows in Aperture 3. I also adjust the individual color channels and sharpen in Aperture 3 as well as cropping the image to the final size proportions.

Sparks Were Flying

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Welder using a cutting torch to make some angle iron brackets.
Welder using a cutting torch to make some angle iron brackets.

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I love it when sparks are flying! Whenever I see someone using a torch or a grinder I try to capture the spark patterns that are formed. It is as if the worker is putting on a miniature fireworks display and the kid in me cannot resist watching.

This HDR image was created from a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to merge them. After merging the three images I applied a custom preset I have built and saved in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. I then returned the HDR file to Aperture 3 for final adjustment and sharpening.

One thing I discovered in merging these images was how through use of the anti-ghosting feature I was able to show how the gases used in the cutting torch could be isolated and show where they are pushing the sparks away from the torch.

Sunset Over the Ohio River Downtown Span Construction

Posted on by Nick Roberts
The Sun Sets On The New Bridge Site in Louisville KY
The Sun Sets On The New Downtown Bridge Site

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In this view of the Ohio River and the John F. Kennedy Bridge you can see, in the river, the first evidence of the foundations for the bridge towers that will eventually rise into the air and carry the Downtown Span of the Ohio River Bridges Project here in Louisville Kentucky. As the foundation work progresses it is becoming easier to see the path that the new bridge will take as it crosses the river and connects Kentucky and Indiana via Interstate 65. When the project is completed the new bridge will carry all northbound I-65 traffic while the existing Kennedy Bridge will become the southbound component of the I-65 river crossing.

This HDR image is composed of a three frame bracket set using +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures which were then merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and finished using Aperture 3 for the final contrast, color channel, sharpening and detail adjustments.