Tag: HDR

Jack Alpha On Top Of Big Four Bridge

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Jack Alpha the Ironworker

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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.

Waterfront Park Morning

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Waterfront Park Morning

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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.

Across the River

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Kennedy Bridge Sunset

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This image was captured from the Jeffersonville, Indiana shore of the Ohio River looking west toward Louisville. It was a great evening for a sunset and I chose to ride over to Indiana to see what the Louisville skyline would look like.

I processed this single frame in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to enhance the colors in the sky. After adjusting the tonality to create the feeling I was looking for I returned the image to Aperture 3 for final sharpening and some additional tweaks to the definition, vibrance and recovery sliders as well as performing the final sharpening on the photo. Before sending it to NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 I applied some RAW pre-sharpening in Aperture 3 which I have discovered is a good way to start processing an image.

Ohio River Sunset #3

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Ohio River Sunset #3

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Another evening after a thunderstorm moved through Louisville. I composed the image with the trees in silhouette in order to frame the scene and emphasize the sunset and the light on the river. The sky was very dramatic and I enhanced the colors of the sunset to add more drama to the scene. This image was also processed in NIK HDR Efex Pro and finished in Aperture 3.

Louisville Boat Club Marina

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Sailboat Sunset

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Today’s image comes from a shoot I did earlier this year along River Road here in Louisville. I was taken by the way the trees framed the scene of the docks in the Louisville Boat Club Marina and wanted to include them as a foreground element to add interest to the scene.

I’m not really sure which app I used to process this image but I think it was an earlier version of NIK HDR Efex Pro. I finished the edit in Aperture 3 with a little sharpening and some tweaks to the vibrancy slider too.