Tag: Louisville

Reflections of Louisville

Posted on by Nick Roberts
The Highlands Reflected in the Leatherhead Front Windows.
The Highlands Reflected in the Leatherhead Front Windows.

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I have been trying to represent each of the eclectic business districts of Louisville in a single image for a couple of weeks now. I tried various angles but each time I wound up with too much pavement  in relation to the amount of architecture. While shooting one morning last week I discovered that I could show businesses on both sides of the street by using the reflections of one side of the street in the shop window across the street.

I shot all the images in this post in three shot brackets that I merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and then finished them in Aperture 3. I built a preset in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 that I used on all these shots so that I had a consistent feel to the images. By using the preset I could quickly get the HDR image where I wanted it and then take it back into Aperture 3 for final processing.

Plehn's Bakery and Jimmy John's Deli Reflected in 60 West Windows in St. Matthews.
Plehn’s Bakery and Jimmy John’s Deli Reflected in 60 West Windows in St. Matthews.

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I used the same processing for the rest of these images.

St Mathews Hardware Window
St Mathews Hardware Window

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Highlands Businesses Reflected in Leatherhead's Front Window.
Highlands Businesses Reflected in Leatherhead’s Front Window.

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St. Matthews Reflected in 60 West Front Windows.
St. Matthews Reflected in 60 West Front Windows.

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Doo Wop Shop Facade With Highlands Businesses Reflections.
Doo Wop Shop Facade With Highlands Businesses Reflections.

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Doo Wop Shop Facade #2
Doo Wop Shop Facade #2

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Kentucky Derby Festival 2013 The Great Steamboat Race

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Great Steamboat Race 2013
Great Steamboat Race 2013

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This image is from the Great Steamboat Race here in Louisville, Kentucky. Each year, as part of the Kentucky Derby Festival, Louisville hosts the annual Great Steamboat Race which pits her own steamboat the Belle of Louisville against any other contenders that show up. This year was the first time people could view the race from the Big Four Bridge in Waterfront Park.

This image is a single frame post processed in Aperture 3 without using any plug-ins. I liked the repeating shapes of the boat’s wakes as a reinforcement of the bridge beams and handrail.

Great Steamboat Race 2013 #2
Great Steamboat Race 2013 #2

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This image received the same post processing as the previous photo. I created a preset Effect in Aperture 3 based on the first image and was able to apply it to many of the images I shot that afternoon. After applying the preset to an image I could go into the adjustment panes and make small tweaks to each image as needed without having to start from scratch.

The Belle of Louisville in front of Waterfront Park during the Great Steamboat Race 2013.
The Belle of Louisville in front of Waterfront Park during the Great Steamboat Race 2013.

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I applied the preset to this image as well. It’s a real timesaver to build an Effect Preset in Aperture 3 and then apply and tweak it as needed.

Sunset on the Ohio River after the Great Steamboat Race 2013
Sunset on the Ohio River after the Great Steamboat Race 2013

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This last image was also processed in Aperture 3 using the same Effects Preset I created but since it was later in the day I had to go into it and readjust many of the sliders to emphasize the colors of the sky and it’s reflection on the river. Still it was nice to have the preset as a starting point that shared the same overall feel as the earlier images.

Ohio River Sunset

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Ohio River Sunset
Ohio River Sunset

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This is a three exposure HDR using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 for the merger and tonemapping as well as some exposure and structure adjustment. The three kayaks in the scene are from the middle value exposure which is the default frame for NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 when anti-ghosting is applied; I used a 60% setting which seems to work very well for preventing ghosts when objects in the scene are moving in one direction. The anti-ghosting also worked very well for the women walking along the landing at this 60% setting. After completing my NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 adjustments I returned the image to Aperture 3 where I adjusted the separate color channels to get the image I wanted.

Silent Sunday

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Into the Mist
Into the Mist

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Memo From the Department of Shameless Self Promotion

I am still accepting participants for my next HDR Workshop on May 17-18, 2013 here in Louisville. The last session was a great success; the participants all felt that it was time well spent and were applying the things they learned the next day. Here’s a link to the sign up page at Outdoor Photo Gear.

http://outdoorphotogear.ticketleap.com/using-hdr-photography/

 

 

Miles Lake Morning / Using Reflections to Add Interest

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Miles Lake Morning #1
Miles Lake Morning #1

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When I went out to the Parklands the other morning I was hoping to get a dramatic sunrise but the eastern sky was empty. I decided to hike along the southern shore of Miles Lake to see if there might be something else in there to photograph. About half way to the end of the lake I looked behind me and saw that there was a weather front moving in from the west. I noticed that the clouds were creating an interesting reflection in the placid surface of the lake so I set up my tripod and shot a three frame bracket at -2, 0, and +2 EV.

Back home in my studio I opened the three images in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I merged them and since the morning had been calm I only applied 20% anti-ghosting to the merged files. Once they were merged I applied the Deep #1 preset and made some adjustments to the contrast, white, blacks, shadows and highlights sliders. I then returned the image to Aperture 3 where I adjusted the recovery and vibrance sliders very slightly before sharpening and saving the image.