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When the official ceremony was over I decided that I wanted to see who would be the first person to set foot on the Big Four Bridge yesterday. The officials running the opening had decided not to allow any media to go up on the bridge ahead of the general public so I had to think of another way to capture the first person to set foot on the bridge. Earlier in the morning I had scouted out a shooting spot on the ground under the ramp; as soon as the gate was opened I headed there. I had two women in my viewfinder, who were walking up the ramp ahead of the crowd, when this runner passed them just as they all three passed under the bridge.
I turned my attention to the runner and captured him as he reached the halfway point on the ramp. I was able to capture him in several frames until he reached the landing. After that he disappeared onto the bridge and I wasn’t able to see him any longer from my vantage point. This morning’s paper reported that the first person to reach the Indiana side was a woman bicyclist; she must have passed this runner on the bridge.
If anyone knows who he is I would like to have his name so that I can give him proper credit for being the first person to set foot on the bridge after the dedication. If you know him you can leave his name in the comments section of the blog and I will come back and give him the credit he is due.
I was shooting brackets for HDR yesterday too but I chose this single exposure to process. My only photo editor for this image was Aperture 3.
Very nicely done, Nick. I love the way you framed the city skyline. Congratulations on the project, and thanks for sharing the images, and your workflow, each step of the way. I am about to start a new project that includes renovation of two historic buildings and a 1970s tower, and the demolition of two old, non-descript buildings and the construction of a new one in their place. You have inspired me to blog my way through the project!
Thanks Lauren, I really appreciate all your comments and the fact that you have been following me. I think blogging through a project such as this is a great idea because it allows you to become a part of it rather than just an observer. It also serves the purpose of reporting how the project progresses and draws in readers that are interested it it too.
Great shot; looks like you caught the moment with the runner in this spot. I like the saturation on his shorts, helps draw my eye in. Being the lone figure is great and all that blue sky works. Color or B&W? Because of his shorts, I think color was the right choice. Might I suggest a different crop though. Keep the sky but add a bit more edge darkening so it isn’t just flat color. Then crop below the bridge so you don’t include the two buildings with the red peaks-down. That crop will make the two light poles to the left become more visible, get rid of them. Cropping this way will make it appear that the buildings are really tall and the runner is running on a bridge through the sky. This will imply that the buildings are taller than they are which would be a cool thing in this shot.
Of course I reserve the right to take all this back if you do it and it looks bad 😉
Mark
While I appreciate your critique I’m afraid such a crop would remove all meaning from the image. I did take your advice and went back to the image and applied your suggestions but in the end I decided that the way I have cropped the image is the best way for me. Thanks for commenting Mark.
My pleasure.
One more thing, as far as the existing color and the existing crop goes, I might suggest pulling the saturation down on the red roofs of those two buildings and pull down the saturation on the building on the left with the green windows. You want your runner to grab the stage and those two items are competing with him. You don’t have to go greyscale, just pull them down enough that they don’t compete.
Hey Nick. I, merely accidentally, captured a photo at the beginning of the ramp which includes this “jogger/runner” as he was making his way around everyone to ensure he was well ahead to be the first person. Nice photo!
I saw that shot on Facebook he was definitely intent on being the first one to the bridge.
Love the crispness.
Thanks so much…