Tag: Roads and Highways

November Sunset #2

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Ohio River Bridges Project at Sunset #2
Ohio River Bridges Project at Sunset #2

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This HDR image was also taken from the Big Four Bridge approach ramp Wednesday evening. I was down in Waterfront Park to capture the sunset over the Walsh Construction Downtown Span section of the Ohio River Bridges Project when I saw that the few remaining clouds were picking up a gorgeous pink light. I stuck around and was lucky enough to get this image.

My processing was pretty straightforward using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to merge and align the bracket set and using the balanced preset to start my final processing in Aperture 3. It took a while to get the contrast and color to suit me but after a few minutes of experimenting I settled on this image.

Cranes As Far As I Can See….

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Cranes As Far As I Can See....
Cranes As Far As I Can See….

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I like this image because it shows how many cranes are being used to build the Ohio River Bridges Project. There are cranes on barges in the river and further back on the horizon there are more cranes building Spaghetti Junction. I was on the Indiana approach looking south into Louisville; I composed the image to take advantage of all the vertical elements in the scene.

I used my standard three frame bracket set and NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to create this HDR image. After merging them I returned it to Aperture 3 for color adjustments and sharpening.

On the Crew Boat with Lee

Posted on by Nick Roberts
On the crew boat with Lee and Jeff
On the crew boat with Lee and Jeff

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In order to get to the various work sites on the Ohio River Bridges Downtown Span the workers have to ride in the crew boat. Lee Carson is the Operating Engineer assigned to run the boat. Lee works from before sunrise until after dark ferrying people from job to job. With work progressing on all the piers in the river he is constantly traveling from place to place getting engineers, workers and supervisors where they need to be throughout the day. Lee also has the inside scoop on what is happening at each pier and often gives me tips about significant events that are happening each day. Whenever I have question about where the action is taking place on a given day all I have to do is ride with Lee.

This image is from a three frame bracket set using +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures. I then merged the three exposures in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 using 100% anti-ghosting to get the two figures to render properly. After merging the files and applying a preset I built for this particular day’s shooting I returned the image to Aperture 3 for final color channel adjustments and sharpening.

 

Early Morning In Waterfront Park

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Big Four Morning
Big Four Morning

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I shot this image on Saturday morning last week before the crowds arrived. The morning was relatively calm and the park had only a few people in it at that time. There were many people walking up on the bridge to catch the first moments of the day as others were busy exercising on the lawn around the swing garden. I like the peaceful feeling that the early morning light gives the image.

Saturday Morning Boot Camp
Saturday Morning Boot Camp

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This is one of my favorite angles to photograph the Swing Garden and the Louisville Skyline from the Big Four Bridge. I like the way the geometric layout of the park comes out from this vantage point. On the right can be seen the barges and equipment that are being used to build the piers for the new Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Crossing. Walsh Construction seems to be taking great pains to keep the job site clean and orderly which is their way of showing respect for the Louisville Waterfront Park and it’s wonderful features such as the Swing Garden and the Lincoln Memorial with the wonderful sculptures by Louisville’s native son and nationally renowned sculptor, Mr. Ed Hamilton.

This image is a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV HDR image created using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3. After merging in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 I returned the HDR image to Aperture 3 for additional adjustment to the contrast, color channels, sharpening and minor cropping. I also added a slight vignette to the final image to lead the viewer’s eye into the frame.

In the coming months I will be sharing images from the Ohio River Bridges Project as I shoot it from inside the actual job sites. I will be sharing photos of not only the physical progress of the project; I will also be showing the men and women who are doing the work to build this much anticipated bridge and it’s transformation of the Louisville waterfront. I hope you will follow along as work progresses and sign up for email announcements when I post new work; to do that simply follow SpeedDemon2.com via the sign up box at the top of the page.

 

Safety Orientation at Walsh Construction

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Morning Ride
Morning Ride

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Yesterday morning I went to Safety Orientation at Walsh Construction to learn the protocols for job site safety while shooting on the Ohio River Bridges Project. It was a beautiful morning and since I was early I decided to capture a few shots of my bike while waiting for the class to start. I really liked the cloud patterns and the Colgate-Palmolive clock in  the background and set up my composition around them and the quarter view of the bike.

I shot my standard bracket set 0f +2, 0 and -2 EV to get my frames for an HDR image I was envisioning. Back at my desk I merged the three frames using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I also tone mapped and adjusted the image detail and colors. I then returned the HDR image to Aperture 3 for final adjustments and sharpening.