Tag: bridges

2015 Ohio River Bridges Project Commemorative Print

2015 Commemorative Print Now On Sale
2015 Commemorative Print 

Click on the image to enlarge it in a new window.

Today I am releasing my 2015 Ohio River Bridges Project Commemorative Print of the nearly completed  downtown span in time for you to get it before Christmas. It is available in two sizes 13.25″ X 10.5″ size is $100 and the “20 X 16” size is $230. the finished ready to hang print is on .040″ Aluminum with mounting black attached.

The men and women building the Ohio River Bridges Project downtown span are nearly finished and in just a few days the first vehicular traffic will be allowed on the new bridge. On Saturday December 5, the public will be given the opportunity to walk out on the bridge and see the result of two and a half years of construction.

Being able to be a part of this project is one of the most rewarding things I have done in my photographic career. The decision to photograph the construction is also the most ambitious single project I have undertaken in over forty years as a photographer.

I have seen the bridge emerge from the river as the towers were constructed, then seeing the first steel girders installed, seeing the cable stays as they were installed to suspend the bridge across the Ohio River and just last week being there as the final pavement was laid in place.

I have witnessed first hand the dedication and pride that every tradesperson brought to the job. There were many long days where they worked from sunup until late in the night to make sure that the job was done correctly and on time. Along the way I have made many new friends in all the trades that it takes to accomplish something of this scale.

As the embedded photographer it has been an honor to be a part of this incredible addition to the Louisville infrastructure. As the project winds down I will miss many of these men and women who will now move on to other jobs as the “Build America”.

All orders received before December 12, 2015 will be ready for local delivery before Christmas. Shipping is available for orders from outside the Louisville area.

 

The Ohio River Bridges Downtown Span August 24-29, 2015

The Downtown Span of the Ohio River Bridges Project. HDR Version
The Downtown Span of the Ohio River Bridges Project. HDR Version

Last week the Ohio River Bridges Downtown Span grew another 180 feet in length. The cable stays on Tower Five were completed and the scaffolding to the top of the towers was removed. One of the cranes being used to build the bridge structure blew an engine but that didn’t keep the structural gang from completing the building of another 45 feet of bridge.

The photos in this post are both three frame HDR mergers and single frame images. In all cases the image was first adjusted for sharpness and color saturation in Adobe Camera Raw followed by a trip into Photoshop CS5 for lens correction when needed. I also used Topaz Clarity to bring out the texture and contrast which I applied to a separate layer; in several cases the opacity of the Topaz Clarity layer was reduced to between 25 -75%.

Eric Faulkner Operating Engineer

Eric Faulkner in the forklift on the bridge.
Eric Faulkner, Operating Engineer, in the forklift on the bridge.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Toady’s image is of Eric Faulkner an Operating Engineer on the Ohio River Bridges Project. Downtown Span. I chose this image because I like the composition and the way Eric can be seen in the cab of the forklift while in the background the louisville skyline is seen through the window. The narrow slot where Eric can be seen and the fact that it takes a second to see him in there are both elements that draw me to this photo.

Eric is one of those people who are often overlooked when observing a construction job like this. Because he is inside a machine such as this forklift he becomes simply another part of the scene. His expertise with all manner of heavy equipment makes him an invaluable part of the day to day tasks that must be accomplished in order for the work to progress in a timely manner. Not only is Eric responsible for operating this forklift he also has the task of operating the two job cranes located on top of the bridge towers on Pier Three. He often has to climb the 300 feet of scaffolding several times a day to get to the top of one of the towers to lift material for the people working on the cable stay gang. Imagine climbing 30 stories to get to the top of one of the towers to run the jib crane then having to climb back down and then climb up the other tower just to operate that jib crane for a few minutes. Along with that role he may need to also climb into the forklift and move material around the bridge deck between times he is on top of the towers.

Progress of the Downtown Span of the Ohio River Bridges Project.

This group of images shows the progress of the Downtown Span of the Ohio River Bridges Project. The bridge deck is nearing completion as the Ironworker’s Structural Gang and Cable Stay Gangs extend the bridge decks on all three towers toward one another. It won’t be long until all the structural steel and cables are in place and the bridge will be one piece from shore to shore.

Panorama of The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup.
Panorama of The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup #2
The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup #2

Click on an image to enlarge it.

The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup
The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

Panorama of The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup. #4
Panorama of The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup. #4

Click on an image to enlarge it.

The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup from Waterfront Park.
The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup from Waterfront Park.

Click on an image to enlarge it.

Panorama of The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup. onOne Perfect B&W Version
Panorama of The Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span at sunup. onOne Perfect B&W Version

For this final panorama I decided to convert the scene to black and white simply to see what effect it would have on the image when compared to the color images.

 

Photographing Louisville at Night From The Ohio River Bridges Project, Downtown Span, Tower Three

Louisville's spaghetti junction at night from atop the western tower on pier three of the Ohio River Bridges Project.
Louisville’s spaghetti junction at night from atop the western tower on pier three of the Ohio River Bridges Project.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

A couple of weeks ago I climbed up on the western tower on Pier Three to shoot the Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span and Louisville at night. I was 300 feet above the river standing on the top of the tower and decided to use long shutter speeds to capture the light trails of the traffic moving through Spaghetti Junction. I really like the way the colors of the light change across the images especially the green of work areas vs the orange of the existing sodium lights along the roadways. I was also interested in the flow of the roads and the way the light trails emphasized their paths.

Louisville's spaghetti junction at night from atop the western tower on pier three of the Ohio River Bridges Project. #2
Louisville’s spaghetti junction at night from atop the western tower on pier three of the Ohio River Bridges Project. #2

Click on any image to enlarge it.

In this version I purposely emphasized the orange lighted areas to contrast them with the deep blues in the darker areas. The little hits of green around the construction offices really popped and added another dimension to the image.

 

Kennedy Bridge on I-65 at night seen from above .
Kennedy Bridge on I-65 at night seen from above.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

This shot above the Kennedy Bridge uses the orange of the roadway and along the river’s shore as unifying elements to integrate the foreground with the distant skyline.

Night in Waterfront Park as seen from atop the western tower on pier three of the Downtown Span on the Ohio River Bridges Project.
Night in Waterfront Park as seen from atop the western tower on pier three of the Downtown Span on the Ohio River Bridges Project.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

The final pair of images in this post show Waterfront Park and the Big Four Bridge lit up. I used the contrast of the straight lines of the bridge tower and crane boom as counterpoints to the arcing curves of the park to create this composition.

Night in Waterfront Park as seen from atop the western tower on pier three of the Downtown Span on the Ohio River Bridges Project. #2
Night in Waterfront Park as seen from atop the western tower on pier three of the Downtown Span on the Ohio River Bridges Project. #2

Click on any image to enlarge it.

In this final image the Big Four Bridge in the background and the lights in the park really stand out from the reflected light on the concrete tower and the yellow crane boom. The purple of the Big Four Bridge lighting is a great compliment to the green and aqua of the park lights.

I shot in three frame bracket sets of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures for HDR merging into single images. I used NIK HDR eFex Pro 2 and Adobe Camera Raw to do most of the processing as well as Photoshop CS5 to do some lens correction.