(e)merge Here
Category: Infrared Landscapes
This is the fourth of four journal entries featuring my favorite infrared landscape images of 2022.
2022 Retrospective: Infrared Landscapes (4 of 4) - My Favorite

I90 Bridge - Emerging Clouds
Cirrostratus clouds seem to be emerging from the Interstate 90 Bridge Over Mississippi River at La Crosse.
The Subject
The I-90 bridge over the Mississippi River is a pair of box girder bridges approximately 2,500 feet long. The bridge and its surroundings provide interesting photographic opportunities.
The Composition
My original intent here was to get some interesting leading lines from the bridge and include the cirrostratus clouds if possible. I was not sure how that would all work out, but you never know. Experimentation is a huge part of the appeal in doing infrared photography for me. As I began to process the captures and create the final image I happily discovered a bit of a visual treat. Pure serendipity...

Creating the Image
The dappled reflections from the waves in the river which illuminate the underside of the bridge align almost perfectly with the clouds overhead. It is as though the clouds are emanating from the I-90 roadway and streaming off into the sky. And it seems to be happening right below the Merge sign for the on-ramp.
The title for the image seemed so obvious: (e)merge Here
A little bit of workflow: I selected four sets of three exposures for twelve images total, combined them, converted to black and white, lightly processed for noise reduction and sharpness, did basic adjustments in Lightroom with minima masking and finished with a very slight vignette.