Several photographs from inside the mast of the tower crane on the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville, Kentucky being built by Walsh Construction
Category: People
Rundle Ride XI in St Louis May 11-16, 2014
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Two weeks ago I was asked to join a group of retired US Secret Service veterans for a one week event know as the Rundle Ride XI. This was the eleventh year of it’s history and the retired agents hosting this year’s event asked me to be the Unofficial Official Photographer for the group. For the past ten years the Rundle Ride had been in the western United States and bringing it this far east was a big change.
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This year the hosts, John Barry USSS Ret. and Kent Sincox USSS Ret., chose to hold the event in St. Louis Missouri and the surrounding area in an effort to include more USSS agents who lived east of the Mississippi River.
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All except one of the agents rode Harley-Davidson Motorcycles. They had a great history to share having protected US Presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower through Bill Clinton but anyone observing the group would have never guessed who they were. There was one retired agent on a BMW motorcycle who, though in his seventies, had ridden from Prudhoe Bay Alaska to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America in 2011. He and his wife are now planning to ride around the world this summer via the northern hemisphere. Another agent was the great grandson of the President of Mexico when the Mexican Revolution occurred. All of them had great stories to tell and I was mesmerized listening to their recollections of humorous moments in their careers.
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On the first day of the Rundle Ride XI we went to the St. Louis Arch, Anheuser-Busch Brewery and a St. Louis Cardinals Game. The photos today are from the brewery tour and a road trip to Hermann Missouri for a group photo.
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The brewery images are all handheld HDR images from a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures while the group photos were shot using a tripod and cable release. I used NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to merge the brackets into HDR images which were finished using Aperture 3.
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The above photo of the group shows that neither cold nor rain could slow these folks down. When we began our ride to Hermann Missouri the temperature was 55 degrees and there was light rain falling. Not one of them complained about the weather and all made it safely.
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While in Hermann we did a little sightseeing and I found these two beauties hanging out in an antique shop on the main street. This is a three frame bracket processed in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2, Aperture 3 and Topaz ReStyle. I made several versions of this image using different presets in Topaz ReStyle which I am including below.
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The image above shows the fantastic esprit de corps of these men and women and their zest for life. I am very honored that they asked me along and can only hope that the images I have shared reflect that emotion.
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The last image in this post is of Edie Rico with a cardboard cutout of Paul Rundle the founder of the Rundle Rides. Unfortunately just before Paul was leaving home to ride to St. Louis he had to undergo surgery for his gall bladder. In a show of solidarity and caring John and Lisa Barry printed out this photo and made sure that Paul was with the group in spirit.
Paving a New Southbound I-65 Bridge Deck
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Today’s post is a few images of the process of paving the roadway on the new section of Southbound I-65 here in Louisville. In the process of constructing the new downtown bridge there are over 200 additional spans that are being built as the highway passes through Louisville. The photos here are part of the paving of just one of those spans.
The first photo was taken around 4:00 AM while the paving machine was at rest. I think the paving machine is known as a Bidwell Machine because that is who manufactures them. I heard several Operating Engineers refer to it as the “Bidwell” which is why I think I’m correct in calling it that. At any rate this machine spreads and finishes the concrete after the laborers have placed it on the deck using a large hose and a concrete pump to raise it from ground level below the roadway onto the new roadway.
The crew was waiting for the concrete that was being pumped to be certified that it was the correct composition and consistency for use. While that testing process was taking place the leading edge of the fresh concrete already in place was covered with burlap blankets and kept wet so that there wouldn’t be a problem when the pouring resumed. The men on the left side of the image are the quality inspectors and work for the Kentucky Department of Transportation. It is their job to verify that all concrete and construction materials and processes are within the specifications required for proper and safe construction of the roadway.
Very often when we laymen see a construction site we may think that folks are standing around doing nothing. The reality is that there are many facets to a construction project that temporarily halt work but everyone we see is an integral part of the process. I like to think of it as similar to a football game. The team is simply waiting for the ball to be snapped and then everyone has a role to play in an effort to complete the play. In this case the ball is waiting for the officials to place it on the scrimmage line and blow the whistle for the game to resume.
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THis image shows the concrete pump boom that is used to place the concrete on the roadway. In the lower right side you can see two concrete trucks positioned to feed wet concrete into the hopper on the pump. The pump operator then delivers the wet mix through the boom and hose to another operator on top who actually directs the placing of the boom using a joy stick apparatus that he wears on his shoulders. Finally there is a laborer who is aiming the snorkel on the end of the hose to place the concrete where it needs to be.
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This image shows the concrete pump and the two concrete delivery truck that are required to feed it. These truck are just two of many that were delivering concrete to the pump that morning. As soon as they had offloaded their concrete another pair replaced them; this went on for hours as truck after truck delivered more material. In this case there were over 50 loads of concrete delivered just to pour one span of the new roadway.
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As you can see by this image the sun has started to rise and the concrete pour has progressed further south. I couldn’t hear what was being said but clearly this was a moment when people were learning what the next actions they needed to take would be once the next batch of concrete started flowing from the concrete pump.
My Photo is a Winner in the Engineering News Record, Year in Construction 2013, Photo Contest
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I just learned that my photo of Ironworker Sean Ellery was chosen as a winner in the Engineering News Record, http://ENR.com, photo contest “Year in Construction 2013” There were over 1400 entries and making the grade is really gratifying.
Thanks go to Walsh Construction for giving me access and support to shoot the Ohio River Bridges Project and especially to Sean Ellery from Ironworker’s Local 70 in Louisville, KY for being part of the photograph.
Merry Christmas
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This is one of my favorite Christmas images. It was late one evening and I was out looking for something to shoot that spoke to the season when I came upon these guys working at the christmas tree stand in Waterfront Park. I liked the way the wet street was reflecting the lights in the stand and the strong colors that were present in the scene.
Whenever I can I like to include the people who work behind the scene to enrich our lives. These guys looked so comfortable with each other and for me their friendship showed in the way they walked and talked as they went about their job tending the stand. I hope those of you who stop by here today enjoy this photo and that it speaks to you as it did to me.
With that I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas; I hope the day brings you joy, friendship, happiness and lots of egg nog, cookies and fruitcake. 😉
BTW for those who are interested the image was processed in Topaz Adjust and Aperture 3 from a single exposure.
