Tag: Clark Memorial Bridge

Louisville Bridges Panorama

Louisville Bridges at Sunset

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This photo is from Louisville’s Waterfront Park near the Kennedy bridge which carries I-65 across the Ohio River. The bridges on the left and right, the Clark Memorial Bridge and the Big Four railroad bridge were constructed in 1928. I find it amazing that they both were built in one year. In contrast today there is another bridge that will be built, starting later this year, alongside the Kennedy that will require almost three years to complete.

This image was created by cropping a single frame into the panorama format. I then processed it in NIK HDR Efex Pro and Aperture 3. I wanted to emphasize the perspective of the scene by positioning myself almost under the Kennedy and shooting the image with my 18-55mm lens set to 18mm at f9.

Jack Alpha On Top Of Big Four Bridge

Jack Alpha the Ironworker

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This image is a single frame that I used NIK HDR EFex Pro 2 and Aperture 3 to process. By using NIK’s U-Point Technology feature I was able to enhance and fine tune the tonality of the oranges and blues of Jack’s welding jacket while maintaining the natural colors of the river and skyline in the background. I was in the man lift basket which allowed me to shoot him from a safe vantage point above the bridge. I am especially pleased with the way the arc of his welder has maintained it’s brilliance and the way the sparks are spraying to the right side of the frame.

This composition has several elements that make it strong. There is the angle of the bridge safety rail  in the foreground to the Kennedy bridge in the middle ground and the Clark Memorial Bridge beyond that. There are also the complementary colors of the jacket, safety harness and the river below all of which work in harmony to unify the composition. Finally there is the way the safety harness and Jack’s arm  create rhyme in the photograph along with the repetitive linearity of the bridges and handrail.

Across the River

Kennedy Bridge Sunset

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This image was captured from the Jeffersonville, Indiana shore of the Ohio River looking west toward Louisville. It was a great evening for a sunset and I chose to ride over to Indiana to see what the Louisville skyline would look like.

I processed this single frame in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to enhance the colors in the sky. After adjusting the tonality to create the feeling I was looking for I returned the image to Aperture 3 for final sharpening and some additional tweaks to the definition, vibrance and recovery sliders as well as performing the final sharpening on the photo. Before sending it to NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 I applied some RAW pre-sharpening in Aperture 3 which I have discovered is a good way to start processing an image.

Louisville Skyline

Spring Skyline

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This image is the Louisville skyline viewed from the Indiana shore of the Ohio River. The bridge is the Clark Memorial Bridge which carries US 31 across the river. I shot this image early this past spring and processed it in NIK HDR Efex Pro and Aperture 3.

Morning on the Big Four Bridge Project

Morning sunrise on the Big Four Bridge jobsite.
Start of the Workday

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This image is a single frame that I did the RAW processing in Aperture 3 on before taking it into NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I used the Deep 2 preset as a starting point. I had to fiddle with many of the tonality sliders before I could get it where I wanted it. I had to be careful with the structure slider in particular because it was emphasizing the noise in the sky. I then brought the image back to Aperture 3 and performed a little cropping and noise reduction before saving this final version.

I feel really fortunate to be allowed up here to shoot this project. The men on the job are justifiably  proud of their work in rescuing the bridge and converting it from a former railroad bridge into a pedestrian bridge linking Louisville with Jeffersonville Indiana.