Tag: Somerset County

My HDR Workflow

I like HDR photography a lot. I've been messing around with it for a few years. Most of my efforts have been hit or miss. Not all subjects lend themselves to HDR photography, and my technique and workflow are shoddy.

Recently I discovered an article by where he detailed his workflow for creating beautiful HDR. I put the piece away but only recently found the time to try out his workflow on a few of my images.

The image in the header of this post is the original image of a fire truck for the Rocky Hill Hook & Ladder. I took the photo about a month ago a few days after Hurricane Irene blew through New Jersey. The Rocky Hill Hook & Ladder were out helping residents with flooded basements, cutting fallen trees, and keep idiot motorist off the flooded road and bridges in the area.

I started with a single RAW image and used Topaz Noise to remove some noise from the high ISO image. I created four virtual copies in Adobe Lightroom and adjusted each +4/-4 and +2/-2 stop before combining them to create an HDR image in Photomatix Pro. I then tone-mapped the HDR image using Enhancer Painterly. That image is below.

29 August 2011 | Nikon D40 | AF-S DX Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8G

I then imported the resultant image into Topaz Adjust and applied one of the standards presets. I think it was crisp. The result is the following. What do you think?

Rocky Hill Fire Department | 29 August 2011 | Nikon D40 | AF-S DX Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8G

Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail Walk with Montgomery Friends of Open Space

Last weekend I went for a walk along the Delaware and Raritan Canal Park Trail towpath with my family. The walk was organised by the Montgomery Friends of Open Space and The D& R Canal Watch. It snowed the night before, so it was cold that morning, but we bundled up and drove to the Kington Lock. The plan was to walk from the Griggstown Lock to the Kingston Lock.

Mary M. Penney, President of Montgomery Friends of Open Space, handed out maps and other information. Our walk guide and board member of the D&R Canal Watch, Bob Barth, explained the logistics of the walk. Some of us would carpool to Griggstown and walk back to Kingston, while the rest started at Rocky Hill.

My sister-in-law, Nilima, my niece Maya, and my other sister-in-law's father-in-law, joined us to walk from Griggstown in Franklin Township. With me were my wife and daughter. My son decided he was too tired for a walk.

As we walked, Bob Barth told us about the history of the canal and towpath and how it was used to transport goods between Bordentown and New Brunswick. Construction of the canal started in 1830 and was completed four later with an estimated cost of $2,830,000. The canal was built by hand by mostly Irish immigrants.

For nearly a century after it opened, the D&R Canal was one of America's busiest navigation canals. Its peak years were the 1860s and 1870s, when Pennsylvania coal was transported through the D&R Canal to feed the city of New York's industrial boom. During this period, 80% of the total cargo carried on the canal was coal.~ Delaware & Raritan Canal History

We walked quickly, occasionally stopping to listen to Bob explain more of the history of the canal and the surrounding towns. We encountered a few large trees that had fallen across the path. It's incredible how much damage Hurricane Sandy did to the forests of New Jersey.

My family and I had a good time and plan on attending other MFOS events.

Mary Penny hands out maps and information about Montgomery Friends of Open Space.—Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8
Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8
Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8
Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8
Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8
Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8
Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8
Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8
Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8
Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8
Nikon D40 + 35 mm f/1.8 @ 35 mm, f/2.8

August 28th, 2011 - Burst

Torrential rains from Hurricane Irene have transformed the usually peaceful Millstone River into a raging torrent, overwhelming the eastern end of Washington Street in Rocky Hill. A large section of Washington Street is now submerged under muddy waters, with nature's force rendering the road impassable. All bridges and roads leading in and out of this section of Somerset County are flooded.

Rocky Hill Borough administration have officially closed the roads into town because foolish people are driving around the barricades in an attempt to cross the flooded bridge.

Trees silently witness the deluge, their branches drooping under the relentless rain. The roaring floodwaters engulf the location of the historic Rocky Hill Grist Mill (aka Bear-Mount Mill and Hooper Mill), now home to local businesses The Pottery and John Shedd Designs. The rushing water laps against the signage that once welcomed customers. This watery chaos starkly illustrates the hurricane's might and the fragility of the structures in its wake.

Millstone River at George Washington Road, Rocky Hill · 28 August 2011 · Nikon D40 · AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G