Otto Berkeley
Pavonazzo
This image of a seven-storey staircase was taken inside a luxury hotel at the centre of London. The Grade II-listed building was built in flamboyant Edwardian style at the start of the 20th century, and was eventually transformed from an assurance company into a hotel. Its Renaissance-style staircase is remarkable not just for its soaring height -- rising to more than 166 feet to the cupola at the top -- but also for its seven rare types of marble, including Pavonazzo, Swedish Green and Statuary, some of which can no longer be found anywhere else in the world and which bring the estimated value of the staircase to an eye-watering £40 million.
My aim when photographing this look-up was to capture the grandeur and timelessness of the building as well as its modernity and sophistication. It was important to me to convey the intricate texture of the marble, and at the same time to evoke the bright and airy atmosphere inside the building on a morning when sunlight was streaming through the windows. The final image is a blend of nine exposures combined in Photoshop using luminosity masks, with the weighting towards the midtones and shadows from the brighter exposures and with the darker exposures applied to the highlights to preserve the detail inside the cupola and along the edges of the staircase.
I opted for a colder and borderline-monochrome finish to convey the pristine perfection of the architecture, so much of the scene's warmer tones were desaturated and Curves and Colour Balance adjustments used to adjust the colour-grading to a blueish tone in the midtones and shadows, and to a muted yellow between the staircase's east-facing arcades that were dramatically lit by early-morning sunlight. Opening Nik's Silver Efex Pro and setting the adjustment layer to the Luminosity blend mode, I increased the dynamic brightness and amplified the whites across the frame, as well as softening the midtone structure to enhance the dreamy and light-filled atmosphere. Finally, inside Colour Efex Pro, I used low-level amounts of the Pro Contrast, High Key and Sunlight filters to increase the overall exposure and contrast of the image, particularly at the centre of the image so that the viewer's eyes would be drawn to the cupola.
The final result hopefully evokes the historic character that was so carefully preserved under the guidance of the English Heritage when the building was renovated, and perhaps a hint of the affluence of the guests visiting a hotel that rightfully proclaims to be one of the finest five-star destinations in London.
You can also connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, 500px and Google+.
Pavonazzo
This image of a seven-storey staircase was taken inside a luxury hotel at the centre of London. The Grade II-listed building was built in flamboyant Edwardian style at the start of the 20th century, and was eventually transformed from an assurance company into a hotel. Its Renaissance-style staircase is remarkable not just for its soaring height -- rising to more than 166 feet to the cupola at the top -- but also for its seven rare types of marble, including Pavonazzo, Swedish Green and Statuary, some of which can no longer be found anywhere else in the world and which bring the estimated value of the staircase to an eye-watering £40 million.
My aim when photographing this look-up was to capture the grandeur and timelessness of the building as well as its modernity and sophistication. It was important to me to convey the intricate texture of the marble, and at the same time to evoke the bright and airy atmosphere inside the building on a morning when sunlight was streaming through the windows. The final image is a blend of nine exposures combined in Photoshop using luminosity masks, with the weighting towards the midtones and shadows from the brighter exposures and with the darker exposures applied to the highlights to preserve the detail inside the cupola and along the edges of the staircase.
I opted for a colder and borderline-monochrome finish to convey the pristine perfection of the architecture, so much of the scene's warmer tones were desaturated and Curves and Colour Balance adjustments used to adjust the colour-grading to a blueish tone in the midtones and shadows, and to a muted yellow between the staircase's east-facing arcades that were dramatically lit by early-morning sunlight. Opening Nik's Silver Efex Pro and setting the adjustment layer to the Luminosity blend mode, I increased the dynamic brightness and amplified the whites across the frame, as well as softening the midtone structure to enhance the dreamy and light-filled atmosphere. Finally, inside Colour Efex Pro, I used low-level amounts of the Pro Contrast, High Key and Sunlight filters to increase the overall exposure and contrast of the image, particularly at the centre of the image so that the viewer's eyes would be drawn to the cupola.
The final result hopefully evokes the historic character that was so carefully preserved under the guidance of the English Heritage when the building was renovated, and perhaps a hint of the affluence of the guests visiting a hotel that rightfully proclaims to be one of the finest five-star destinations in London.
You can also connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, 500px and Google+.