Otto Berkeley
Cold Snap
While the start of March would usually signal spring, a cold snap sweeping in from eastern Europe created some of the coldest conditions the UK has experienced in decades. Nicknamed "the Beast from the East", what can only be described as a freak weather event brought bitterly cold temperatures and heavy snowfall. Schools everywhere closed and traffic was brought to a standstill, but the weather also meant some remarkably picturesque scenes across the country, particularly last Wednesday when the snow was thick and steady enough overnight to settle for several hours.
Central London rarely sees snow this heavy, so it was a wonderful opportunity to photograph the capital in a different light. The window to capture the scene undisturbed was narrow: by 5:30am the snowfall had stopped and the snow on the ground was fresh; by 6am snow plows and street-cleaning crews were shovelling the snow and gritting the roads; and by 7am the busy morning commute was grinding the snow into the ground, although an afternoon blizzard provided an extra layer to this, much to the delight of children and big kids everywhere.
I was near the More London complex shortly after the snowfall stopped, and although the view towards City Hall and Tower Bridge is one I've photographed many times, the scene in this weather was like something out of a fairytale. I spent the morning shooting in the area, but an image I captured before sunrise, when there was barely a soul in sight and only a hint of warmth on the horizon, was the one that seemed to capture the essence of the city in the snow.
The final image is a blend of nine exposures combined in Photoshop using luminosity masks, with the weighting towards the brightest exposures for the shadows and midtones and with highlights from the darker exposures to restore detail in the lamps along the walkway and inside the buildings. Using a refined luminosity mask targeted to the highlights and midtones in the sky, I was then able to selectively adjust the foreground to a mixture of soft blues and cyans while playing up the red and magenta tones on the horizon, as well as to enhance some of the highlights in the snow and across City Hall without blowing out detail in the street lights or the sky.
Inside Nik's Silver Efex Pro, I gently lowered the shadow structure in order to soften some of the detail and contrast, as well as amplifying the whites in the foreground to emphasise the brightness and vibrance of the snow covering the scene. Finally, inside Colour Efex Pro, I used a sparing amount of the Pro Contrast filter to add a little more definition to the buildings, and the Glamour Glow filter to enhance the dreamy atmosphere.
I wouldn't have been disappointed if I'd come away without a single image I was happy with, as the experience of seeing Central London under heavy snow was an extraordinary one that I can't imagine will be repeated anytime soon. But I took several photos that morning that seemed to capture the magic in the air, and although it's bizarre to be working on snow-covered images in spring, the UK's recent weather conditions were both bizarre and wonderful.
You can also connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, 500px and Google+.
Cold Snap
While the start of March would usually signal spring, a cold snap sweeping in from eastern Europe created some of the coldest conditions the UK has experienced in decades. Nicknamed "the Beast from the East", what can only be described as a freak weather event brought bitterly cold temperatures and heavy snowfall. Schools everywhere closed and traffic was brought to a standstill, but the weather also meant some remarkably picturesque scenes across the country, particularly last Wednesday when the snow was thick and steady enough overnight to settle for several hours.
Central London rarely sees snow this heavy, so it was a wonderful opportunity to photograph the capital in a different light. The window to capture the scene undisturbed was narrow: by 5:30am the snowfall had stopped and the snow on the ground was fresh; by 6am snow plows and street-cleaning crews were shovelling the snow and gritting the roads; and by 7am the busy morning commute was grinding the snow into the ground, although an afternoon blizzard provided an extra layer to this, much to the delight of children and big kids everywhere.
I was near the More London complex shortly after the snowfall stopped, and although the view towards City Hall and Tower Bridge is one I've photographed many times, the scene in this weather was like something out of a fairytale. I spent the morning shooting in the area, but an image I captured before sunrise, when there was barely a soul in sight and only a hint of warmth on the horizon, was the one that seemed to capture the essence of the city in the snow.
The final image is a blend of nine exposures combined in Photoshop using luminosity masks, with the weighting towards the brightest exposures for the shadows and midtones and with highlights from the darker exposures to restore detail in the lamps along the walkway and inside the buildings. Using a refined luminosity mask targeted to the highlights and midtones in the sky, I was then able to selectively adjust the foreground to a mixture of soft blues and cyans while playing up the red and magenta tones on the horizon, as well as to enhance some of the highlights in the snow and across City Hall without blowing out detail in the street lights or the sky.
Inside Nik's Silver Efex Pro, I gently lowered the shadow structure in order to soften some of the detail and contrast, as well as amplifying the whites in the foreground to emphasise the brightness and vibrance of the snow covering the scene. Finally, inside Colour Efex Pro, I used a sparing amount of the Pro Contrast filter to add a little more definition to the buildings, and the Glamour Glow filter to enhance the dreamy atmosphere.
I wouldn't have been disappointed if I'd come away without a single image I was happy with, as the experience of seeing Central London under heavy snow was an extraordinary one that I can't imagine will be repeated anytime soon. But I took several photos that morning that seemed to capture the magic in the air, and although it's bizarre to be working on snow-covered images in spring, the UK's recent weather conditions were both bizarre and wonderful.
You can also connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, 500px and Google+.