Category: People

Ohio River Bridges Project Summer 2013 Commemorative Print Released

Posted on by Nick Roberts

 

Ohio River Bridges Project Summer 2013 Commemorative Print
Ohio River Bridges Project Summer 2013 Commemorative Print

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Today I am releasing the Summer 2013 Commemorative Print in my ongoing Ohio River Bridges Project series. I began photographing the Ohio River Bridges Project nearly one year ago beginning in August 2013. I chose this image of Sean Ellery an Ironworker and member of the Ironworkers Union Local 70 because it was awarded the honor of being named one of the winners of ENR’s The Year in Construction Photo Contest 2013. ENR is the Engineering News Record, published by McGraw-Hill, and is the leading publication of the construction industry worldwide. I am honored to be among the few photographers to earn an award in this prestigious international competition which is comprised of work by construction photographers from around the world.

The other reason I chose to use this photo for the Summer 2013 Commemorative Print is in part because I happened to be in the right place at the right time as a fog bank rolled in on the Kentucky approach to the bridge. I was intrigued by the cylindrical structure, known as a caisson, that the Ironworkers were building and had been shooting them at work for several minutes. Just as I was about to move on to another subject a small bank of fog rolled in and gave me the perfect atmosphere for this image.

Even though the work on the Ohio River Bridge Project had begun several months earlier it took a lot of phone calls and questions before I was able to gain access to the project. I was shooting what I could from outside the construction site but what I really wanted was to be embedded with the construction crews so that I could share with the world their day to day activities as they went about plying their trades

Finally after many dead ends I secured a meeting with a Walsh Project Manager, Joel Halterman, and was referred to Max Rowland and Celeste Blomberg in the Walsh Construction Public Information Office. They listened to my pitch and took my request to the Primary Project Manager. I was granted access to the entire project as long as I attended all relevant safety training and adhered to all safety rules when on the site. I was issued approved Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and started the following day. The Marine Superintendent, Billy Baughman, introduced me to the crew at the morning meeting and instructed everyone to assist me in any way they could. Since that morning I have been a part of the  day to day job site activity and have developed a friendship with many of the men and women on the job.

I shot a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures which I then merged into an HDR image using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. Once the image was merged I applied the Balanced Preset and boosted the Detail and Drama sliders to Accentuated and Deep settings respectively. I then returned the HDR file to Aperture 3 where I adjusted Contrast, Exposure, Recovery, Shadow, Saturation and Mid Contrast sliders. I applied Sharpening in Aperture 3 and then moved the completed image into Photoshop CS5 where I built the final print.

The prints arrive ready to hang. They are printed on .040 thick aluminum and have an appropriate mounting system attached to the back. There are three sizes, 11″x14″, 16”x 20″ and 22″ x 28″ available. The price for the 11″x14″ size is ($109.99) with two additional sizes of 16”x 20″ ($229.99) and 22″ x 28″ ($399.99) also available. All prints are hand engraved with my signature and the print number in the aluminum on the reverse side.

I am limiting the number of 11″ x 14″ prints to 150 prints. Each print size will be numbered in sequence. The 16″x 20″ prints are limited to 50 prints and 22″ X 28″ prints are limited to 10 Prints. In addition to the numbered series prints I am offering one and only one, 44″ x 54″ First Edition print for ($1799.99). After these quantities are filled the print will be retired and no further prints will be made.

I will ship at reasonable rates anywhere in the US via reliable carriers such as UPS, USPS or Fed-Ex. If you require shipping cost please feel free to contact me using the form below. [contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form]

 

Sam’s Volvo Build

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Sam's Passion Black and White HDR version
Sam’s Passion Black and White HDR version

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This photo of my friend Sam was taken when he was building a Volvo streetrod in 2013. Sam is an incredibly talented car builder with several cars to his name. He usually chooses cars that other folks ignore for one reason or another. His past projects include a Ford Anglia, Nash Rambler, 53 Willys Hardtop, 60 Ford Falcon and a 60s Studebaker Lark. His reputation for sound construction has people lining up to buy his creations even before they are finished. Sam likes them “loud and nasty” and he usually manages to stuff a V-8 into these small cars.

Sam’s passion is chassis engineering and he likes to work with unibody cars. This Volvo was the latest one to roll out his shop door and like all most of his previous builds it was sold in a matter of days. I always enjoy a visit to his garage because I never know what he’s going to tackle next. The night I shot this image he was totally engrossed in what he was working on and that gave me a chance to shoot without his knowing what I was shooting.

This image is a black and white conversion of a color HDR image that I converted using Aperture 3. All adjustments were done with the tools in Aperture 3 which is still my favorite image editing software. I entered it last night in the Louisville Photographic Society monthly competition for “People Working” and it took First Prize.

Sam's Passion Color HDR Version
Sam’s Passion Color HDR Version

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I am including the color HDR version that I used to show the difference that the two processes have on the same image. This image is from a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures that I merged using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and completed in Aperture 3.

Sam at work on his Volvo Project.
Sam at work on his Volvo Project.

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Sam's Garage in Black and White
Sam’s Garage in Black and White

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I’ll finish this post with another color HDR image that I processed as a black and white using a preset in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 that I adjusted to my taste. One thing to notice is the way that HDR allowed me to expose for the shadows in the garage and also expose another frame that allowed the fence and the outdoors to render in the final image.

Ironworkers in Black and White

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Ironworkers Placing the Bridge Decking
Ironworkers Placing the Bridge Decking

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I decided to try some black and white images of Ironworkers today. The image above is from The Ohio River Bridges Project.  Nothing fancy just used Aperture 3 for conversion to black and white of a HDR image that I had done in the past.

Jack Alpha on top of the Big Four Bridge
Jack Alpha on top of the Big Four Bridge

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Jack Alpha is an Ironworker with T&C Construction who was working on top of the Big Four Bridge when I shot this image. I converted it to black and white in Aperture 3 using a single frame. This isn’t HDR but I still think it is full of detail.

Journeymen and Apprentices

Posted on by Nick Roberts
The Journeyman Ironworker and the Apprentice #1
The Journeyman Ironworker and the Apprentice #1

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One of the wonderful things about photographing construction work is seeing Journeyman of the many Skilled Trades that are teaching Apprentices the skills they need to be qualified trades people. The history of the Skilled Trades is filled with the accumulated knowledge that generations of earlier tradespeople have shared with their Apprentices. By sharing their experience with an Apprentice a Journeyman provides continuity and pride in the ability to master a trade.

The Journeyman Ironworker and the Apprentice #2
The Journeyman Ironworker and the Apprentice #2

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An Apprentice faces unknown tasks that, unless they have been properly trained, could result in an inferior result. The Journeyman doesn’t do the task but instead instructs and verifies that the Apprentice learns the proper tools and procedures to follow when they have earned their own Journeyman’s card. In time today’s Apprentice becomes experienced enough to qualify for a Journeyman’s Card and completes the cycle by taking an Apprentice of their own to mentor and share the skills of the trade with.

The Journeyman Ironworker and the Apprentice #3
The Journeyman Ironworker and the Apprentice #3

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Watching this young woman learn the proper way to complete the task of installing bridge decking is one of the great things being a construction photographer. Photographing them working together allowed me to see the way skilled Journeymen can make a difference in someone else’s life. As they joked and kidded one another they also were developing a bond that will last a lifetime for both of them. The Apprentice learned how to secure decking in a way that insured that it was properly installed and the Journeyman had to feel a sense of pride in sharing his skills with her.

The Journeyman Carpenter and the Apprentice
The Journeyman Carpenter and the Apprentice

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As with the Ironworker’s trade the Carpenter’s Union also trains new Carpenters through the Apprenticeship model. The process is the same though; a Journeyman Carpenter trains and instructs the Apprentice in the skills he or she will need to earn their own Journeyman’s card and join the ranks of Journeyman Carpenters going back generations in time.

All four of the images in this post are three frame bracket sets of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures that have been merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 software and finished with Aperture 3.All required strong anti-ghosting application due to the movement of the men and women as they went about their tasks. The anti-ghosting feature in NIK HDR EFex Pro 2 is by far the best I have used and remains the main reason I prefer it to any of the other HDR apps on the market today.

Frank Lobody Repairing A Drill Shaft at the Ohio River Bridges Project

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers repairing a drill shaft for the BG-40 Drilling Machine. #1
Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers repairing a drill shaft for the BG-40 Drilling Machine at the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville, Kentucky May 2014

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Today’s images are of Frank Lobody, a mechanic for Walsh Construction, who travels from job site to job site throughout the US to handle heavy equipment repairs. Frank is a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 in Porter, Indiana. When I met Frank he was repairing a drill shaft for the BG-40 Drilling Machine being used in Louisville to drill into the bedrock for the bridge piers on the Ohio River Bridges Project.

Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers repairing a drill shaft for the BG-40 Drilling Machine. #2
Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers welding on a drill shaft for the BG-40 Drilling Machine. 

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The bedrock on the Ohio River Bridges Project is very hard and sometimes the drill shaft breaks under the load of trying to drill over 30 feet into it. Once the bridge pier casings are placed through the soil down to the bedrock it is necessary to drill a socket 30 feet into rock to anchor the piers. On the Kentucky side of the river that means drilling almost 150 feet from the surface to the bottom of the socket.

Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, Porter, Indiana
Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, Porter, Indiana

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All three of these HDR images were processed from a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3 software.