Compton Water Tower..

I am running around St. Louis, MO with spare time and trying to compile some photos of historical landmarks. I had no idea there was so much flippin' history in this city...and, I've lived here since '86.

Either way, my photos won't be epic because I cut grass by day. That means I get my spare time when I'm washed out.....like my skies will be most times.

But, it's about the history and the pleasure of showing people where to go in St. Louis if they are into historical things.

Built in 1898 to equalize water pressure to the city..

Hey chopper, always great to see whats on the other side of this big ball we all share.

I think it's a great idea, Chopper!
Nice images, thank you for sharing them and for sharing some history, too

I like the reflection shot. That's one hell of a tower, too.

Thanks, guys. I just figure that if I don't know this stuff after living here so long, I better learn it...before it's lost. And, if I don't know it, there's lots of others that don't know it either. So, it comes from enthusiastic sharing, but I want to do a good job with it while improving my photography, too. Kind of a win/win imo.

Chopper, now just try and get a shot or 2 from the observation deck up top so people can see what their missing by NOT going to visit these historical sites!


just a thought, if it's even accessible by the public.

do you have Adobe Lightroom? you could do some really quick work on the skies to bring them out some more, or download GIMP from google for free (tough to learn and not as powerful as photoshop, but totally FREE! and only works on JPG's not RAW.)

kawboy613 wrote in post #13154959
Chopper, now just try and get a shot or 2 from the observation deck up top so people can see what their missing by NOT going to visit these historical sites!

just a thought, if it's even accessible by the public.

do you have Adobe Lightroom? you could do some really quick work on the skies to bring them out some more, or download GIMP from google for free (tough to learn and not as powerful as photoshop, but totally FREE! and only works on JPG's not RAW.)

I have GIMP, but have spent VERY little time with it because it's a bit intimidating. I could learn to use layers and really spice up my skies, but I feel that would be a bit "dishonest." I am a purist disguised as lazy....lol. (Also, partly because I've had a hard time trying to find decent tutorials without spending hours.)

The top is accessible to the public, but not very often. I plan to get up there, especially after seeing another St. Louisan's photos from the top. It's a great view.

I also have a lot of places to cover in this city. I really had no idea how many buildings are on the national register. And, the detail in the architecture is mind blowing. It's going to be a fun project going forward for sure.

I see a Tilt/Shift lens in your future, LOL. (i want one SO bad) and maybe some graduated ND filter's too...

I completely understand the purist thing, that's why I only use GIMP for my watermarks.
But lightroom in my opinion is still pure, i'm not adding something that isn't there, i'm just bringing the exposure down of the sky to bring out the blues. great thing about RAW, the sky is in there, you just gotta get it to show through.

otherwise try the original route before digital programs and pick up some lens filters like ND's or polarizer's. they'll really help your photo's pop!

I need a polarizer at a minimum. NDs may be a ways off. And, tilt/shift would be fun with architecture, but I would grab a 100-400 first for the birds and kids' sports.

Either way, I think it's time I start learning GIMP and RAW. I just love the ease of making "decent" compositions and popping them with ZoomBrowserEX...lol. It's just so quick.

Kawboy, what do you think of this? I just did this in ZoomEX. I looks a little HDR. I don't think it's suitable for printing, but I do think it looks better than the washed out sky in the original.