Category: HDR

Angel’s Envy

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Office of the Angels
Office of the Angels

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I really like to shoot buildings that are in a state of deterioration and neglect because they contain so many textures and interesting details. I enjoy the beauty of things as they weather and deteriorate and I strive to share that beauty with the world. The Japanese term Wabi-sabi, which means to appreciate and accept the forces of transience and imperfection and find the beauty that exists in the state of impermanence, is often applied to this type of photography. 

I was down on Main Street last week to photograph the construction taking place as the Ohio River Bridges Project begins to take shape along I-65. While shooting the cranes and the activity around them I also started shooting the Vermont America Building as it exists today. This image is from above the door at the old Vermont America Building which has been closed for many years but will be reopened in the future as Angel’s Envy Distillery. This building is slated be renovated as the main headquarters for Angel’s Envy Distillery.

I used a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and – 2 EV at ISO 200 to create this HDR image. I processed it in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to merge and tone map the image. I also created my own preset from these adjustments so that I could experiment with other versions such as monotone or black and white without having to go through the merging process again if I wanted to try applying them to the image. In the end I settled on this version as the one that best captured my vision for the image. I then returned the merged image to Aperture 3 where I completed the finishing touches such a sharpening and straightening.

 

 

 

 

Forecastle Fun

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Forecastle Blew His Mind
Forecastle Blew His Mind

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Saturday evening I went down to Waterfront Park for the Forecastle Festival. I wanted to capture the frenzy and activity that Forecastle is known for. I opted to shoot bracketed shots of -2, 0 and +2 EV for eventual creation of HDR images of the crowd. I expected blur and indistinct faces due to the slow shutter speeds that were entailed and I was pleasantly surprised by this bracket set that left one man in the scene without his head. I played around with the anti-ghosting setting and finally applied 20% which rendered his head as a faint blur. After tone-mapping the initial merged shots in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 I returned the file to Aperture 3 for final color, contrast and sharpening adjustments.

Forecastle Fun #2
Forecastle Fun #2

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I applied much the same processing to this image too. I especially like the way the purple light from the water feature illuminated the underside of the bridge and added color to the shadows on the figure in the foreground.

 

Ironworkers

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Dean Tharp, President of Ironworkers Local 70 at groundbreaking ceremony for the Louisville, KY downtown bridge project.
Dean Tharp, President of Ironworkers Local 70 at Groundbreaking Ceremony for Louisville Downtown Bridge.

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This series of images of Ironworkers is from the official Groundbreaking for the Downtown Span of the Louisville Bridges Project. After over twenty years of planning, revisions and indecision the new bridge to carry traffic over the Ohio River is finally underway. With a completion date of 2016 this is going to be a very intense and fast paced construction project. Not only will there be two new Ohio River Bridges built, one on the east end of Louisville connecting I-265 in Kentucky to I-265 in Indiana, there will be over 29 additional spans in the area known as “Spaghetti Junction” to connect the converging interstate highways of I-71, I-64 and I-65 to the new Ohio River Span.

I have decided to create a project that will focus not only on the bridge construction itself but more importantly on the skilled trades and laborers who will do the actual work of building the bridge and the many other structures that will be needed to see the project to completion. My goal with this endeavor will be to memorialize the contribution of the men and women whose hands are on the tools and give them a place in the history of this project. I hope to give faces and names to those who are making history and to leave behind a testament to them that their families and friends can go to to see them as they were building these bridges.

The first image today is of Dean Tharp the President of Ironworkers Local 70 as he and several other members attended the official groundbreaking ceremony. It is from a three frame bracket set of -2, 0 and +2 EV merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and finished in Aperture 3. I especially like the way the safety vests and t-shirts create a strong visual component in the composition as well as the detail of Dean’s tools which are the hallmark of Ironworkers everywhere. I also find the guy in the safety green shirt interesting because he is looking into the camera and is the only construction worker in safety green in the image. I think his posture and presence gives an added element to the overall composition.

Ironworker Local 70 members at official Groundbreaking for Downtown Bridge Louisville KY.
Ironworkers #1

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This second image is a single frame of the three frame bracket set I was shooting that day.  I chose to process it as a single frame because there was too much movement by the people in the scene for the anti-ghosting feature of NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to resolve. I used the underexposed frame of +2 EV because it gave the best rendering of the clouds and because there was plenty of light in the shadows to be able to show the detail there too. I used Aperture 3 exclusively to process the image adjusting the individual color channels to achieve the level of saturation and luminance I wanted in the final image.

Dean Tharp President of Ironworkers Local 70 at Downtown Bridge Groundbreaking Ceremony
Confidence 

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This image of Dean Tharp is another single frame processed in Aperture 3 using the same techniques as the previous image.

Funnel Cake Fourth

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Fourth of July Funnel Cakes
Funnel Cake Fourth

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This past week I attended the Fourth of July event in Louisville’s Waterfront Park to capture some fireworks images. While waiting for the fireworks show to begin I wandered around the park looking for images that spoke to the idea of festivals and the attendant support services that are needed whenever large groups of people gather for a celebration. The sky was leaden with the remnants of our unrelenting week of rain and thunderstorms so I went in search of some color to shoot.

As I strolled through the park I came upon the food vendors area and was immediately drawn to the scene you see here. I liked the graphic quality of the signage and the lights on and in the funnel cake vendor and decided to create a composition that incorporated it. I found a place behind the food wagons that also held some promise of a strong foreground element. I set my tripod up and shot this image because I enjoyed the strong diagonal lines and the contrast of colors between the booths and the park’s water feature. I also liked the way the stainless steel rails contrasted with the concrete and the angles that they created.

I shot a three frame bracket set using +2, 0 and -2 EV to be sure that I had a wide dynamic range to work with. Back at my computer I first took the three RAW frames into NIK Sharpener Pro and pre-sharpened them. I then opened the three images in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I merged them into a HDR image. I applied the Deep 2 preset and then adjusted the amount of tone mapping and contrast to suit my taste. After the initial tone mapping was completed I returned the HDR image to Aperture 3 where I adjusted the individual color channels to bring out the reds and yellows of the signage. I also added some additional adjustments to the contrast and sharpened the image before adding a small vignette to it.

Back to the Sprayground.

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Waterfront Park Sprayground #2
Waterfront Park Sprayground #2

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Yesterday’s post about the Louisville Waterfront Park Sprayground was very popular so I decided to add another shot from that shoot today. Using HDR techniques I was able to expose for the bright sky and clouds as well as the people sitting in the shade watching the kids at play. I especially like how the water fountains were rendered showing the water splashing on the pavement and glistening in the sun.

I shot a three frame bracket set -2, 0 and +2 EV. Even though the kids were running around NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and it’s anti-ghosting feature kept the ghost artifacts to a minimum. I especially like how the water fountains were rendered showing the water splashing on the pavement and glistening in the sun.

This is another case of shooting during a part of the day that is usually advised against, though by breaking that convention I was able to get a very realistic shot that has a feeling of playfulness and spontaneity that is in keeping with the subject matter. Through use of repetition of shapes and color I was able to come up with a very active composition. While framing the shot I included the blue sky and clouds with the green trees to emphasize the texture in both areas. In the foreground the blue astro turf and the natural grasses and wild flowers serve to reinforce the upper part of the frame. The diagonal sections also contribute to the active space and serve as reinforcement of the kids and fountains as the sprayground recedes into the background in a dynamic diagonal swoosh full of action.

With all the blues and greens that dominate the pallet the brilliant reds that appear throughout the middle of the frame serve as counterpoints and add interest to the cental area of the image. I included the figure in the right foreground to suggest that even outside the frame there is action going on that warrants attention yet she is still connected with all the other folks in the scene.