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This photo was taken last week just after sunset. I was on the ramp that leads up to the Big Four Bridge to capture the dramatic colors of the sunset just as the accent lights were turned on. I liked the contrast of the organic elements in the sky with the geometric patterns cast by the ramp lighting. I processed the image from a single frame using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3.
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This photo is from Louisville’s Waterfront Park near the Kennedy bridge which carries I-65 across the Ohio River. The bridges on the left and right, the Clark Memorial Bridge and the Big Four railroad bridge were constructed in 1928. I find it amazing that they both were built in one year. In contrast today there is another bridge that will be built, starting later this year, alongside the Kennedy that will require almost three years to complete.
This image was created by cropping a single frame into the panorama format. I then processed it in NIK HDR Efex Pro and Aperture 3. I wanted to emphasize the perspective of the scene by positioning myself almost under the Kennedy and shooting the image with my 18-55mm lens set to 18mm at f9.
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This panorama was taken from the Big Four Bridge looking upriver; the river seems so calm and sleepy in the early morning hours. I really liked the way the sky was reflected in the river that morning and the minimalist feel that it imparted.
I processed this image in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 using the Deep 2 preset as my start point.
Not much more to add except that I hope all my readers here in the US have a great Thanksgiving holiday. I’ve baked three pumpkin pies and a sweet potato casserole as my contribution to our family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Now all I need to do is deliver them and then sit back and enjoy our family’s company.
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This image is a single frame that I used NIK HDR EFex Pro 2 and Aperture 3 to process. By using NIK’s U-Point Technology feature I was able to enhance and fine tune the tonality of the oranges and blues of Jack’s welding jacket while maintaining the natural colors of the river and skyline in the background. I was in the man lift basket which allowed me to shoot him from a safe vantage point above the bridge. I am especially pleased with the way the arc of his welder has maintained it’s brilliance and the way the sparks are spraying to the right side of the frame.
This composition has several elements that make it strong. There is the angle of the bridge safety rail in the foreground to the Kennedy bridge in the middle ground and the Clark Memorial Bridge beyond that. There are also the complementary colors of the jacket, safety harness and the river below all of which work in harmony to unify the composition. Finally there is the way the safety harness and Jack’s arm create rhyme in the photograph along with the repetitive linearity of the bridges and handrail.
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This image is one that I shot while in the man lift a few weeks back. We were 135 feet above the Big Four Bridge and the view was incredible. Fall was just beginning and a few of the trees were stating to turn adding just a bit of color to the park. This view of the Louisville skyline is one that I won’t be able to get again and I’m very grateful to the man lift operator, Tim Williams, for taking me up in the man lift. I also want to thank T&C Construction and Construction Solutions for allowing me to be a part of the project and giving me such unique perspectives of the city
I processed this image using Aperture 3 in an effort to create a realistic photo with a high dynamic range. The histogram for this image was an excellent exposure with no blocking up in the shadows or blown highlights. I am relying more and more on reading the histogram while shooting and using 1/3 stop EV adjustments to get as optimal an exposure as possible. I still shoot brackets, in most cases, but where possible I use only the best frame to create my image. This doesn’t mean I am abandoning merging multiple exposures for HDR images though. There are still many times when the dynamic range of a scene can only be captured with bracketed exposures in order to open up the shadows or prevent blown highlights. I still love the richness and latitude that HDR processing affords me and will continue to use it but there is a great deal of satisfaction in capturing the full dynamic range, such as this image exhibits, in a single frame.
