Tag: whiskey

Exploring an Abandoned Distillery (Part 4)

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Temple of the Whiskey Spirits #3
Temple of the Whiskey Spirits #3

Click on the image to open it at a larger size in another window.

I thought I would end the week with a couple more shots of the distillery I was exploring. This first image was processed in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 using the Realistic 2 setting from a five shot bracket set. After merging the five shots and adjusting the Tone-Mapping and Tonality sliders I returned the image to Aperture 3 for some minor straightening and cropping as well as sharpening it for output.

I cropped into the image slightly to make the column on the right a stronger foreground element and to direct the eye into the frame. The repitition of the columns unifies the scene and also creates movement within the frame.

I decided to do a Black and White version as well which is the image below. I used NIK Silver Efex Pro to convert the photo to B&W and applied an orange filter to punch up the contrast slightly. I chose the Kodak Panatomic X ISO 32 film setting to get the dramatic blacks that I used to get from the same film in the darkroom.

Temple of the Whiskey Spirits #3 (B&W Version)

Click on the image to open it at a larger size in another window.

Exploring an Abandoned Distillery (Part 3)

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Looking Back to Another Time

Click on the image to open it at a larger size in another window.

I can’t stop working with these images. I’m so intrigued by the architecture and the way nature is slowly taking back the place. I keep trying to understand what this place is and why it was allowed to fall into ruin. It is highly unlikely this property will ever be restored and therefore in time nature will completely consume it and the stories it could tell.

The image here is another bracketed set of five exposures that I merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 before applying the Realistic Deep preset. I made some adjustments to the tonality and tone compression sliders and then returned the image to Aperture 3 where I added a vignette, adjusted the saturation and vibrance and finally sharpened the photo.

The composition is a symmetrical composition which I don’t often use but in this case it seemed to be the best choice to capture the scene and convey the mystery and stillness of the place.

Exploring an Abandoned Distillery (Part 2)

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Temple of the Whiskey Spirits #2

Click on the image to open it at a larger size in another window.

This image is another from my exploration of the abandoned distillery I talked about yesterday. I am very curious about the purpose of this structure and will probably go back there soon to further explore the site to see if I can figure out it’s purpose.

This is a bracket set of +2, +1, 0, -1, -2, that I merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and then used the Deep preset as my starting point before adjusting the black and the white points, the contrast and the structure sliders. I then took it back into Aperture 3 where I boosted the vibrancy and details slightly before adding a vignette and some sharpening.

Window to a Spirit World

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Window to a Spirit World
Window to a Spirit World

This is another bracketed shot of five exposures processed in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3. By using five exposures I was able to capture both the exterior detail of the brick and stonework and the barrel inside the building. I returned the tone mapped image to Aperture 3 where I cropped and straightened it as well as adjusted the sharpness, vibrancy and exposure slightly.

The blacks you see are a mold that forms on everything around a distillery. It is nurtured by the evaporation of the alcohol as it ages in the barrels. The distillery folks refer to the evaporation as the “Angels Share” which probably has it’s roots in the religious beliefs of the Scots, Irish and Welsh people who brought the distillation of whisky to Kentucky in the 18th century as America pushed westward from the coastal settlements.

The image is a symmetrical composition because the window is centered in the frame while within the window the barrel on the left side of the opening shifts the viewer’s eye and adds movement to the photo.

Resting Spirits

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Whisky barrel warehouse
Resting Spirits

Yesterday morning I joined 25 or 30 fellow Louisville Photographic Society members for a tour and photo walk at the oldest continuously operating distillery in the United States, Buffalo Trace Distillery, located in Frankfort, Kentucky. The tour included a great deal of the lore and history of bourbon making and it’s deep roots in the central Kentucky region. We were very fortunate to have as our guide a third generation employee of the distillery Freddie who gave us a behind the scenes look at the distillery and the history of whiskey in Kentucky. Freddie took us into the warehouses and explained the way that the whisky ages in the barrels and why they are placed where they are in the warehouse. The barrels placed at the lowest levels are there for a long slow aging process that imparts the characteristic flavors of the charred oak barrel and the tannins in the oak to the bourbon inside.

I shot this image as a bracketed set of exposures for HDR processing. I first processed it as a color HDR image in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I tone mapped it using the realistic preset before returning it to Aperture 3 for final adjustment of the vibrancy, clarity and sharpening. Once I had completed that I created a duplicate image and reopened the duplicate in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I used the Black and White preset to convert it. I then applied a yellow filter which enhanced the highlights and deepened the shadows.

The image below is the color version that I started with to create the Black and White photo. With this image I am showing you that there are sometimes several ways to create a memorable image by taking advantage of the tone mapping ability of NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and then applying different presets to the final image.

Resting Spirits #2

I think the composition is strong in both the images due to the perspective and the leading lines taking the viewer’s eye down the corridor to the lights in the background. The HDR process allowed me to capture the detail in the structure and the barrels which would not have been possible in a single exposure.