Tag: texture

Mitchell South Dakota

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Mitchell South Dakota VFW
Mitchell South Dakota VFW

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I was in Mitchell South Dakota a couple of years ago and found myself walking around the business district early in the morning. I came upon the local VFW Post and really liked the way the morning sun was casting shadows on the wall. I liked the juxtaposition of the circular kitchen exhaust fan, and it’s shadow, with the rectangular windows, the plaster over door and the street sign’s shadow as well as the texture of the concrete blocks in the wall. I decided to process this image in Black and White to emphasize the texture and lend an air of nostalgia.

Pattern and Texture Closeups

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Closeup of Rusty Retaining Straps
Closeup of Rusty Retaining Straps

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Whenever I’m on a job site I keep my eye open for interesting patterns and textures to shoot as closeups or macro images. On this particular day I was on the job site to capture a large crane that had been brought in for a pick that night. I was scouting for good vantage points to capture the crane at work that evening when I came upon these retaining wall straps in the material storage area. I was intrigued by the surface texture and the undulating pattern that they revealed so I took a few bracket sets to work with later.

I almost always work in HDR and I decided to merge three frames in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and experiment with them. For this first image I applied the Balanced Preset and then boosted the definition to enhance the texture of the oxidized steel and reinforce the pattern. I included the long shadow in the upper left of the frame and the short shadow in the lower right side to create a sense of depth and movement in the final composition. After returning the merged file to Aperture 3 I adjusted the mid-contrast and boosted the  saturation and luminance in the red and yellow color channels. I then applied sharpening and a small vignette to complete the image.

Retaining Straps Closeup
Retaining Straps Closeup

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I used a similar workflow for this image of the same straps that had been opened up and stacked for use. In this case I also worked in the blue color channel to contrast the blue and orange colors.

Closeup of Retaining Straps in Black and White
Closeup of Retaining Straps in Black and White

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The final image is a Black and White version I created using Topaz B&W Effects and a Platinum preset. I also applied a white vignette and a frame from the same software before returning it to Aperture 3 for final contrast and sharpness adjustments.

 

 

Texture Tuesday

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Footprint #1
Footprint #1

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Footprint #2
Footprint #2

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Tread #1
Tread #1

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Tread #2
Compactor #1

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When walking around a construction site I like to look for interesting textures and patterns. On this particular day I found these tracks from men and machines on the dry dirt under an overpass. I thought they would be interesting for the patterns of the equipment juxtaposed against the boot prints of the people who were walking in the area. These are HDR images that I used NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3 to process.

Abstract Images From Construction

Posted on by Nick Roberts
The Nuts and Bolts of Construction
The Nuts and Bolts of Construction

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The image above is of some construction fasteners used in the heavy construction concrete forms on the Ohio River Bridges Project that Walsh Construction is doing in Louisville KY. I liked the contrasts of the colors and textures and the randomness of the various items. I processed it using Topaz Clarity and Aperture 3.

Rock Drill Sediment Abstract
Rock Drill Sediment Abstract

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This image shows the sediment that settled on the rock drill being used to drill the piers for the Ohio River Bridges Project. I really liked the topographical feel that the sediment left on the metal surface as the water evaporated and dried while the tool was not in use. I shot it as a three frame bracket set and processed it using NIK HDR Eex Pro 2 and Aperture 3.

 

Using Topaz Adjust to Process Vintage Tin Photos

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Rusty 1940 Chevrolet Detail
Rusty 1940 Chevrolet Detail

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On my motorcycle ride up US 31 yesterday I came across a 1940 Chevrolet sedan sitting outside BABBS Auto Collision Center in Sellersburg Indiana. It was around 12 o’clock and the sun was pretty high in the sky which is almost always regarded as a poor time to shoot anything. I decided to stop anyway and shoot some rusty vintage tin for processing with Topaz Adjust. I knew from experience that the Spicify preset in Topaz Adjust would reveal a rainbow of iridescent colors in weathered dark paint that is streaked with iron oxides from the rust around it. As you can see I was well rewarded and captured some incredible textures and colors in this image. I finished it with a small black border that just felt right to me when I applied it.

Rusty 1940 Chevrolet Detail #2
Rusty 1940 Chevrolet Detail #2

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Here’s another version of the same car from another frame that I captured with a normal exposure value. The previous image started out as a 2 stops underexposed frame and this normal exposure produced even more iridescence when the Spicify preset was applied in Topaz Adjust. As with the previous image I added that small black border I have come to like for these sorts of images.

Rusty 1940 Chevrolet Detail #3
Rusty 1940 Chevrolet Detail #3

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Same basic processing as the two previous images using Topaz Adjust and the Spicify preset.

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