Tag: High dynamic range imaging

Sunset on the Ohio River Bridges

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Ohio River Bridges Project Sunset June 5, 2013
Ohio River Bridges Project Sunset June 5, 2013

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Last night I decided to head down to the waterfront and shoot the Ohio River Bridges at sunset. The weather had been perfect all day and the forecast looked like there would be some clouds in the western sky around sunset. When I arrived at around 8:00 PM the sky was hazy and the clouds were still off to the west. I shot for a few minutes from Waterfront Park and then headed up onto the Big Four Bridge to watch the sun dip below the horizon.

Just before sunset the clouds moved in under the sun and I was able to capture the image above. By positioning myself on the Kentucky end of the Big Four Bridge I was able to frame the shot with the sun behind the tower crane for the Ohio River Bridges Project. I liked the way it was still above the Kennedy Bridge and the clouds created a beautiful orange glow across everything.

I shot with a tripod and captured a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures. I processed the three frames into a single HDR image using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and applied the Balanced preset. I then returned the merged file to Aperture 3 where I adjusted it like I would normally. I boosted detail, added some contrast, adjusted color channels and sharpened it before cropping it to a wider format and adding a small vignette.

Big Four Bridge Bridge at Sunset
Big Four Bridge Bridge at Sunset

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I was quite taken with the beauty of the colors in the sky and decided to shoot the Big Four Bridge while it was illuminated by the setting sun. The color of the light and the way it enhanced the rusted bridge really drew my eye. I also liked the way the sky and river transitioned from orange to blue and worked to strengthen that complimentary color scheme during processing.

I used the same techniques for this image as I did on the previous one which really saturated the colors and brought out the detail of the rusted ironwork and the reflections in the water.

Frank Lobody Repairing A Drill Shaft at the Ohio River Bridges Project

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers repairing a drill shaft for the BG-40 Drilling Machine. #1
Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers repairing a drill shaft for the BG-40 Drilling Machine at the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville, Kentucky May 2014

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Today’s images are of Frank Lobody, a mechanic for Walsh Construction, who travels from job site to job site throughout the US to handle heavy equipment repairs. Frank is a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150 in Porter, Indiana. When I met Frank he was repairing a drill shaft for the BG-40 Drilling Machine being used in Louisville to drill into the bedrock for the bridge piers on the Ohio River Bridges Project.

Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers repairing a drill shaft for the BG-40 Drilling Machine. #2
Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers welding on a drill shaft for the BG-40 Drilling Machine. 

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The bedrock on the Ohio River Bridges Project is very hard and sometimes the drill shaft breaks under the load of trying to drill over 30 feet into it. Once the bridge pier casings are placed through the soil down to the bedrock it is necessary to drill a socket 30 feet into rock to anchor the piers. On the Kentucky side of the river that means drilling almost 150 feet from the surface to the bottom of the socket.

Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, Porter, Indiana
Frank Lobody, Mechanic, International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150, Porter, Indiana

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All three of these HDR images were processed from a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and Aperture 3 software.

 

Viewing the Ohio River Bridges Project from the Tower Crane on Pier Four

Posted on by Nick Roberts

Several photographs from inside the mast of the tower crane on the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville, Kentucky being built by Walsh Construction

Rundle Ride XI in St Louis May 11-16, 2014

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Anheuser-Busch Brewery Brew House #1
Anheuser-Busch Brewery Brew House #1

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Two weeks ago I was asked to join a group of retired US Secret Service veterans for a one week event know as the Rundle Ride XI. This was the eleventh year of it’s history and the retired agents hosting this year’s event asked me to be the Unofficial Official Photographer for the group. For the past ten years the Rundle Ride had been in the western United States and bringing it this far east was a big change.

Anheuser-Busch Brewery Brew House #5
Anheuser-Busch Brewery Brew House #5

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This year the hosts, John Barry USSS Ret. and Kent Sincox USSS Ret., chose to hold the event in St. Louis Missouri and the surrounding area in an effort to include more USSS agents who lived east of the Mississippi River.

Anheuser-Busch Brewery Brew House #2
Anheuser-Busch Brewery Brew House #2

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All except one of the agents rode Harley-Davidson Motorcycles. They had a great history to share having protected US Presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower through Bill Clinton but anyone observing the group would have never guessed who they were. There was one retired agent on a BMW motorcycle who, though in his seventies, had ridden from Prudhoe Bay Alaska to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America in 2011. He and his wife are now planning to ride around the world this summer via the northern hemisphere. Another agent was the great grandson of the President of Mexico when the Mexican Revolution occurred. All of them had great stories to tell and I was mesmerized listening to their recollections of humorous moments in their careers.

Anheuser-Busch Brewery Brew House #3
Anheuser-Busch Brewery Brew House #3

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On the first day of the Rundle Ride XI we went to the St. Louis Arch, Anheuser-Busch Brewery and a St. Louis Cardinals Game. The photos today are from the brewery tour and a road trip to Hermann Missouri for a group photo.

Anheuser-Busch Brewery Brew House #4
Anheuser-Busch Brewery Brew House #4

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The brewery images are all handheld HDR images from a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures while the group photos were shot using a tripod and cable release. I used NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to merge the brackets into HDR images which were finished using Aperture 3.

Rundle Ride XI in Hermann Missouri.
Rundle Ride XI in Hermann Missouri.

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The above photo of the group shows that neither cold nor rain could slow these folks down. When we began our ride to Hermann Missouri the temperature was 55 degrees and there was light rain falling. Not one of them complained about the weather and all made it safely.

Wacky WACs #1
Wacky WACs #1

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While in Hermann we did a little sightseeing and I found these two beauties hanging out in an antique shop on the main street. This is a three frame bracket processed in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2, Aperture 3 and Topaz ReStyle. I made several versions of this image using different presets in Topaz ReStyle which I am including below.

Wacky WACs #2
Wacky WACs #2

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Wacky WACs #3
Wacky WACs #3

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Wacky WACs #4
Wacky WACs #4

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Rundle Ride XI in Hermann Missouri #2
Rundle Ride XI in Hermann Missouri #2

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The image above shows the fantastic esprit de corps of these men and women and their zest for life. I am very honored that they asked me along and can only hope that the images I have shared reflect that emotion.

Edy Riccio and Paul Rundle share a quiet moment in Missouri.
Edie Rico and Paul Rundle share a quiet moment in Missouri.

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The last image in this post is of Edie Rico with a cardboard cutout of Paul Rundle the founder of the Rundle Rides. Unfortunately just before Paul was leaving home to ride to St. Louis he had to undergo surgery for his gall bladder. In a show of solidarity and caring John and Lisa Barry printed out this photo and made sure that Paul was with the group in spirit.

 

Paving a New Southbound I-65 Bridge Deck

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Underneath the Bidwell Machine
Underneath the Bidwell Machine

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Today’s post is a few images of the process of paving the roadway on the new section of Southbound I-65 here in Louisville. In the process of constructing the new downtown bridge there are over 200 additional spans that are being built as the highway passes through Louisville. The photos here are part of the paving of just one of those spans.

The first photo was taken around 4:00 AM while the paving machine was at rest. I think the paving machine is known as a Bidwell Machine because that is who manufactures them. I heard several Operating Engineers refer to it as the “Bidwell” which is why I think I’m correct in calling it that. At any rate this machine spreads and finishes the concrete after the laborers have placed it on the deck using a large hose and a concrete pump to raise it from ground level below the roadway onto the new roadway.

The crew was waiting for the concrete that was being pumped to be certified that it was the correct composition and consistency for use. While that testing process was taking place the leading edge of the fresh concrete already in place was covered with burlap blankets and kept wet so that there wouldn’t be a problem when the pouring resumed. The men on the left side of the image are the quality inspectors and work for the Kentucky Department of Transportation. It is their job to verify that all concrete and construction materials and processes are within the specifications required for proper and safe construction of the roadway.

Very often when we laymen see a construction site we may think that folks are standing around doing nothing. The reality is that there are many facets to a construction project that temporarily halt work but everyone we see is an integral part of the process. I like to think of it as similar to a football game. The team is simply waiting for the ball to be snapped and then everyone has a role to play in an effort to complete the play. In this case the ball is waiting for the officials to place it on the scrimmage line and blow the whistle for the game to resume.

Concrete Pump Snorkel
Concrete Pump Boom

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THis image shows the concrete pump boom that is used to place the concrete on the roadway. In the lower right side you can see two concrete trucks positioned to feed wet concrete into the hopper on the pump. The pump operator then delivers the wet mix through the boom and hose to another operator on top who actually directs the placing of the boom using a joy stick apparatus that he wears on his shoulders. Finally there is a laborer who is aiming the snorkel on the end of the hose to place the concrete where it needs to be.

Feeding the concrete pump
Feeding the concrete pump

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This image shows the concrete pump and the two concrete delivery truck that are required to feed it. These truck are just two of many that were delivering concrete to the pump that morning. As soon as they had offloaded their concrete another pair replaced them; this went on for hours as truck after truck delivered more material. In this case there were over 50 loads of concrete delivered just to pour one span of the new roadway.

Pumping the concrete
Pumping the concrete requires communication and direction.

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As you can see by this image the sun has started to rise and the concrete pour has progressed further south. I couldn’t hear what was being said but clearly this was a moment when people were learning what the next actions they needed to take would be  once the next batch of concrete started flowing from the concrete pump.