Category: Architecture

Spaghetti Junction Sky

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Spaghetti Junction Sky
Spaghetti Junction Sky

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The point where the three Interstate Highways intersect in Louisville is known locally as Spaghetti Junction. The weather was changing yesterday from a cloudless sky in the morning to this winter sky around mid afternoon. This image overlooks the Spaghetti Junction intersection and southeast Louisville. It appeared that there was a grid that had been overlaid on the city sky that extended into infinity. The perspective of the clouds intrigued me and I decided to capture it.

I first processed this image in Aperture 3 where I made a few adjustments to the RAW file before taking it into NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I worked on enhancing the texture and tonality of the image. I then returned it to Aperture 3 where I applied some exposure, saturation and vibrancy changes. I lowered the saturation slightly and increased the vibrancy in order to achieve the overall feeling I felt when I shot the scene. I had a couple of dust spots that needed attention so I used the Spot and Patch tool in Aperture 3 to clean them up. I then took the image into Photoshop CS5 where I manually adjusted the vertical perspective to compensate for the distortion my 12mm lens had created. Back in Aperture 3 I applied a very slight vignette before saving the image for the web.

Perry and Thomas

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Perry and Thomas Cutting Rivets
Perry and Thomas Cutting Rivets

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While installing the handrails on the Big Four Bridge, Perry and Thomas had to cut some of the large rivets away to make room for the handrail base. The pneumatic chisel they are using is a handful and the job goes better when they work as a team.

I wanted to capture the movement as they cut the rivets so I used a slow shutter to allow their figures and the tool to blur while retaining the texture on the steel. I wasn’t sure how the images would turn out but once I loaded them into Aperture 3 I saw that I had captured the essence of the workers and the impact that the chisel makes as it hammers away at the stell.

I started by processing the image with Aperture 3 where I did some initial RAW adjusting and sharpening. I then took it into NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I applied a realistic preset and some tone mapping. After that it was back into Aperture 3 for final sharpening and some saturation and vibrancy adjustments.

Big Four Bridge Ramp at Sunset

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Big Four Bridge Ramp at Sunset
Big Four Bridge Ramp at Sunset

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I wanted to capture the beauty of the November sunset and include the access ramp architecture as well as the pattern of the parking lot. I used a single frame which I processed in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3 to create this image.

Let There Be Light

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Let There Be Light
Let There Be Light

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This is another image processed in Aperture 3 and NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 from a single frame. The contrast between the artificial lights and the sunset really made for a compelling composition.

November to Remember

Posted on by Nick Roberts
November to Remember
November to Remember

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This photo was taken last week just after sunset. I was on the ramp that leads up to the Big Four Bridge to capture the dramatic colors of the sunset just as the accent lights were turned on. I liked the contrast of the organic elements in the sky with the geometric patterns cast by the ramp lighting. I processed the image from a single frame  using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3.