“Kynance is such a dramatic and compelling place,” says Tom Leighton about Kynance Cove on the coast of Cornwall, England, where he created a photo series documenting its rock formations. The tides and the weather transform the area by the hour, “revealing and concealing features that shift the entire mood of the cove,” he adds.

The natural colors of the serpentine rock “are already extraordinary,” Leighton says. But he enhances that color palette in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to move the images away from realism and toward the surreal. Before making those enhancements, he must begin with the right photos, which he captures with his Canon EOS 5D and 100mm lens, plus a 24-105mm zoom. “In overly bright conditions, the natural greens and reds of the serpentine can disappear,” he explains, “so I’ve found it works best to underexpose slightly and leave more flexibility for color work later.” In post-production, he also removes backgrounds and distorts shapes to make the rock formations appear larger.

“Kynance feels both ancient and otherworldly,” he says, “and through the imagery, I try to hold onto that ambiguity.” 

Amanda Arnold is a senior editor.