Ault Park

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day here. We decided to make a visit to Ault Park -- one of the larger parks in the Cincinnati area that we had never explored. It was good for my back to get out and walk around a bit. Here is a satellite view of the park.

There is a large pavilion that was closed due to a private event -- a wedding reception. Walking around we saw four wedding parties there taking pictures at various spots in the park and in the late afternoon there were quite a few prom couples there for photos.

I had Dianne sit on a park bench with her back to the sun to experiment with some fill flash techniques that I've been reading about on the Strobist blog. She was playing with her Nintendo DS lite so she was a patient subject. If you look at the photo below, you see her back is in direct sunlight and there is a distinct shadow on the concrete. Her face was in a distinct shadow and so she wouldn't show up well in a regular photo. I used a flash on the ground, pointed toward her, to get rid of the shadow. The flash is just outside the right of the frame. I had to experiment a bit to get the right exposure. This shot was with the flash set at 1/4 power. By the way, thanks to her for helping carry stuff too!



My next project I thought I'd try is to get a 360 degree panorama shot from the center of the Observatory Circle area in the park. That's something easy to do while standing up straight. The photo below is a planet view of the panorama with the tripod at the center of the photo along the iron fence. If you want to see a traditional view, click here to see a large version on white. If you look closely at the bottom of the globe or on the right side of the panorama, at the base of the fountain in front of the pavilion you'll see one of the wedding parties getting their picture taken. You can't miss the satin, bright blue dresses the bridesmaids were wearing -- ones that will never be worn again. It was a beautiful day at the park.

Afterwards we stopped on Hyde Park Square to have dinner at Indigos and walk around the square a bit. Indigos is one of our favorite stops in Hyde Park. The square was hopping with everyone sitting outside enjoying the Spring evening.

Return From Augusta

Last weekend Dianne and I went to Augusta, KY. After taking a ferry across the Ohio river, we returned to Cincinnati on the Ohio side.

Along the way we stopped at the Chilo Locks Park on US 52 near Chilo, of course. The site of a former lock on the Ohio river has been transformed into a park and nature preserve. Check out their web site and scroll down a bit for photos from the 1930s and today to see difference in the river level. My photo to the right shows the former powerhouse of the lock. The lock was closed in the early 60's due to some damage caused by an accident. With the larger and deeper Meldahl locks in place, the Chilo locks weren't repaired and they closed once the Meldahl dam was completed. According to a sign at Chilo, the depth of the Meldahl lock was sufficient to replace 3 other locks as well. That must have been a time saver for barge traffic. The Clermont County park district has done a beautiful job with the site. The buildings are in good shape (except the water tower needs some work) and there is lots of green space, parking, and some shelters for gatherings.

Dianne was having a sneezing fit when we were there. I looked around a bit a snapped a few photos. The park has a wonderful view of the Ohio river. I like this photo I got of the river side of the Chilo lock powerhouse. In this high dynamic range image, the reflection of the blue sky and clouds in the windows really pop out. The sign indicates it was the 34th lock on the river. The scale is for river height. The flood stage in Cincinnati is about 50 feet. The sidewalk is quite a bit above the river today -- click here to see a downstream view towards Meldahl dam that shows the steep bank. What's amazing is that in the Ohio river flood of 1937, the water level reached 80 feet in Cincinnati -- to the top of the scale here! That's a lot of water!!

While in front of the powerhouse, I took a series of images for a 360 degree panorama photo of the site. It's a large image, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. I used a polarizing filter to bring out the blue sky. Had to keep adjusting it as I moved the camera around. I posted a version of the panorama here. I also made a globe view of the panorama that is at the bottom of this post.

A few miles downstream I pulled in to the Meldahl lock and dam area. There is a large, shady park area with picnic tables and shelters, but you can't see much. The lock area is heavily fenced off and the fences are fairly far away from the lock. There was a tug with several barges using the lock. The only decent photo I got was of this old anchor on display in the park. Not a recommended stop unless you're going to take advantage of the nature watch areas.

A bit closer to Cincinnati we stopped at Point Pleasant to see the birthplace of Ulysses Grant. A national historic landmark, they have the restored cabin back on the spot where he was born (it had toured the country back in the 1800s). The cabin is the building on the left in my photo. There is a nice park there with lots of information signs. You can also tour the cabin. Just across the main road is another park right on the Ohio river. The stone bridge for the main road, honoring Grant, is good to check out too. If you're in the area, it's worth a stop to look around.

Voice of America Park Panorama

On Sunday, Dianne and I went to the former Voice of America site North of Cincinnati that has been turned into a park. It is a large parcel of land that has lots of wild growth to separate a lake for boating and fishing, many soccer fields, a pavilion, and a hill for sliding in the winter. We walked up the hill to take some photos for a panorama. Click here for a single photo of Dianne and me on top of the hill (the Voice of America building is just to the left of us in the background. Here is a 360 degree panorama from the top of the hill. Finally, thanks to the Daily Dose of Imagery site, I made a globe view from the panorama that shows me standing on top of Earl World. It's a neat effect with the water towers above the horizon.