Tag: Big Four Bridge

HDR of Ohio River Bridges Project

Saturday on the Ohio River Bridges Project
Saturday on the Ohio River Bridges Project

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This image was captured looking west from the Big Four Bridge. The two cranes in the river are drilling sites where the towers for the Downtown Span will be built. The tugboat in the foreground was moving barges into place at the two drilling sites.

The image was created from a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV shot handheld. I merged them in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and applied the Balanced preset which I then tweaked to get the detail and realism I was looking for. I set the anti-ghosting at 60% which did a good job of rendering the moving tugboat. After merging and tweaking the image I returned it to Aperture 3 where I finished adjusting the color channels, contrast and sharpening.

HDR at Night

 

Big Four Bridge Ramp at Night
Big Four Bridge Ramp at Night

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This HDR image is a three frame bracket set +2,0 and -2 EV. I merged it in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and finished it in Aperture 3. The flares around the lights are from the f8 aperture which adds a star burst to almost all artificial lights; the way around it is to shoot with as wide an aperture as possible which will reduce it greatly.

Louisville at Night
Louisville at Night

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This HDR image was created using the same procedure as the first. I was shooting from the Big Four Bridge looking  south west from a vantage point close to the Indiana side of the Ohio River.

Ironworkers Assembling an Iron Caisson

Ironworkers Assembling an Iron Caisson for a Bridge Pier on the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville Kentucky
Ironworkers Assembling an Iron Caisson for a Bridge Pier on the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville Kentucky.

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Ironworkers known as “Rod Busters” are seen here assembling a steel rebar caisson for the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville Kentucky. There is also a completed caisson in the background on the work barge. These caissons will be inserted into the steel cylinders that are in the right hand side of the image when those cylinders are placed in the river to build the piers for the new bridge. It was early in the morning and a fog bank was coming in from the east which diffused the light and lent an ethereal quality to the morning sunlight.

 

Ironworkers

Ironworkers Assembling an Iron Framework for a Bridge Pier.
Ironworkers Assembling an Iron Framework for a Bridge Pier.

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This shot is looking east with the Big Four Bridge in the background. The iron structure the ironworkers are building will be placed inside one of the steel cylinders that are in the righthand side of the image. There is a completed one on the barge behind the one where they are working. The hexagonal piece on the end is a jig to align the steel rebar while they assemble it.

This image is a single frame that was edited in Aperture 3 and Topaz Adjust. I wanted to capture the early morning fog and the light as the sun was coming up. The early morning on the river is a peaceful quiet time before the sun gets up in the sky and the temperature starts rising.

Topaz Adjust will be 50% off ($24.99) from September 9th through September 30th with this promo code: septadjust Topaz Adjust is one of their most popular plug-ins and doesn’t go on sale very often so if you haven’t tried it yet this will be a great opportunity to get it and save some money as well. Topaz Adjust is one piece of software that I find indispensable in my work and have been using for years now.

Here’s a link to their site:

http://www.topazlabs.com/705.html

 

 

 

Early Morning In Waterfront Park

Big Four Morning
Big Four Morning

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I shot this image on Saturday morning last week before the crowds arrived. The morning was relatively calm and the park had only a few people in it at that time. There were many people walking up on the bridge to catch the first moments of the day as others were busy exercising on the lawn around the swing garden. I like the peaceful feeling that the early morning light gives the image.

Saturday Morning Boot Camp
Saturday Morning Boot Camp

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This is one of my favorite angles to photograph the Swing Garden and the Louisville Skyline from the Big Four Bridge. I like the way the geometric layout of the park comes out from this vantage point. On the right can be seen the barges and equipment that are being used to build the piers for the new Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Crossing. Walsh Construction seems to be taking great pains to keep the job site clean and orderly which is their way of showing respect for the Louisville Waterfront Park and it’s wonderful features such as the Swing Garden and the Lincoln Memorial with the wonderful sculptures by Louisville’s native son and nationally renowned sculptor, Mr. Ed Hamilton.

This image is a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV HDR image created using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3. After merging in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 I returned the HDR image to Aperture 3 for additional adjustment to the contrast, color channels, sharpening and minor cropping. I also added a slight vignette to the final image to lead the viewer’s eye into the frame.

In the coming months I will be sharing images from the Ohio River Bridges Project as I shoot it from inside the actual job sites. I will be sharing photos of not only the physical progress of the project; I will also be showing the men and women who are doing the work to build this much anticipated bridge and it’s transformation of the Louisville waterfront. I hope you will follow along as work progresses and sign up for email announcements when I post new work; to do that simply follow SpeedDemon2.com via the sign up box at the top of the page.