The Author – Bart Busschots
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May
23
Photo of the Week 170 & 171 – Royal Canal HDR
Filed Under Photography on May 23, 2011 at 7:46 pm
I spent so much energy writing my big HDR article last weekend that I didn’t get around to posting my Photo of the Week, so another double post this week to catch up. I thought I’d stick to the theme of HDR, and also pick two shots of the same subject, the Royal Canal. This canal is very special to me as it’s where I get most of my exercise, and the vast majority of my nature photos, as well as many of my railway shots too! I do a lot of pseudo-HDR shots where I tonemap single RAW images, but I hardly ever take the time to create ‘true’ HDRs by combining multiple separate exposures. Last month, for the first time in ages, I spent some time shooting some ‘real’ HDRs, and these two are my favourites.
The first is a very low-key naturalistic HDR showing two boats moored above the 14th lock on the Royal Canal at Jackson’s Bridge near Maynooth as a spring sun sets. This HDR was generated from four brackets.
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure:
- Bracket 1: 1/100
- Bracket 2: 1/200
- Bracket 3: 1/400
- Bracket 4: 1/800
- Focal Length: 22mm
- Focal Ratio: f/11
- ISO: 400
- Camera Mode: Full Manual
- Processing: created by combining four RAW images into a single tonemap in Photomatix Pro, then running that tonemap through Topaz Adjust before importing into Aperture 3 for a few final tweaks
The second shot I’ve chosen was processed to capture the feeling and atmosphere of the scene, rather than to capture it exactly as it looked to the eye. This is a much more extravagant HDR, and perhaps a little hyper-real. It was the absolute sea of Dandelion seed heads and the reflection of the setting sun in the water that caught my eye and inspired me to stop and set up my the tripod for a full HDR. This beautiful stretch of the canal is located between Maynooth village and Jackson’s Bridge, and the wall running along the canal here is the boundary wall for St. Patrick’s College (SPCM). This shot was also generated from 4 brackets.
- Camera: Nikon D40
- Lens: Nikon DX AFS 18-55mm (D40 kit lens)
- Exposure:
- Bracket 1: 1/50
- Bracket 2: 1/100
- Bracket 3: 1/200
- Bracket 4: 1/400
- Focal Length: 42mm
- Focal Ratio: f/8
- ISO: 200
- Camera Mode: Full Manual
- Processing: created by combining four RAW images into a single tonemap in Photomatix Pro, then running that tonemap through Topaz Adjust before importing into Aperture 3 for a few final tweaks
hello bart
i was fascinated by your photos and videos which i discovered when looking for details of my late mothers family, the hughes family, according to family stories my great grandfather worked as both a level crossing keeper for the railway and lock keeper for the canal with his cottage close to both or indeed between them.There are only two locations as far as i can ascertain that he could have worked and lived, these are at reillys bridge at cabra and blakestown level crossing at leixlip,i wonder if you have any photos of either of these locations that i could purchase from you.my grandfather thomas hughes was born in 1888 but i have little other detail. thank you, chris woodcock
Hi Chris,
Apologies for the VERY slow reply – your comment got held up as spam by mistake until I was doing some housekeeping today and found it.
I don’t have any photos at all of Reilly Bridge, but I do have some shots taken at Blakestown, but none that show the old keeper’s cottage which is now part of an Irish Waterways compound and covered in horrible barbed wire. Here’s a link to my shots taken in the Blakestown area: http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=23966421@N06&q=blakestown
Bart.
Response to Chris Woodcock if possible please Chris I too have been looking for images of this cottage perhaps the same family link a lockkeeper Richard Monahan. Love to hear form you if so
Fiona
Hi Fiona,
I do not know if I am on the right track with the canal cottage as there is only my late mothers stories to go on.Her father, Thomas Hughes, was born in Gifford Place, Dublin, a railway cottage near to where the O2 Point village venue is now, according to my mother her grandfather was both lock keeper and level crossing keeper and he was certainly listed as a railwayman on his death certificate and the royal canal joined the river liffey near to that railway yard, Gifford Place was certainly between both.Unfortunately my mothers recollections were that she visited her grandfather, James Hughes, at his canal-side cottage in a village near Dublin when she was three years old in 1935, this was impossible as James Hughes died in 1906 and his wife died before him around 1895. Their sons John Hughes and Patrick Hughes, mums uncles, were the only ones she could have visited but I have not been able to trace either of them although there are lots of mentions of the Hughes family in the Leixlip area. There is a cottage near Louisa Bridge, Leixlip, where the Hughes family did indeed live but I have not established a link between that Hughes family and mine, there is another cottage at Deey Bridge and Blakestown level crossing but again there is no link.There are only four places on the royal canal where the railway runs next to it and they are the two just mentioned, one at Reillys Bridge and one in the Dublin docks where my grandfather was born.There are photos of the first three of these cottages on the internet but the Dublin docks have long since gone. I hope you have more success than me in your quest and if I can be of any further help please get in touch.
Best wishes
Chris Woodcock
Hello Chris
I enjoyed your very nice photographs of the Royal Canal.
My Great-great-grandfather, Richard Mona(g)han, was a Lock-keeper, we think in Co. Kildare, possibly near Maynooth. He lived from 1820 approx to 1880 approx. Could you please let me know if I can verify this?
Kind regards
Tony Monahan
Hi Chris and Tony. i have certainty over a Richard Monahan ancestor I know he was a lock keeper, and his daughter gave Blakestown as address. Tony I guess you come from one of the sons’ line? perhaps James an engine driver was your ancestor? There is a Hughes family connection too through one of James’s daughters maybe thats the connection for Chris. If you are still following this be happy to share more. Love to hear from you both and share the information and images I have. Regards Fiona