Otto Berkeley
Equilibrium
Capturing clear reflections at South Dock, a beautiful spot a few minutes south-east of Canary Wharf, was a project I'd dreamed of undertaking for several months. Ensuring the clearest possible reflection at this location is largely a trial of patience because it depends on very low wind speeds and very few boats crossing the dock, and early on a freezing February morning, a couple of hours before the Docklands filled with people heading to work, I was fortunate enough to get the clear and calm conditions I'd been hoping for.
The final image is a blend of half a dozen exposures, with the earliest taken as the first glimpse of early-morning light appeared in the sky, and continuing through to the moment when the sunrise began to cast a warm glow against the buildings. I began by bracketing several exposures during blue hour, knowing I would later use these to incorporate the building lights into the image and to mask in a sharp capture of the boats which were rocking in the water, as well as to fall back on the darker exposures to restore any blown-out highlights and to ensure a detailed finish using luminosity masks in Photoshop. I then captured a one-minute exposure -- which eventually became my base exposure -- as well as 90-second, 5-minute and 12-minute exposures.
The 12-minute exposure was filled with luscious pink tones as dawn turned into golden hour, and using the pen tool to isolate the sky and the water in the dock, I blended this into the image using the reflective gradient mask and the Linear Light blend mode. By the time I captured my final exposure, rays of sun were appearing between the buildings across the Docklands, and using the Soft Light blend mode set to low opacity, I added these warm tones striking the eastern edges of the buildings. I then selectively edited portions of the image in Color Efex Pro, enhancing the midtone contrast among the buildings and boats, and adding Dynamic Contrast to give the buildings a little more definition against the sky.
Despite the end result being a hybrid of lighting conditions from several exposures, it was important to me for the image to have a sense of balance, not just in the way it was framed and exposed and blended, but in the way it was edited. My aim was for the warmer tones to complement the mood, from the pink hue on the horizon to the golden light across the buildings, and even for details like the steam above the buildings -- transformed into a surreal mist by the length of the exposure -- to hint at the bright and busy day ahead. But this was very much a blue-hour image, and the finishing touches I added -- a careful mixture of Colour Balance, Gradient Mask, Color Lookup, Levels and Curves adjustments -- were all intended to bring out the cooler tones in the sky and the shadows, hopefully conveying how awe-inspiring and dramatic -- and at the same time how peaceful and serene -- this part of London's cityscape can look on a beautiful early morning.
You can also connect with me on Facebook, 500px, Google+ and Instagram.
Equilibrium
Capturing clear reflections at South Dock, a beautiful spot a few minutes south-east of Canary Wharf, was a project I'd dreamed of undertaking for several months. Ensuring the clearest possible reflection at this location is largely a trial of patience because it depends on very low wind speeds and very few boats crossing the dock, and early on a freezing February morning, a couple of hours before the Docklands filled with people heading to work, I was fortunate enough to get the clear and calm conditions I'd been hoping for.
The final image is a blend of half a dozen exposures, with the earliest taken as the first glimpse of early-morning light appeared in the sky, and continuing through to the moment when the sunrise began to cast a warm glow against the buildings. I began by bracketing several exposures during blue hour, knowing I would later use these to incorporate the building lights into the image and to mask in a sharp capture of the boats which were rocking in the water, as well as to fall back on the darker exposures to restore any blown-out highlights and to ensure a detailed finish using luminosity masks in Photoshop. I then captured a one-minute exposure -- which eventually became my base exposure -- as well as 90-second, 5-minute and 12-minute exposures.
The 12-minute exposure was filled with luscious pink tones as dawn turned into golden hour, and using the pen tool to isolate the sky and the water in the dock, I blended this into the image using the reflective gradient mask and the Linear Light blend mode. By the time I captured my final exposure, rays of sun were appearing between the buildings across the Docklands, and using the Soft Light blend mode set to low opacity, I added these warm tones striking the eastern edges of the buildings. I then selectively edited portions of the image in Color Efex Pro, enhancing the midtone contrast among the buildings and boats, and adding Dynamic Contrast to give the buildings a little more definition against the sky.
Despite the end result being a hybrid of lighting conditions from several exposures, it was important to me for the image to have a sense of balance, not just in the way it was framed and exposed and blended, but in the way it was edited. My aim was for the warmer tones to complement the mood, from the pink hue on the horizon to the golden light across the buildings, and even for details like the steam above the buildings -- transformed into a surreal mist by the length of the exposure -- to hint at the bright and busy day ahead. But this was very much a blue-hour image, and the finishing touches I added -- a careful mixture of Colour Balance, Gradient Mask, Color Lookup, Levels and Curves adjustments -- were all intended to bring out the cooler tones in the sky and the shadows, hopefully conveying how awe-inspiring and dramatic -- and at the same time how peaceful and serene -- this part of London's cityscape can look on a beautiful early morning.
You can also connect with me on Facebook, 500px, Google+ and Instagram.