Tag: travel

Using Diagonal Lines as Compositional Elements

Posted on by Nick Roberts

This is another photo incorporating the highway as a major compositional element. I can’t recall where I took this photo but I really like the way the highway sweeps across the frame from right to left forming several triangles that converge at the horizon. Even the clouds are forming triangular patterns and reinforcing the diagonal slopes of the distant mountains.

It is also pretty obvious that this photo was taken at midday yet it still has enough contrast and detail to remain interesting. I processed this image with Topaz Adjust before final sharpening was done in Aperture 3.

A Storm Was Brewing on the Horizon

Posted on by Nick Roberts

When the destination for my ride requires me to be on a tight schedule the Interstate Highway System is my only choice. While I prefer to use the older US Highway system to travel across the country, the pace is different and I don’t mind slowing down as I pass through small towns, I sometimes need to cover a lot of distance in a day.

I often hear from people that the Interstate Highways are boring roads but I don’t always find them that boring. For one thing these highways often pass through beautiful country and since the right of way is so wide there are sections where the only sign of man’s hand is the highway itself.

This is a photo of one such stretch of interstate. I don’t recall where I was when I took this photo but I do remember vividly how quickly the rain moved in my direction! I saw this storm on the horizon and pulled to the side of the road to put on my rain gear. Before donning my rain gear I grabbed my camera from my saddlebag and took a few shots of the approaching rain storm. I love seeing the rain falling as a storm moves in the distance and the way the rain makes patterns uniting the clouds and the earth. In a matter of minutes the storm was on top of me and I stashed my camera back in the saddlebag.

I grabbed my rain gear and was just getting it unrolled when the wind and rain were upon me; the wind was blowing full force and the rain drops were as big as grapes. I was standing there in the middle of nowhere trying to put on my rain jacket as the wind was doing it’s best to tun it into a sail! I had only managed to get one arm in the jacket when the storm got to me. As I stood there in the pouring rain, battling the wind and trying to get the rain pants and jacket fastened I was drenched with rain. Once I finished I was almost as wet as I would have been had I simply left the rain gear in the saddlebag.

I climbed back on the bike and headed into the storm fully expecting to ride the rest of the afternoon in rain but less that five miles down the road the storm was gone and the sky was clear again. I was still wet and cold but I had another great experience to remember and savor for years to come. These types of things are among the reasons I love motorcycling and exploring America by motorcycle; if I had been in a car that afternoon I wouldn’t have tasted and felt the the forces of nature that form our world.

As for the composition, once again the highway leads the viewer’s eye into the scene, dominates the foreground and reinforces the rule of thirds as it moves into the frame.  The colors and textures of the clouds add interest to the upper part of the image while the horizon gives a sense of depth. I used Topaz Adjust on this image which accounts for the enhanced contrast of the road surface and the saturation of the colors.

 

The Road Goes On Forever

Posted on by Nick Roberts

For me riding a motorcycle and taking photographs is really about the journey not the destination. I want to experience the vistas that unfold around the next bend in the road; I want to feel and smell the country I’m travelling through; then, hopefully, I’ll be able to convey the essence of those sensory experiences in my photos. I’m constantly struck by the beauty of the highway as it ribbons across the landscape and try to share that vision in my images. When I am riding out in the west I often pull over to the side of the road and photograph the scene that the highway has just revealed to me.

I find that by using the roads I’m travelling as compositional elements I can create very evocative images that show the allure of motorcycling and the grandeur of the terrain.  This photo of Devils Tower in Wyoming shows how using the highway as a key element can really direct the viewer’s eye into the frame. Many people, when they are going to see a monument such as Devil’s Tower, let images slip by that would give a better sense of the place in their quest to get to and photograph the land form or feature that they seek.

This shot was enhanced in an older version of Topaz Adjust 3, the current version is version 5, and at that time the presets were pretty heavy handed. The later versions of Topaz Adjust are much more finessed in their effects and do a better job of enhancing photos than the earlier ones. I learned a lot from using those early versions and I am still a huge fan of presets as a way to get inspired by an image and the potential ways that I can process it to express my vision for the final product.

Using Texture as the Main Subject

Posted on by Nick Roberts

Today I’d like to show some shots that rely on texture for their impact. I really like the way this first image came out after processing it in Topaz Adjust using the Spicify preset. The peeling paint and pitted chrome really jump out and the DeSoto badge adds a nice hit of color to balance with the rusted grill bars. I look at images such as this as studies in using texture as the focus of the image.

Here is another texture shot from the same DeSoto. I really like the way the crazed paint conveys a feeling of age and shows it’s inherent beauty. For me this image has an almost topographical feel as if we are looking at a surreal landscape. Topaz Adjust does a great job here of intensifying the colors and showing the texture in the subject.

This detail shot of the door on an old truck shows how isolating a section of one of these old cars can create an interesting image. I usually try to spend some time exploring the surface of these cars and searching for interesting compositions that isolate the texture and patina of time.

This last image is one of my favorite shots of a Buick I located in northern Alabama a few years back. I was drawn to the contrast of the chrome against the pitted and rusted surface of the metal. The many colors that were present in the paint and rust were brought out by processing this shot in Topaz Adjust using the Spicify preset. When I use these presets they are simply starting points for me and I usually spend a great deal of time playing with the various sliders to find the right combination for a given image.

Watching…

Posted on by Nick Roberts

Toady’s image is once again from the 3 Mile International Start Line. The lady’s shirt says it all if you’re a Land Speed Racing enthusiast. The Black and White Bar is a fixture in Wendover and hosts an all you can eat spaghetti dinner one night during the BUB event.

I processed this shot in Topaz Adjust and then took it back into Aperture 3 where I adjusted the color, straightened the horizon and sharpened it. As for composition I placed her in the foreground of the right hand third of the frame while using her head angle to lead the viewer’s eye to the motorcycle racing past. The negative space on the left continues to carry your eye into infinity and reinforces the vastness of the Salt Flats.