Otto Berkeley
Transference
Shot late on a winter night, at the same time as my take on the location's west avenue, this was taken directly beneath Leadenhall Market's ornate octagonal crossing.
I had wanted to attempt this look-up for a while as the centre of the market's Victorian roof is such a magnificent spectacle, but it can be challenging to shoot because the market's original 14th-century avenues don't converge with perfect symmetry, and because the central lanterns aren't suspended from the roof in perfect alignment, meaning it can be difficult to frame a tidy look-up. The December lights created such a nice sense of flow towards the lanterns, though, and I didn't think the image would be impossible with the right set-up, focal length and crop.
The final result is a combination of seven exposures blended using luminosity masks in Photoshop to control some intense highlights from the lanterns while bringing out the nuance within the cast-iron grilles, the Portland stone and the beautifully decorative patterns and inscriptions across the architecture. Once I'd isolated selections of the lanterns, the roof and the surrounding columns using a combination of the pen tool and targeted colour-range selections, I focused on striking the right balance between bringing out detail in the shadows and preserving the warm, dramatic vibrance from the lanterns. After this, I toned down the yellow colour cast on the walls and placed greater emphasis on the rich maroons, creams, golds and faded greens across the frame, as well as the muted blue in the roof above the lanterns.
My main aim after this phase of editing was preserving a sense of the magic that comes from the lanterns' radiant light, so I spent a lot of time very carefully dodging and burning portions of the roof to bring out the incredible texture and detail. Finally, I used Curves and Levels adjustments to tweak the intensity of the light beneath the roof, and a low-opacity Gradient Map set to Soft Light to inject some cooler tones into the space between the ventilation grilles, adding a hint of the cold night beyond the warm glow of the covered market.
You can also connect with me on Facebook, 500px, Google+ and Instagram.
Transference
Shot late on a winter night, at the same time as my take on the location's west avenue, this was taken directly beneath Leadenhall Market's ornate octagonal crossing.
I had wanted to attempt this look-up for a while as the centre of the market's Victorian roof is such a magnificent spectacle, but it can be challenging to shoot because the market's original 14th-century avenues don't converge with perfect symmetry, and because the central lanterns aren't suspended from the roof in perfect alignment, meaning it can be difficult to frame a tidy look-up. The December lights created such a nice sense of flow towards the lanterns, though, and I didn't think the image would be impossible with the right set-up, focal length and crop.
The final result is a combination of seven exposures blended using luminosity masks in Photoshop to control some intense highlights from the lanterns while bringing out the nuance within the cast-iron grilles, the Portland stone and the beautifully decorative patterns and inscriptions across the architecture. Once I'd isolated selections of the lanterns, the roof and the surrounding columns using a combination of the pen tool and targeted colour-range selections, I focused on striking the right balance between bringing out detail in the shadows and preserving the warm, dramatic vibrance from the lanterns. After this, I toned down the yellow colour cast on the walls and placed greater emphasis on the rich maroons, creams, golds and faded greens across the frame, as well as the muted blue in the roof above the lanterns.
My main aim after this phase of editing was preserving a sense of the magic that comes from the lanterns' radiant light, so I spent a lot of time very carefully dodging and burning portions of the roof to bring out the incredible texture and detail. Finally, I used Curves and Levels adjustments to tweak the intensity of the light beneath the roof, and a low-opacity Gradient Map set to Soft Light to inject some cooler tones into the space between the ventilation grilles, adding a hint of the cold night beyond the warm glow of the covered market.
You can also connect with me on Facebook, 500px, Google+ and Instagram.