Photos

For me making a photo and later work with the result coming from the camera is equally interesting. Too often the result coming from the camera in no way presents the ‘mood’ just the way I wanted and hoped for when taking the picture. Not as strange as the same result from different cameras depends on how the lens and how the tech deals with the ‘reality’.

Then for me a slightly underexposed result with well saturated colours is the result I prefer. A time ago another member gave me a strong critic for using Photoshop as it ‘altered’ the reality. But I think ‘reality’ is not the same for all of us, and a bit dangerous if one person claims to see the only ‘reality’ there is.

In this photo of the hydroelectrical power plant of Solbergfoss, to be found only 5 km from where I live, this was the purpose of my postprocess: Balance the light in the overall presentation and present the photo slightly underexposed. By using Paintshop Pro this was the working process:

First of all sharpening by using bypass sharpening and then USM. Then I used at lowest level the special clarifying tool in Paintshop. With lasso tools working partially with curves and or levels to adjust light/contrast. Further partial minor colour adjustments.

Small things, still ending in a result I like and hopefully also in your likings – Anyhow be welcome to come forward with your comments.

Solbergfoss is a hydraulic power plant. This means the turbines are run by power produced by the huge throughflow of water rather than by high waterfalls.

The work on the Solbergfoss I power station commenced
back in 1913. No one had ever built such a large plant before, and no one was completely sure it would work. To optimise the plant’s location and through-flow factors, a life-like model was built on a scale of 1:25 in Nordmarka, the green belt north of Oslo. This allowed ideas to be tested in actual practice.

The project was gigantic and involved a considerable amount of pioneering work. More than 800 men worked on it at times. Although they used the most modern construction machinery available, it would seem like simple equipment today. Most of the work was based on muscle power and sheer brute strength.

The stately Solbergfoss power station opened in 1924.
However, the demand for electricity grew steadily. In 1979, planning therefore began on a new power station to augment the old one. Solbergfoss II is a completely modern power station featuring a single large turbine that has the same capacity as all 13 turbines in the old station combined. This means that the entire River Glomma can pass through a single turbine.

The Kaplan turbine is more or less like a ship’s propeller with four adjustable blades. It is still one of the largest of its kind in Europe. It has a diameter of 8.3 metres and weighs 170 metric tonnes. Transporting and installing this giant was a feat in itself.

The Solbergfoss power station produces a total of some
900 million kWh during a normal year. This is equivalent to the annual consumption of 45 000 single-family houses heated with electricity, and accounts for 1 per cent of Norway’s total electricity supply.