Category: Construction Photography

Cranes As Far As I Can See….

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Cranes As Far As I Can See....
Cranes As Far As I Can See….

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I like this image because it shows how many cranes are being used to build the Ohio River Bridges Project. There are cranes on barges in the river and further back on the horizon there are more cranes building Spaghetti Junction. I was on the Indiana approach looking south into Louisville; I composed the image to take advantage of all the vertical elements in the scene.

I used my standard three frame bracket set and NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to create this HDR image. After merging them I returned it to Aperture 3 for color adjustments and sharpening.

The Surveyor

Posted on by Nick Roberts
The Surveyor Takes His Readings.
The Surveyor Takes His Readings.

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The surveyors on Walsh Construction’s Ohio River Bridges Project are a critical part of the bridge building process. Without them the whole project would grind to a halt. By continually measuring and checking the installation of the foundation components these folks assure that everything goes into place exactly as called for in the plans.

This image is a three exposure bracket set that was merged and tone mapped in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 before being returned to Aperture 3 for final adjustment. By using HDR techniques I was able to handle the wide dynamic range that was present due to the strong backlighting of the sun in the clouds behind the surveyor.

On the Crew Boat with Lee

Posted on by Nick Roberts
On the crew boat with Lee and Jeff
On the crew boat with Lee and Jeff

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In order to get to the various work sites on the Ohio River Bridges Downtown Span the workers have to ride in the crew boat. Lee Carson is the Operating Engineer assigned to run the boat. Lee works from before sunrise until after dark ferrying people from job to job. With work progressing on all the piers in the river he is constantly traveling from place to place getting engineers, workers and supervisors where they need to be throughout the day. Lee also has the inside scoop on what is happening at each pier and often gives me tips about significant events that are happening each day. Whenever I have question about where the action is taking place on a given day all I have to do is ride with Lee.

This image is from a three frame bracket set using +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures. I then merged the three exposures in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 using 100% anti-ghosting to get the two figures to render properly. After merging the files and applying a preset I built for this particular day’s shooting I returned the image to Aperture 3 for final color channel adjustments and sharpening.

 

It Says Right Here…

Posted on by Nick Roberts
It Says Right Here...
It Says Right Here…

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This image is of David Morse, a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers, and the BG-40 Drilling Rig he is operating. The large drum with the teeth on it is a rock drill which is almost twelve feet in diameter. David is using it to drill thirty feet into the bedrock for the piers that will support the new Ohio River Bridge. David is quite a character and when he saw me photographing him he grabbed the book and acted as if he needed to read the manual to do his job. He could easily write the book himself given his vast experience operating drilling equipment.

I added a circular polarizer to my lens last week and it has really boosted the saturation in my exposures. I didn’t know what I was missing by not using the polarizer until I saw the RAW files I got from this shoot. I shot a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures which I then opened in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and merged using 100% anti-ghosting to get a good portrait of David. I applied a preset I built myself for another project which really worked well with the images from this day’s shoot too.

One of the great things about shooting almost daily is that I learn more and more about getting the images I see in my mind with each new shoot. There is nothing that improves an artist’s work more than practice. My motto is practice, practice, practice and I often tell other photographers that practice is the best thing they can do if they hope to improve their skills and their images.

 

Sunrise At Pier Six

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Sunrise On the Ohio River Bridge Project Indiana Approach.
Sunrise On the Ohio River Bridge Project Indiana Approach.

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Morning on the Ohio River is so peaceful and serene even inside the Ohio River Bridges project. This morning was interesting to me because the sun had already climbed into the sky and was above the break in the clouds creating a rich glow on the horizon and in the water. I wanted to emphasize the contrast straight lines of the Big Four Bridge in the background with the curves of the Caisson in the foreground while still capturing the wonderful morning light.

This is an HDR image created from a three frame bracket set using -2, 0 and +2 EV exposures. I merged it in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and finished it using Aperture 3 for color channel, sharpening and contrast adjustments.