Click on the image to enlarge it in another window.
Yesterday morning was one of those mornings where getting up early really paid off. The temperature was 19 degrees with snow showers moving in from the west just before sunrise. The combination of the weather front and the cold temperature made for an incredible display of color as the sun rose. Continue reading “Ironworker’s Sunrise”
Click on the image to enlarge it in another window.
Morning on the Ohio River is so peaceful and serene even inside the Ohio River Bridges project. This morning was interesting to me because the sun had already climbed into the sky and was above the break in the clouds creating a rich glow on the horizon and in the water. I wanted to emphasize the contrast straight lines of the Big Four Bridge in the background with the curves of the Caisson in the foreground while still capturing the wonderful morning light.
This is an HDR image created from a three frame bracket set using -2, 0 and +2 EV exposures. I merged it in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and finished it using Aperture 3 for color channel, sharpening and contrast adjustments.
Click on the image to enlarge it in a new window.
Each morning after the crew meets to go over the day’s activities and assignments many of them are transported to their worksites by Lee the crew boat operator. I have learned that Lee has a good handle on what is taking place at all the pier locations on the river, he know when something significant is going to happen and often directs me to interesting activities throughout the day.
I chose this image to show Lee’s boat arriving to carry the workers to their jobs for the day. I liked the way the boat’s wake smoothly rippled across the river and the contrast of the safety vests on the workers with the deep shades of blue and green in the sky and river. Seeing the scale of the project is always difficult but whenever there are people in the scene it becomes clear what a monumental undertaking this is.
I shot this in HDR and processed it using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3.
Click on the image to enlarge it.
Today I’m sharing two versions of the same image to show how Topaz Clarity and Topaz Restyle can be used to create different feeling images from the same exposure. In the each version I worked the underexposed frame from the bracket set I shot for HDR processing. I opted to use this frame because I liked the way it emphasized the sky and obscured the foreground. The Clarity version allowed me to bring out the colors in the sunrise sky and the reflection in the foreground while still keeping the equipment subdued yet readable.
Click on the image to enlarge it.
In this second version I used Topaz ReStyle and selected the Fiery Night Preset to really change the sky colors.As you can see it has an entirely different feel from the first image The only difference was the Topaz program I chose to use on the original image.
I intentionally allowed the exposure to be dark in the foreground to lend an air of mystery to the final image. One of the things I like about how ReStyle worked was the way it didn’t create or amplify any noise in the dark areas of the image.
==========================================================
I have an affiliate relationship with Topaz Labs, and earn a small commission on any sales that are made by using the Topaz Labs link below, which helps support this site. Even if you aren’t ready to make a purchase you can use the link to access a Free 30 day Trial of Topaz Labs products to determine whether or not they will fit your own digital workflow.
http://www.topazlabs.com/705.html
==========================================================
Click on image to enlarge it in another window.
Today I’m sharing the three images that I used to create this HDR image. I merged them in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and applied the Balanced preset. After that I returned the image to Aperture 3 for final adjustments.
Click on image to enlarge it in another window.
Click on image to enlarge it in another window.
Click on image to enlarge it in another window.
As you can see each of the three images probably would not have produced such a broad dynamic range. Using HDR processing allows me to take a bracket set such as this and create a powerful and dynamic image.
