Please pardon my slight alteration of the title of a great song by Simon & Garfunkel in my image for this month! Of all things, this location is an ecological park built years and years ago by a wealthy citizen of Indianapolis. It sits right in the hustle and bustle of downtown Indianapolis, surrounded by a private university. I thought the stone bridge, foliage, and nice sky conditions merited an IR image. This was taken only two weeks ago...nice to have some "new material". I used NIK BW Efex to convert the original file, then applied my normal post processing routine of the Detail Extractor filter and the Darken/Lighten Center filter. Further, a split Neutral Density filter was added via NIK Color Efex Pro. I personally love the detail and the varying textures and shapes. Let's see what all of you think about this one. Nikon D300 converted to Deep BW IR by LifePixel. 18-70mm lens at 18mm, 1/60th, f8, ISO 400.
7 comments posted
Emil Davidzuk
Gary,
Glad to see you are out shooting IR, i need to follow suit.
The texture in this stone bridge is off the chart as is the mottled light painting it. I like everything you shot but I feel the sky has just a touch of "blah"; maybe perk the clouds up just a bit.
Regards
Emil Posted: 10/01/2025 15:58:26
Charles Walker
Gary, indeed, the details matter with this image. I also like what you did to contrast the sky with the trees. Enhancing the brightness in the middle of the photo strengthened the compostion. Absolutely lovely. Posted: 10/01/2025 16:23:38
Steve Long
Gary, I really like your image, some much texture and contrast. Question, having no experience in Nik software, was you able to mask the sky inside of Nik or using global adjustments achieved this? Posted: 10/01/2025 18:46:00
Arik Gorban
Hi Gary. This is a beautiful scene and IR picture. I don't want to repeat everything you said in your write-up here, other than I agree with you. I would probably skip the Detail Extractor, but I know you like the crisp details. Posted: 10/01/2025 21:26:39
Henry Heerschap
Nicely done, Gary. I love the bridge, water and trees. The sky feels a bit overly contrasty for my taste but I know we have different opinions about such things. This would print beautifully. Posted: 10/02/2025 21:50:14
Jack Florence Jr
Interesting, and bold that you took this bridge from the side, Gary. It is so much easier to take them from a vantage point where they add depth to the scene. But here, you make up for it with that nice texture revealed. The trees and the sky add to the tranquil mood. Posted: 10/03/2025 22:39:55
Melanie Hurwitz
Hi Gary, this really is such an unusual and interesting bridge. The detail you have managed to bring out in it is stunning. It looks jeweled. But, I think I would have used the detail extractor on the bridge only, and have the foliage and sky softer. There is a crunchiness of the trees near the water on the left. Posted: 10/05/2025 16:36:33
