Tag: Aperture 3

Parklands Morning

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Parkland Morning
Parklands Morning

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I rode out to the Parklands yesterday morning to revisit the images that I shot the last time I was out there. It was a cool brisk morning and I enjoyed riding my motorcycle in the early morning darkness. I am so lucky to have two things I am passionate about that bring me out into the early morning awakening of the planet. As a photographer I need to get up early and get to a location in time to get my gear out and get in position to capture the dawn of a new day. As a motorcyclist the early morning hours are also magical and allow me to see, hear and smell the world as it rises out of the darkness. The feel of my machine as I carve through turns and feel the wind on me is something I have enjoyed for over 48 years and hope to continue for many, many more years; when I do I will always have my camera with me too.

I returned to this spot because I wasn’t particularly happy with the noise in the earlier set of exposures I shot here last week and wanted to capture the feeling of spring before the trees filled in completely. Instead of trying to capture the scene just at sunrise I took a walk along the shore and scouted some additional vantage points. After that I headed back down along Floyd’s Fork to see if the redbud trees that I shot last were still blooming. I wanted to revisit those images as well. I found what I was looking for and shot along the creek for a while before returning to the lake about an hour after sunrise.

The sun was peeking out from behind the clouds and illuminating the new born leaves beautifully. There was a weather front moving in from the west and it was bringing with it some very interesting cloud formations. I set up my tripod and started shooting again. The air was still and left the water undisturbed to reflect the sky beautifully. I was hoping for a fish to break the surface so that I could have the rings on the water when I heard these two geese coming down from the cove as they lifted themselves into the air. They were moving along in the shadows on the left when they turned and started flying toward my position. I shot two frames and then waited until they were up in the sky before shooting the last frame.

This image is another HDR from a three frame bracket set. I merged them in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and applied the Deep 1 preset before returning it Aperture 3 for some minor adjustments and sharpening. NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 anti-ghosting worked incredibly well, set at 40% strength, to isolate the two geese and prevent ghosting that would have shown the geese in different places in the frame.

Waterfront Park Spring Sunrise

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Waterfront Park Spring
Waterfront Park Spring Sunrise #1

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This is a three frame bracket set HDR image processed in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 with 60% anti-ghosting applied. It was very breezy when I shot the bracket set but the anti-ghosting did a respectable job of merging the three exposures. As is my usual work flow I finished the image in Aperture 3.

Spring Morning on Floyd’s Fork

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Spring Morning on Floyd's Fork
Spring Morning on Floyd’s Fork

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Another example of realistic HDR processing using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. This image is from a three exposure bracket set shot at -2, 0, and +2 EV. I merged it and applied the Balanced preset before adjusting the tone mapping and tonality. I then returned it to Aperture 3 for final adjustment.

Black and White HDR

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Untitled
Untitled

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Sometimes simple is better….

I like using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 for preparing black and white images. Using the bracketed exposures really helps intensify the textures and contrasts within an image. After merging the three exposures -2, 0, and +2 EV I returned the image to Aperture 3 where I applied a B&W setting with a blue filter. Some sharpening and contrast adjustments were applied and a slight vignette was used to finish the image.

East Market Street Morning

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Morning on Market Street
Morning on Market Street

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Louisville is experiencing a revival of it’s East Market Street area now known as the NuLu District. NuLu is attracting tech startup ventures, galleries, restaurants, coffee shops, lofts and other uses that repurpose what had been vacant or poorly maintained buildings into vibrant new spaces. NuLu is close to the Louisville Waterfront Park, Main Street night spots, the new Yum Arena and Louisville Slugger Field. It is also attracting a diverse group of enthusiastic young professionals, artists and entrepreneurs who are brimming with ideas and ambition.

There is a lot of activity in this area such as the building on the left in this photo. The early morning sun really lit up the facade and that’s what drew my eye to the scene. I know some folks would pass by a scene such as this because the construction isn’t completed but for me that is an important element. I see the overall scene as one of renewal and reuse. Instead of continuing to expand the city’s footprint by developing outside the city core; projects such as this bring new vitality to what was once a rundown and under utilized section of Louisville. I  like documenting these sorts of projects and attempting to create a piece of art that will tell future generations what our wonderful city was doing at the turn of the century.

From a technical point of view this is a three exposure bracket set using -2, 0, and +2 Exposure Values. It has been merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. I used the Deep #1 preset where I made some adjustments to the tonality settings and dropped a control point in the street to darken it slightly. (There was a minor snowstorm through here a couple of weeks ago and the street still has a salt residue on it which left it very grey.) I then returned the merged files to Aperture 3 where I completed my adjustments and sharpening.