Otto Berkeley
Selenium
Richmond Park, which is located in south-west London in the borough of Richmond Upon Thames, is perhaps best known for the hundreds of red and fallow deer freely roaming its 2,360 acres. Its wildlife and nature reserves have been a source of interest for photographers over the years, and the park's vast open spaces have inspired many landscape artists over the years, as well as serving as a site for numerous films and television series.
I first began visiting the location on a regular basis in the summer, scouting at sunrise for spots that I thought would make captivating images. As summer gradually turned to autumn and the scenery's colours began to change, there was a steady increase in the amount of fog and mist forming each morning. This added a mystique to the entire landscape, but the scene at the centre of the park became truly magical. A trench had been dug in the early 17th century to drain the area, creating the Pen Ponds, where streams now flow from higher ground and where a selenium-based prototype weapon that could be used against German Zeppelins was tested during the first world war.
This two-minute exposure of the larger of the two ponds was taken on a calm, crisp and chilly autumn morning. My aim was to capture the surreal layer of fog covering the water, but also the soft pink tones in the sky, reflected in the pond shortly before the sun emerged on the horizon. The final image was edited from a single exposure, so in comparison with the architectural images I work on, which often require multiple exposures and Pen Tool selections in Photoshop, it was a very straightforward image to process.
The highlights, shadows and contrast were corrected using Curves and Levels adjustments, and Colour Balance adjustments with Apply Image layer masks used to target the brighter and darker portions of the image, bringing out the colder tones along the trees and water at the same time as the warmer tones in the sky. I then emphasised the intensity of the fog by adding a low-opacity Colour Lookup, setting this to Bleach Bypass and the Screen blend mode, and applying a reflective Gradient Mask across the centre of the frame. Using Silver Efex Pro set to the Luminosity blend mode, I increased the structure in the foreground trees and amplified the Whites across the image. Then, using Colour Efex Pro, I applied a gentle amount of Tonal Contrast to the shadows and a Pro Contrast adjustment to the overall image, excluding the sky where I wanted to retain the soft texture and gradual shift in colour. The final adjustments were made using luminosity masks, which I used to target and tone down the highlights and to apply a small amount of vibrance in the sky, as well as enhancing the natural vignette along the edges of the water.
Throughout post-processing, it was important to me to retain the clean, natural and low-contrast finish to what struck me as a beautifully minimalist scene. On this foggy morning, when the only sound came from the occasional bird or deer in the distance, the scene seemed worlds apart from the everyday stampede of Central London.
You can also connect with me on Facebook, 500px, Google+ and Instagram.
Selenium
Richmond Park, which is located in south-west London in the borough of Richmond Upon Thames, is perhaps best known for the hundreds of red and fallow deer freely roaming its 2,360 acres. Its wildlife and nature reserves have been a source of interest for photographers over the years, and the park's vast open spaces have inspired many landscape artists over the years, as well as serving as a site for numerous films and television series.
I first began visiting the location on a regular basis in the summer, scouting at sunrise for spots that I thought would make captivating images. As summer gradually turned to autumn and the scenery's colours began to change, there was a steady increase in the amount of fog and mist forming each morning. This added a mystique to the entire landscape, but the scene at the centre of the park became truly magical. A trench had been dug in the early 17th century to drain the area, creating the Pen Ponds, where streams now flow from higher ground and where a selenium-based prototype weapon that could be used against German Zeppelins was tested during the first world war.
This two-minute exposure of the larger of the two ponds was taken on a calm, crisp and chilly autumn morning. My aim was to capture the surreal layer of fog covering the water, but also the soft pink tones in the sky, reflected in the pond shortly before the sun emerged on the horizon. The final image was edited from a single exposure, so in comparison with the architectural images I work on, which often require multiple exposures and Pen Tool selections in Photoshop, it was a very straightforward image to process.
The highlights, shadows and contrast were corrected using Curves and Levels adjustments, and Colour Balance adjustments with Apply Image layer masks used to target the brighter and darker portions of the image, bringing out the colder tones along the trees and water at the same time as the warmer tones in the sky. I then emphasised the intensity of the fog by adding a low-opacity Colour Lookup, setting this to Bleach Bypass and the Screen blend mode, and applying a reflective Gradient Mask across the centre of the frame. Using Silver Efex Pro set to the Luminosity blend mode, I increased the structure in the foreground trees and amplified the Whites across the image. Then, using Colour Efex Pro, I applied a gentle amount of Tonal Contrast to the shadows and a Pro Contrast adjustment to the overall image, excluding the sky where I wanted to retain the soft texture and gradual shift in colour. The final adjustments were made using luminosity masks, which I used to target and tone down the highlights and to apply a small amount of vibrance in the sky, as well as enhancing the natural vignette along the edges of the water.
Throughout post-processing, it was important to me to retain the clean, natural and low-contrast finish to what struck me as a beautifully minimalist scene. On this foggy morning, when the only sound came from the occasional bird or deer in the distance, the scene seemed worlds apart from the everyday stampede of Central London.
You can also connect with me on Facebook, 500px, Google+ and Instagram.