Tag: NIK HDR Efex Pro 2

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.

 

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.

 

Abstracts and Close-ups From the Ohio River Bridges Project Construction Site

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Caisson Connectors
Caisson Connectors

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When I am out on the job site shooting I like to include abstracts and close-ups from the construction site  in my workflow. I find the visual elements of a pile of bolts, an impression left by a tire tread and manmade vs organic shapes very interesting. As a photographer I am very attuned to seeing art in the mundane day to day elements that surround me when I’m in the field shooting and strive to share that beauty with the viewers of my images.

The bolts in the image above are used in the assembly of the caisson in the background. I shot these as a three frame bracket set and merged them into a single HDR image using NIK HDR EFex Pro 2. After merging them and applying the Balanced preset I returned the merged file to Aperture 3 for final adjustments to color, sharpness, contrast and saturation.

Abstract close-up of construction components.
Abstract close-up of construction components.

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Due to the need to capture images throughout the workday I often find myself shooting in some pretty harsh lighting conditions which I compensate for by using bracketed exposures and HDR processing. By capturing a three frame bracket of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures I am able to gather detail in the highlights and shadows and merge that data in my HDR software of choice NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. Generally my merger procedure is to apply the Balanced preset with as little anti-ghosting as possible in order to maintain the detail in the images. Because I shoot almost all my daytime construction images handheld I find anti-ghosting to be one of the most important settings to monitor during processing of an HDR image. I am fairly sure that the use of anti-ghosting compensates for minor camera movement and aids in aligning the three frames I usually shoot in my bracket set.

Crane Mat Timbers
Crane Mat Timbers

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Whenever the cranes on tracks are set up they are almost always sitting on these heavy timber crane mats. The timbers are about 12″ x 12″ in cross section and then they are bolted together into slabs of several timbers. These slabs are leveled and placed on the ground to spread the weight of the construction crane evenly and make a stable platform for the crane to work from.

I came across this stack of crane mats and was drawn to the colors and textures of their surfaces. These crane mats were stored in a shaded area of the job site and the light was very low. By using a bracketed series of three exposures I was able to capture a wide dynamic range and bring out the texture, colors and detail in the image. This is another example of why I love using HDR techniques to photograph on the job site. The broad dynamic range provided by the bracket set allows me to make decisions about how I want to portray the subject in the final image and what elements are most important to me in the final photo.

Earth Compactor Pattern
Earth Compactor Pattern

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I shot this image because I liked the pattern and contrast  that the earth compactor teeth left in the earth with the organic fissures between the machine made impressions.

 

HDR Workshop Scheduled for June 13-14, 2014

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Parkland Morning
Parkland Morning

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Have you wondered about how you can use HDR in your photographic workflow? Are you baffled by all the conflicting information you have heard? Do you want to create photos that reflect your vision and feel for your images?

If you answered yes to any or all those questions then my HDR Workshop is for you. Participants will learn the “Why” of HDR photography and “How” to create images that reflect your own personal style. In this workshop you will work on source images I provide as you learn how to become comfortable using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 software as your initial processing tool.

If you are already using NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 you will achieve confidence in it’s use and discover some of the ways that I use it to create hyper-realistic images that avoid the cliched over-sharpened, grungy and garish images that so many new HDR users get. I’ll explain in detail why I think NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 is the best HDR app available today and how it compares to it’s many competitors.

If you’re ready to explore the fascinating world of HDR then by all means enroll today and start your own personal journey into the wonderful world of HDR photography with the skills you need. My workshops are very hands on affairs where everyone brings their laptop and camera and actually uses the software. You will not be simply sitting there watching me point and click my way through the process; you will be actively participating as you explore the interface and see firsthand what a given adjustment does.

Use the link below to enroll and master the use of NIK HDR Efex Pro 2. If the link isn’t working simply copy and paste the url into your browser and that should do the trick.

http://outdoorphotogear.ticketleap.com/hdr-photography-nick-roberts/details

If you have any questions please use the contact form below to reach me.

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Climbing Up Inside The Tower Crane on Pier Four of The Ohio River Bridges Project

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Looking into Indiana from inside the tower of the Tower Crane on Pier 4.
Looking into Indiana from inside the tower of the Tower Crane on Pier Four.

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Last week I was cleared by the safety manager to enter and climb the tower crane that has been installed on pier four of the Ohio River Bridges Project. The tower crane is approximately 100 feet tall now and will eventually be extended up to around 200 feet in order to build the bridge towers for the northern tower of the downtown span. Each section of the crane tower is ten feet tall and affords me a place to stand and shoot from as I climb up. I only went up six sections but with the additional height of the tower base I was able to shoot from around eighty feet above the river. The view of the project from there is amazing and I can’t wait to climb higher the next time I’m out there. Eventually I will be able to climb all the way up to the crane itself and see the project as the crane operator sees it.

A view of the eastern tower structure of the Bridge Tower at Pier 4 on the Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span.
A view of the eastern tower structure of the Bridge Tower at Pier Four on the Ohio River Bridges Project Downtown Span.

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In this second image you can see the base of the eastern leg of the northern bridge tower and the shadow of the tower crane. I think I was around forty feet above the base but I’m not sure exactly which level I was on when I shot this image. The river was pretty muddy from the heavy rains that went through upstream from Louisville a few days earlier. The brown shapes on the water are driftwood branches and logs that are swept into the river whenever the river rises.

Not much more to say about these images except that they are both HDR shot handheld in a three frame bracket set of +2, 0 and -2 EV exposures. They were merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and finished in Aperture 3.