Tag: exposure values

Big Four Bridge Sunrise

Big Four Bridge Sunrise
Big Four Bridge Sunrise

This HDR image of the Big Four Bridge in Louisville’s Waterfront Park was captured looking east over the Ohio River from the war memorial in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The morning was bitter cold and a weather front was moving in from the west just before sunrise. The clouds were a harbinger  Continue reading “Big Four Bridge Sunrise”

Vendome Copper and Brass Works, Louisville, KY

Yesterday I downloaded the newest version of NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 which just came out this week. I had seen a webinar by NIK that showed the newest features of the app and I wanted to try it out. I am very impressed with the upgrade; the new version is much more refined than it’s predecessor which I already thought was the best HDR app I had used.

Today’s image was taken at Vendome Copper and Brass works here in Louisville. Vendome Copper and Brass Works is the main manufacturer of distilling equipment in the USA and the opportunity to photograph there was wonderful. They use a lot of copper to build these stills and distilling columns which made the place a fantastic place to photograph. I have several more images that I took while there and will be sharing them over the next few days.

This photo was processed from 5 frames taken at +2, +1, 0, -1, -2, Exposure Values. I could have just as easily used shutter speed to bracket the shots but my method is to adjust EV when shooting HDR brackets. I then took the images into NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I merged them and then applied the Realistic (Deep) preset and did some minor tweaking of the settings. After that I returned the image to Aperture 3 for sharpening and final output. If you are looking for an app for HDR processing I highly recommend NIK’s app, like everything else from NIK it is loaded with features and performs flawlessly.

 

Louisville Waterfront Sunset

Waterfront
Louisville Waterfront Sunset

I took this image last week from the Clark Memorial Bridge. I used five exposure values +2, +1, 0, -1, -2 to capture the scene. I then processed them in NIK HDR Efex Pro to merge and tonemap the image. I also reprocessed the merged image with the anti-ghosting feature set at medium to clean up the vehicles on the highway and any ghosting in the clouds.  I chose the Realistic Strong preset as my starting point and then tweaked the sliders until I had the colors and details where I wanted them. After that I returned the image to Aperture 3 for a little boost to the color temperature and sharpening.

I am especially pleased with the way the sky is reflected in the YUM Center in this image. I had been trying for several weeks to catch a sunset that was dramatic enough and high enough in the sky to reflect in the building’s convex glass. I checked cloud maps every evening for almost a month in hopes of being able to capture a dramatic sky such as this one. Many times the clouds would be where I wanted them 30 minutes before sunset only to fade away just as the sun set. On this particular evening the cloud map showed a  lot of clouds out to the west so I set up my camera and tripod on the Clark Memorial Bridge and waited for their arrival. I was rewarded by these clouds moving in at just the moment  the sun was setting.

Studying your location and accessing relevant sources, such as the cloud map, can really help when seeking to capture an image that you see in your mind’s eye. Keep this in mind the next time you wonder why you can’t seem to catch the scene you are seeking, patience and planning will eventually pay off if you do your part too.