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With the unseasonably warm weather we have been seeing here in Louisville the past two weeks we have been treated to some incredible sunsets. This image was captured last Thursday evening just after sunset. I used a single frame processed in Aperture 3 and NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 create this photo. I chose a panoramic crop to emphasize the linearity of the clouds and the bridge on the right side.
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This photo is from Louisville’s Waterfront Park near the Kennedy bridge which carries I-65 across the Ohio River. The bridges on the left and right, the Clark Memorial Bridge and the Big Four railroad bridge were constructed in 1928. I find it amazing that they both were built in one year. In contrast today there is another bridge that will be built, starting later this year, alongside the Kennedy that will require almost three years to complete.
This image was created by cropping a single frame into the panorama format. I then processed it in NIK HDR Efex Pro and Aperture 3. I wanted to emphasize the perspective of the scene by positioning myself almost under the Kennedy and shooting the image with my 18-55mm lens set to 18mm at f9.
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This panorama was taken from the Big Four Bridge looking upriver; the river seems so calm and sleepy in the early morning hours. I really liked the way the sky was reflected in the river that morning and the minimalist feel that it imparted.
I processed this image in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 using the Deep 2 preset as my start point.
Not much more to add except that I hope all my readers here in the US have a great Thanksgiving holiday. I’ve baked three pumpkin pies and a sweet potato casserole as my contribution to our family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Now all I need to do is deliver them and then sit back and enjoy our family’s company.
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It’s been a while since I posted anything but I’ve been busy shooting the final days of the Big Four Bridge project. I shot this image from the Big Four Bridge a couple of weeks ago and just found time to process it last week.
Though it appears to be a HDR image this image is from a single frame and was processed entirely in Aperture 3. I chose to use this frame from the bracket set I shot because it had an excellent histogram that was not blown out in the highlights or blocked up in the shadows. It was very early in the morning and the sunlight had not begun to illuminate the shoreline but the reflections of the clouds were so dramatic I couldn’t resist the shot.
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I’ve been taking a few days off from the blog to focus on my ongoing Big Four Bridge documentation project as the construction nears completion. I’ve been able to photograph the men as they are working and last week I was there as the first section of the final bridge deck was poured. Watching the crew at work is amazing as they go about floating the concrete, then hand finishing the edges and finally applying a broom finish to it. Tomorrow the pouring resumes and I’ll be there with my camera to capture the ballet that goes on as they place the concrete and finish it.
This image was captured last week after thunderstorms had moved through Louisville. I wanted to create an image that showed the Big Four Bridge from the eastern side. It is difficult to get a good vantage point to shoot west and include the Big Four Bridge. I have found that there is a vantage point on a small platform that is just east of the bridge that affords a pretty good view of the bridge.
I processed this image entirely in Aperture 3 without using any plugins or HDR software. I shot an entire bracket set but decided to only use one frame that showed a good histogram that didn’t indicate blown highlights and with just a little blocking up in the shadows. I’m really enjoying working with single frames as opposed to merging several frames in a HDR program as it challenges me to shoot for good exposures that have broad histograms.
