Dam Flask Reservoir

I don't do landscapes as a rule but saw this while out on a shoot and thought I'd give it a bash.

Dam Flask reservoir is located west of Sheffield at the top of the Peak District national park and is possibly one of the most beautiful venues I've had the pleasure to visit for a feature shoot. Autumnal colours help no doubt.

The reservoir is currently about 30ft down on normal levels, such is the effect a dry year has had on waters up and down the UK. This is the area know as the 'Neck End' and the grass you see in the distance is usually underwater - the fact the grass has growns so densely points to how long the area has been dry for.

*Nikon D2x
*Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR
*ISO 200
*1/320th @ f/6.3
*Processed in Lightroom 3 using luminance tweaks plus gradient tool to beef up the sky

For those of you who are interested in how the original .NEF looked, here it is before I did the adjustments in Lightroom 3:

As you can see, there's a big crop to give it that cinematic feel, along with some serious contrast and luminance tweaks. I really like the luminance sliders in LR3 because they can really change how the tonal range looks without much effort, something that fits me as a photographer when I have limited time to get my usual images over to the relevant editors. Sharpening has been done too, plus I've put gradients top and bottom (so they match) and one to the left side of the image so bring out what was quite a big area of shadow in the trees. I'm no Joe Cornish by any stretch but for a quick snap inbetween doing the job at hand, I'm happy.