Tag: Ohio River

Focus on Fireworks

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Green Hornet
Green Hornet meets the Pink Panther

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This year for the Fourth of July fireworks I tried a new technique that I read about in several various posts around the web. The basic premise is to use focus to create blur around a fireworks explosion. I set my focus at just short of infinity and then refocused after tripping the shutter. I used shutter speeds of 1 and 2 seconds at f5.6 and f8 to experiment with this technique.

Rhapsody in Blue and Green
Rhapsody in Blue and Green

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Technicolor Dreamboat
Technicolor Dreamboat

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Pink and Green Nucleus
Pink and Green Nucleus

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Flaming Flower
Flaming Flower

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A Star is Born.
A Star is Born.

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Cosmic Dust
Cosmic Dust

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BOOM!
BOOM!

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I finished all the images in Aperture 3 and really cranked up the sharpening both in the RAW file and in the finished image. I also played around a lot with the Saturation, Luminance and Range sliders in the individual color channels to intensify the colors.

All in all I am better satisfied with these fireworks images than any I have attempted in the past. I think I’ll work on refining the technique the next time a fireworks opportunity presents itself.

Waterfront Park Sprayground

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Waterfront Park Sprayground #1
Waterfront Park Sprayground #1

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One of the wonderful features of Waterfont Park is the Sprayground feature. The Sprayground is busy all day long with kids squealing and splashing under the water fountains or climbing on the playground equipment. One of the features that I really like is the fish fountains that have water pouring out of their mouths creating beautiful waterfalls on the kids heads.

I chose to shoot this scene in HDR so I shot a three bracket set of -2, 0 and +2 EV to capture the details in the sun and in the shade under the trees. I first took the three RAW frames into NIK Sharpener Pro and applied adaptive sharpening globally. I then merged the three sharpened frames in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I applied a 60% anti-ghosting setting. The anti-ghosting allowed me to capture the many moving people and kids without showing any ghost artifacts. I also used the Deep 2 preset but I tweaked it to bring down some of the over-saturation in the foliage while still showing the vibrant blues in the sky and water. I finished the image in Aperture 3 where I adjusted individual color saturation and luminance. I applied my final sharpening and a small vignette to complete the image.

Louisville’s Downtown Bridge Is Underway

Posted on by Nick Roberts
The first phase of construction on the Downtown Bridge is underway.
The first phase of construction on the Downtown Bridge is underway.

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This is another HDR image of  Waterfront Park looking west toward the crane that will be part of the skyline for the next couple of years. I shot this from the ramp to the Big Four Bridge overlooking the Swing Garden. I shot a handheld bracket set of three frames +2, 0 and -2 EV. I was able to hand hold the shots because it was mid morning and the light was high which resulted in relatively short exposures.

I first took the three RAW frames into NIK Sharpener Pro and applied adaptive sharpening to all of them. I then opened them in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 where I merged them and applied  the Deep 2 preset which I tweaked a bit to reduce some of the luminance and saturation. I then returned the merged image to Aperture 3 for final adjustment, sharpening and added a small vignette. In Aperture 3 I also adjusted the exposure and contrast as well as tweaking the individual color channels in the green, yellow and blue areas.

Louisville’s New Downtown Bridge

Posted on by Nick Roberts
Waterfront Park during the Downtown Bridge construction, June 27, 2013
Waterfront Park during the Downtown Bridge construction, June 27, 2013

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Work has begun on the Downtown Bridge carrying I-65 across the Ohio River from Louisville. The impact on Waterfront Park should be minimal because the Waterfront Development Corporation had the foresight to prepare a place for it to cross the park. The Waterfront Development Corporation made sure to keep any major component of the park out of this area in an effort to accomodate the bridge and still have a world class park along the Louisville waterfront. This type of forward thinking is the hallmark of the Waterfront Development Corporation which has returned the waterfront to the citizens of Louisville as the “Commons” that the city’s founders envisioned.

As with the Big Four Bridge project I am excited to see and photograph the changing face of Louisville as it continues it’s march into the future. Over the course of the next two years I will be following the construction and the people making it happen. After shooting the Big Four Project I have discovered how much I enjoy construction projects and will certainly be following this latest engineering feat as the work progresses.

I shot this image in the part of the day that most photography “experts” would say to put the camera away. The conventional thinking is that midday light is too harsh and the only time to shoot landscapes is during the “golden hours” or the “blue hours”. I don’t think that is necessary and subscribe to the belief that even when the sun is high in the sky there are plenty of good photo opportunities if one will only open one’s eyes and mind to the possibilities. This particular day the sky was full of interesting cloud formations as a low pressure front was pushing in from the south and colliding with a high pressure front from the north. Had the sky been empty I might have chosen another framing to show the park and construction project.

The image was created from a three frame bracket set using +2, 0 and -2 EV. I first took all three RAW images into NIK Sharpener Pro where I applied some initial sharpening. I then merged the three shots in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and applied the Deep 2 preset before returning the merged image to Aperture 3 where I applied several adjustments to saturation and luminance in an effort to tone down the colors slightly. I then straightened and cropped the image and applied the final sharpening.

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.