Tag: arts

Spaghetti Junction Sky

Spaghetti Junction Sky
Spaghetti Junction Sky

Click on the image to open it in another window and view it full size.

The point where the three Interstate Highways intersect in Louisville is known locally as Spaghetti Junction. The weather was changing yesterday from a cloudless sky in the morning to this winter sky around mid afternoon. This image overlooks the Spaghetti Junction intersection and southeast Louisville. It appeared that there was a grid that had been overlaid on the city sky that extended into infinity. The perspective of the clouds intrigued me and I decided to capture it.

I first processed this image in Aperture 3 where I made a few adjustments to the RAW file before taking it into NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I worked on enhancing the texture and tonality of the image. I then returned it to Aperture 3 where I applied some exposure, saturation and vibrancy changes. I lowered the saturation slightly and increased the vibrancy in order to achieve the overall feeling I felt when I shot the scene. I had a couple of dust spots that needed attention so I used the Spot and Patch tool in Aperture 3 to clean them up. I then took the image into Photoshop CS5 where I manually adjusted the vertical perspective to compensate for the distortion my 12mm lens had created. Back in Aperture 3 I applied a very slight vignette before saving the image for the web.

Rivets and Rust

Rivets and Rust
Rivets and Rust

Click on the image to open it in another window and view it full size.

Last month I read an interesting book,  The Photographer’s Eye by Michael Freeman , which is a fantastic book on the subject of composition. In one chapter Freeman discusses the many possibilities that often lie within a single frame. He points out how by selectively cropping the image the photograph can be used to tell several different stories.

I decided to take the image I posted this morning, Perry and Thomas, and see what other ways I could use it. By cropping the figures from the left side of the frame I was able to create an entirely different image that speaks to texture, color and composition without any visible human involvement.

A New Year Begins

A New Day Dawns
A New Day Dawns

Click on the image to open it in another window and view it full size.

I thought it would be appropriate to begin 2013 with an image of dawn. I see the new year as one of opportunity and possibility, peace and contentment, exploration and discovery and most of all excitement. None of us know what the future has in store but as long as we face it head on we can weather any storm and gain new skills and knowledge.

To all of you who read this blog I hope to give you my very best at sharing my vision of our world as it appears through my lens. I will share my attempts at being a better photographer and artist. I hope to learn more and share more about photography, HDR photography in particular, and the steps I take in crafting my images.

Whether you are new here or you have been following me since I began this blog last May I hope you will visit on a regular basis and that you will engage in commenting on the work I share. I think that critiques are the path to greater understanding and growth in the arts and the comments of all are welcomed.

May this year be the best of our lives and lead us forward into learning ever more about our passion for photography and art.

Happy New Year to you all!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas

Click on the image to open it in a new window.

Best Wishes to you all. May this day be everything you hoped for. For me the day will be spent with our family, watching the joy in the children’s eyes, enjoying their company and feasting on my mother-in-law’s wonderful Italian cooking, spaghetti and meatballs.

This image is from a couple of years ago and was taken with my Nikon D50. The D50 didn’t do very well at high ISO and consequently there is some noise in the photo but I liked the composition and the colors. I was using Topaz Adjust a lot back then and processed it with Topaz Adjust and OnONe PhotoTune before finishing it in Aperture 3.

Peace To All…. Nick