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Golden Hour on the Clark Memorial Bridge

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Golden Hour on the Clark Memorial Bridge
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This image is on the Clark Memorial Bridge approach from Louisville looking north into Indiana. I chose this composition because I like the way the bridge railing and sidewalk lead the viewer’s eye into the image. The afternoon glow of the “Golden Hour” on the bridge and in the sky is a nice contrast to the coolness of the shadows in the lower third of the image.

I processed this image in NIK HDR Efex pro using the Realistic (Strong) preset as my base point. After the six images were merged I applied the anti-ghosting at the high setting which cleaned up the cars on the bridge and reduced the ghosting they were exhibiting. I then slightly adjusted the shadows and highlights sliders before saving the image back into Aperture 3. I then reopened the photo in Aperture 3 where I did some further enhancement to the colors and vibrancy before the final sharpening.

Homage to the Renaissance

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Reflections in a Chrome Eye

Sometimes the simplest things can yield surprising results. As I searched the Streetrod Nationals for reflections in cars I came across this car parked in the grass which was a great mirror for the two red vehicles parked nearby. I thought about the way the painters of the Renaissance used convex mirrors in their paintings to capture distorted perspective and decided to go with that concept.

I would call this a radial composition due to the many concentric circles which focus the viewer’s eye on the image within the image though it also conforms to the rule of thirds. The colors in the image are primarily red and green which are complimentary colors and lend harmony to the scene and further strengthen the composition. I also enjoy the way the colors in the wheel are inverted from the center section where the green grass and blue sky are revealed; to the outer portions of the wheel where the green is now on the upper side and the blue has moved to the bottom. The reds of the reflected vehicles benefit too from the red jewel on the tire’s valve cap which adds a small foreground element to the image.

I first processed this image with Aperture 3 where I cropped it slightly to remove extraneous details that were interfering with my initial concept for the photo. I then I opened it in Topaz Adjust for the final enhancements which intensified the colors in the chrome and the scene within the center cap, along with the sky.

Buick Fireball Eight

Posted on by Nick Roberts

At the NSRA Streetrod Nationals you will see many creative uses for vintage engines. This Buick Dyna Flash Fireball Eight is one such engine. It was installed in a Reo roadster which made it a very unique combination. The car itself was a faint pastel green and the engine was this fantastic deep jade green with white lettering. I wanted to capture the paint job on the engine because it was as finely detailed as the overall car. All the raised lettering that was stamped into the spark plug cover really caught my eye because it had all been perfectly hand painted.

Once again I am trying to show how by taking an entirely different approach to a subject, that I have been photographing for over 40 years, I was able to come up with a unique image that I hope will resonate not only with car people but with anyone who appreciates streamline influenced art deco design.

I chose to frame it diagonally to move the viewer’s eye through the frame from left to right. I used Aperture 3 and NIK HDR EFex Pro to saturate and intensify the color in the image.

Whiskey Ridge Roadster

Posted on by Nick Roberts

I found this track style roadster last year at the NSRA Streetrod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky. I really liked the way this car was built and it’s racing style but I didn’t want to just shoot it from a standing position. I got this angle by laying down in the grass beside the car and shooting upward. I saw this composition in my viewfinder and knew immediately that I was onto something.

Back in my studio I decided to use NIK HDR Efex Pro to process the image. As I was going through the presets it occurred to me that this image was a good candidate for black and white. The preset I settled on caused some haloing around the cockpit of the roadster which I thought really fit with the image. After a few minor tweaks to the contrast I returned the image to Aperture 3 for final output as you see it here.

The composition uses circles to unify the image and adheres to the rule of thirds. The texture and position of the tire creates foreground interest while the perspective of the roadster draws your eye into and through the image into infinity.