Otto Berkeley
The Hogwarts Express
This image was captured during a recent trip to Scotland with fellow photographers Ali Jawed, Charles Gervais and Imran Mirza. The week-long trip covered the West Highlands of Glencoe, as well as Dunfermline and Edinburgh. We were fortunate to be able to capture some stunning scenery across the country, but one of our must-see locations was Glenfinnan, well known to "Harry Potter" fans for the nearly 400-metre viaduct crossed by the Hogwarts Express.
Not long after arriving at the viaduct we came across the groundskeeper, a charismatic individual who, after a small bribe, was willing to waive the ban on drone photography. After a second bribe he offered to take the four of us in his Land Rover to the top of a nearby mountain for a view overlooking the viaduct as well as Lake Shiel and the mountains in the distance. (I wouldn't dare attempt to pronounce these, but Sgurr Ghiubhsachain and Sgurr Dhomhnuill are on the left, and Rois-Bheinn is on the right.) We set up and shot here for several hours, enjoying a perfect vantage point from which to capture the Jacobite steam train as it crossed the viaduct on its way from Mallaig to Fort William.
The majority of post-processing work was applied to a single exposure, with elements of bracketed exposures then incorporated using luminosity masks in Photoshop to restore highlight detail in the sky, and with refined masks for the lake, the train and the puff of steam so that I could edit these individually. My main aim when editing -- and indeed the challenge when setting up the shot and deciding on a suitable focal length -- was keeping the emphasis on the train. The spectacular scenery is so vast that it seemed like the train might get lost, or that it might be difficult for viewers to know where to look. Although I played up details in the mountains and the lake, I tried to use contrast and exposure to ensure the train would remain the point of interest, and opted for a softer and slightly dreamier finish on the horizon.
At the colour-grading stage, I tried to bring out some of the subtler greens, yellows and reds across the landscape, along with a gentle blue tone in the sky and across the mountains in the distance. I then used Nik's Silver Efex Pro to lower the midtone and shadow structure across the landscape, along with the Glamour Glow filter in Colour Efex Pro, as I felt that a softer texture would help to guide viewers' eyes towards the details and texture along the viaduct and the train. I then gently dodged and burned the mountains to emphasise their tonality, and finally selected the train and overlaid an additional low-opacity layer set to Screen, which brightened the roof and windows along the carriages.
I can't deny that seeing the Jacobite cross the viaduct with a choo-choo and a puff of steam brought out my inner five-year-old, but the final image hopefully conveys one example of both the stunning architecture and natural beauty across Scotland, and I'm looking forward to sharing more in the coming months alongside my usual London cityscape and architectural images.
You can also connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, 500px and Google+.
The Hogwarts Express
This image was captured during a recent trip to Scotland with fellow photographers Ali Jawed, Charles Gervais and Imran Mirza. The week-long trip covered the West Highlands of Glencoe, as well as Dunfermline and Edinburgh. We were fortunate to be able to capture some stunning scenery across the country, but one of our must-see locations was Glenfinnan, well known to "Harry Potter" fans for the nearly 400-metre viaduct crossed by the Hogwarts Express.
Not long after arriving at the viaduct we came across the groundskeeper, a charismatic individual who, after a small bribe, was willing to waive the ban on drone photography. After a second bribe he offered to take the four of us in his Land Rover to the top of a nearby mountain for a view overlooking the viaduct as well as Lake Shiel and the mountains in the distance. (I wouldn't dare attempt to pronounce these, but Sgurr Ghiubhsachain and Sgurr Dhomhnuill are on the left, and Rois-Bheinn is on the right.) We set up and shot here for several hours, enjoying a perfect vantage point from which to capture the Jacobite steam train as it crossed the viaduct on its way from Mallaig to Fort William.
The majority of post-processing work was applied to a single exposure, with elements of bracketed exposures then incorporated using luminosity masks in Photoshop to restore highlight detail in the sky, and with refined masks for the lake, the train and the puff of steam so that I could edit these individually. My main aim when editing -- and indeed the challenge when setting up the shot and deciding on a suitable focal length -- was keeping the emphasis on the train. The spectacular scenery is so vast that it seemed like the train might get lost, or that it might be difficult for viewers to know where to look. Although I played up details in the mountains and the lake, I tried to use contrast and exposure to ensure the train would remain the point of interest, and opted for a softer and slightly dreamier finish on the horizon.
At the colour-grading stage, I tried to bring out some of the subtler greens, yellows and reds across the landscape, along with a gentle blue tone in the sky and across the mountains in the distance. I then used Nik's Silver Efex Pro to lower the midtone and shadow structure across the landscape, along with the Glamour Glow filter in Colour Efex Pro, as I felt that a softer texture would help to guide viewers' eyes towards the details and texture along the viaduct and the train. I then gently dodged and burned the mountains to emphasise their tonality, and finally selected the train and overlaid an additional low-opacity layer set to Screen, which brightened the roof and windows along the carriages.
I can't deny that seeing the Jacobite cross the viaduct with a choo-choo and a puff of steam brought out my inner five-year-old, but the final image hopefully conveys one example of both the stunning architecture and natural beauty across Scotland, and I'm looking forward to sharing more in the coming months alongside my usual London cityscape and architectural images.
You can also connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, 500px and Google+.