Frozen in Time

We found this ice formation in Taylors Falls on Saturday. To me it looks like a miniature waterfall frozen in time.

Techie Corner
I did a lot of post-production in Photoshop and Lightroom on this one.
Shot at 1/6 Sec @ F8.0, ISO 200

Photoshop Friday

As Friday ticks away, I've been totally stumped on what to do for my blog today. I've finally decided to practice portrait re-touching.

I took one of the photos from mom's portrait sitting the other day and did a little retouching, etc. I'm including the original image so you can see the difference.

See you on Monday!

Techie Corner
Made a new gradient background from colors in her face and sweater. Did some sharpening and softening. Retouched some red lines in her cheeks and whitened her teeth. Adjusted lighting. Did a little cropping.

Low Tide at the Stone Arch Bridge

I love bridges, so you're probably going to see a lot of bridge photos over time too. Think of it as a photo and history lesson today.

Every 20 years, the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers lowers the water level of the pool below Upper St. Anthony Falls to inspect a storm water tunnel. This leaves part of the Stone Arch Bridge naked. We went down there yesterday to photograph its nakedness. The only hitch was a windchill well below zero, which made it impossible to take more than a few photos before my fingers and my camera were frozen. Bah!

The Stone Arch Bridge was built in 1883 and was a working railroad bridge until 1978! You'll notice the arch on the left is reinforced with concrete. Wikipedia says "...in 1965, floodwaters undermined three of the piers and caused the bridge to sag. The bridge was repaired by strengthening the piers and reinforcing underneath two of the arches."

It was neglected during the 1980's, but was rehabilitated into a pedestrian bridge in the early 1990's. According to the nps.gov site, it "is the only bridge of its kind over the Mississippi River. It is made of native granite and limestone, and measures 2100-feet long by 28-feet wide. The bridge consists of 23 arches, and spans the river below St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, MN."

Techie Corner
Since this is an old bridge, I decided to give the image an old-time feel too. I converted to grayscale and did some split-toning to make it look sepia tone.
Shot at 1/90 Sec @ F32, ISO 200

Hastings Sunset

We popped down to Hastings on Saturday and I got this image of their infamous bridge (same structural design weaknesses as the I-35W bridge.) I really like this style of bridge. It's a pity that some of them weren't designed properly. The 1950's and 60's seemed to be a low point in structural soundness.

Techie Corner
The original image was kinda drab considering the sun was almost gone. I punched up the vibrance, saturation, and blacks quite a bit. A slight crop and sharpening also.
Shot at 1/10 Sec @ F8.0, ISO 200

Vibrant Rose

With a subject this pretty, I have to indulge one more day.

Techie Corner
Same lighting and filter as the last rose. This time I kicked up the vibrance in Lightroom to make the colors pop and I did some sharpening, vignetting, and softening in Photoshop.
Shot at 1 Sec @ F8.0, ISO 400