Greenup Locks and Dam

I was going to save this for tomorrow morning, but I figured, why not run it today when people are more likely to see it?

This is the Greenup Locks and Dam, Mile 341.0, as seen from the Ohio side looking over toward Kentucky. I had the long zoom lens on my camera that day. I didn't bring a shorter lens, and I was beginning to regret that decision.

To get the whole dam in the frame I used my cheap cell phone. It takes images that are small and barely useful for a 4-by-6 print, let alone anything larger. It didn't have a whole lot of detail to work with, so I ran it through three different software packages, each to do a specific task. This is a lower-resolution version of the final product. I have to take the resolution down so photos will load on Blogger and elsewhere. It still has more resolution than the original image straight out of my phone, and it shares some of the same flaws that are noticeable when I zoom in up close. You might not be able to see them here.

The image above is what I ended up with, and I have to say I like it. What do you think? Feel free to disagree, but be courteous. No flaming, please.

This photo has so many layers to it apart from the artsy way I tried to salvage it. Greenup is one of two dams on the Ohio that has a bridge built over it and is anchored on the dam. The hydroelectric power plant on the Ohio shore here has a story that is unique among such plants in this region. The dam itself has a story that I need to tell sometime.

Sometimes when you're taking a picture, things can go wrong. Sometimes the photographer has camera trouble. Sometimes the camera has photographer trouble. In the best cases, you work with what you have, and you make something out of it. That's what happened here.