REFLECTIONS

Reflections are all around us! We see them in bodies of water, on the hoods of cars, in sunglasses, and the list goes on. They create interest, intrigue, and mystery in our images. And, they can also enhance our compositions. 

There are two key components for me when looking for reflections, especially when it comes to reflections in lakes, ponds, or rivers: Timing-- I like to be there early in the morning when the water is still and calm; before the winds pick up. Shutter speed-- when the wind has already picked up and I have no choice, I don't take those shots at 1" or longer. I am not after that smooth, silky look to the water. I want to make sure I get a reflection of my center of interest. 

In fact, my first example was a scenario where the waters weren't still and calm. It was several minutes after sunset, so it was getting pretty dark. I like shooting around that time, rather than shooting an hour after sunset, to pick up that awesome cobalt blue in the sky. For this image of Bally's Casino in Shreveport, Louisiana reflected in the Red River, I had to increase my ISO to 800 to get a decent shutter speed of 1/4.  

This image is of a large pond along Owl Creek Pass in Colorado. It is one of my favorite areas in the state to capture those beautiful autumn colors, and there reflections. I pretty much filled the frame with the golden trees and their reflections. I always say photography requires skill, planning, and, yes, sometimes a little luck. The pond was relatively calm that day.

These reflections were different from any others I had, or have, photographed. The lake was low that year, exposing thin island-like slivers of land. The result was a patchwork of reflections and slices of thin land shapes in between the reflections. Very artistic and visually poetic. 

Caddo Lake, it is said, is the only natural lake in Texas! It is a large lake, near the quaint historic town of Jefferson. It is home to ubiquitous cypress trees found growing from the bottom of the lake.

They look prehistoric; like a scene in a movie. This image shows tree reflections in the fall, as well as the reflection of vacationers canoeing and taking pictures. The Spanish moss hanging from the trees in late autumn gave the scend an extremely mysterious feel. 

Now, this scene is soothingly calm, peaceful, and tranquil. The early morning time and the thick fog translated this scene into an idyllic image, especially with those muted hues throughout the image. Yes, timing is extremely crucial when trying to translate an image into a thought or feeling. 

Now for something more intimate. I had to get low to the ground for this image, to pick up the reflections in the water. It was worth the effort. 

The time of day and weather conditions have to be just right to pick up reflections like these.

It was one of those "wow" moments. And, yes, it would be easy to lighten the entire image, but I would have lost the mood this image conveys. 

This image depicts nature's art. The focus is on shapes, incredible shapes of nature, especially when you see a perfect inversed mirror image of this natural design. The water looked like a mirror that day.  

 

Let's finish with a spiritual reflection. This is called Church on The Rock, in Colorado.
I loved the church's reflection in the small pond.

So, go out there and reflect on reflections. They're a lot of fun to photograph. You can translate thoughts and moods with reflections, especially under the right lighting and weather conditions.  

Contact vegaphotoart@gmail.com if you would like to learn more about reflections.

 SEE WITH YOUR IMAGINATION, NOT YOUR EYES

It has been a couple of years since I touched on this topic, but I get so many comments on it that I think it's time for a revisit. 

When it comes to photography, the eyes see too much. I don't photograph simply what my eyes see. To do so limits me. I don't try to just get the best photograph of what I see. Instead, I ask, "How can I make this look? What's my message? What made me stop?" I use the answers to those questions to help me with how I am going to translate that object or subject into something we call a photograph. I don't see with my eyes; I see with my imagination. My right brain shakes hands with my left brain and says, "I have an idea, and this is what I need from you." 

Let's start with this example. On the left is a photo of what my eyes saw. Beautiful flowers. Ugly background and surroundings. My right brain, my imagination, kicked in. I had an idea. The idea was to do a double exposure, but just of the flowers, isolated from that ugly background. When I visit botanical gardens, I always carry with me a large non-reflective piece of black flannel material.

The first step was to get the best composition of the flowers, and the appropriate f/stop setting to make sure I would cover the grouping of flowers. I set my camera's multiple exposure feature to give me two exposures. I set the delay self-timer to 10 seconds. Click! During those 10 seconds, I walked behind the flowers and held the black material behind the flowers. My camera was then ready for my second exposure. I took my standard 3 steps for this type of shot: 1) Change my f/stop to a shallow f/7.1, 2) Set my lens to manual focus and take the flowers slightly out of focus, 3) Underexpose the second exposure by a - 2/3. Click! The camera was still set for a 10-second delay. I walked behind the flowers and held the black material behind the flowers, like before. Done!

         

       
                              BEFORE                                                                         AFTER

I don't have a Before photo for this next example, but imagine this scenario: a duck in the water. On the surface (no pun intended), that thought doesn't convey a great, dramatic photo, does it? Let me take you inside my (right) mind.

The water on the lake reflected various-colored trees from the surrounding area. I saw whites, browns, and greens. Tall trees; long reflections. I also noticed the vibrating motion of the reflections. If I underexposed the scene, I could exaggerate the colors in the reflections--they would "pop." By doing that, I would also get a very fast shutter speed to freeze the motion in the water. But wait, there was one more element to add to my composition! I saw a duck to my right, moving to my left, toward the area I had chosen to photograph. I waited until the duck came into view in my viewfinder, and with my camera already set for fast continuous shooting: clickclickclickclick. Done!

                                 f/9     -2 stops underexposure!     1/800 shutter speed     

Next time you see a puddle of water, don't jump in it. Photograph it. 

It helps if we take the labels off. When I saw this, I didn't see a puddle; I saw art. This puddle was at an elevation of about 10,000.' Not a car in sight.

I watched an Aztec dance troupe for several minutes. Their costumes were historic and colorful. Their dance moves were fast. I took several photos, at high shutter speeds, which is a typical response when shooting fast-action dancing. However, I started thinking that I wanted to also capture the essence of the dance, and not simply the dancers frozen in time. For that idea, I switched to slower shutter speeds to capture the essence; the spirit of the dances. 

I took a walk in downtown Boulder, Colorado after a rain. As I walked under a bridge, I noticed this unique mural of a wolf on one of the bridge supports. I stared at the interesting mural, then looked to my right and noticed a puddle. A mural to my left; a puddle on my right. My imagination kicked in. I no longer just saw a wolf and a puddle, but a wolf in the puddle. The thought occurred to me that if I jumped across the puddle, then lowered myself closer to the ground, I might pick up a reflection of the wolf in the puddle. I was no longer seeing with my eyes, but with my imagination. Click. 

So, don't just photograph what your eyes see. Let your imagination do it for you.
I look with my eyes; see with my imagination. 

Have fun exercising your imagination. Don't limit yourself. Contact me if you want a 1-on-1 field lesson or a ZOOM lesson. 

www.elivega.net     Eli Vega Photography on Facebook.

  

 

 

 

 

 ABANDONED PLACES

Abandoned places yell my name to make sure I capture what's left of them. I could write a book about abandoned places. The pages would be filled with more questions than answers. Who lived there? Why was it abandoned? Why did the business fold? What did they talk about over dinner? What was their lifestyle like? What made them happy? What made them sad? The list goes on.

These are the philosophical and social questions, but I also need to combine them with the question, "What made me stop?" The answer to that question helps me decide how I want to photograph the subject before me. I'm looking for the best angles, lighting, composition, mood, and whatever else I can introduce that best translates my thoughts or feelings that made me stop in the first place. 

These Anasazi cliff houses always amaze me. We can't answer philosophical and social questions from our current-day perspective, and it's impossible to ask them the many questions we have. I chose late afternoon to get the best angle and quality of lighting on these dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado.

I found more in north-central New Mexico, in Bandelier National Monument. These honeycomb-like homes begged questions too. For this image, I closed in tighter. To me, this image asks simply, "Where does that ladder lead to?" What questions do you ask?

Now we fast-forward to more modern times, several miles north of here to north Denver, Colorado.

One of my students alerted me to this old abandoned house north of Denver--Thornton. She said she thought she could get permission for us to go inside and photograph. Great, I thought, and I thanked her for it. We were not disappointed. Again, what questions do this dining room, adjoining living room, and collapsed floor beg of you? A wide-angle lens allowed me to translate my questions into a story-telling image. I converted it to black and white for historical emphasis. Quite honestly, I was afraid the floor might give in below our feet. I was prepared for a significant emotional event.  Unfortunately, that house is gone now. A victim of urban renewal. 

                                                        

I found this lone house in the middle of nowhere. Maybe they didn't like neighbors and preferred to live in solitude in the shadows of those big mountains in Colorado. If you squint, you can see the Great Sand Dunes in the distance. The jet contrails add to the mystery.

I wondered who lived here? Was it just a little neighborhood in the mountains? Were they miners' residences? When mining lost its luster, did the families just disappear, in search of new beginnings? I wanted to show the context in which these old shacks were situated. They were up against the mountains on one side, and a creek below on the other.  

Oh, if those walls could talk. I can see children running up those stairs as their mom screams a warning to be careful. 

Here is another abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. I added a lot of sky to add to the feeling of isolation. I say isolation, but perhaps to them, it was a comfortable and peaceful isolation. You can see the lone highway that runs by it. 

I'll finish with this beauty. It seems like such a small space. I can only assume a family lived there. But, they did the best they could with what they had. And I'm sure they made the best of it. As they say, you don't miss what you don't have. I photographed it around Christmas time and someone had placed a red Christmas ribbon on it, which led me to convert the image to black and white, except for the ribbon. 

So, take some day trips this year in your county or state and see what historic stories you can find. They're out there just waiting to aim your lens at them as they hide their stories in secret.

 HISTORIC BUILDINGS, DOWNTOWNS, & STRUCTURES

Anything related to history grabs my attention, but today I am narrowing it down to historic downtowns, buildings, and structures. My primary goal with this subject is to create something that goes beyond the documentation of it. I don't want a snapshot-looking image that we can take with our mobile devices--cell phones and tablets. Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing that. 

So, if not a "snapshot," what then do I look for? I consider as many options as possible. Some of those options are right-brain, creative approaches, shooting extreme wide-angles, taking uncommon perspectives, shooting at certain times of the day or year, and taking advantage of lucky chances--like unique skies at the right time. Given the right circumstances, I might even stage a shot to to dress up the scene a bit.  

This first example is downtown Eureka Springs, Arkansas. The entire downtown is on the Federal Register of Historic Places, which means there are extreme city ordinances that protect its downtown history and architecture--no Starbucks, McDonald's, or Subways!

One day I came up with the idea of creating an image that reflected the fact that if you visited downtown Eureka Springs in the 1980s and again in 2024, it would still look the same. This image was taken in 2018. I went at 5:30 am, in the middle of the week to eliminate any modern vehicles in the streets. I stood toward the center of the hill that leads to downtown. Being several yards from the first buildings in sight, I used a telephoto lens to "compress" the scene. Telephoto lenses give us what's called the "illusion of compression," that is, subjects, in this case, the buildings, look closer to each other than they really are. Click.

This next example is of a historic structure--the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado. You need to put this on your "bucket list." On this particular day, the weather was questionable. It was very cool and uncomfortably windy. There is a gondola that takes you across the extremely deep gorge, across the canyon below. I approached the gondola operator and asked him if he was operating that day, given the wind conditions. He assured me that, yeah, they were operating. He said they had run the gondola in stronger winds before. I trusted him, so I got on. 

It didn't take long before I realized my tripod was going to be useless. The gondola was swaying across the gorge. I tried my best to be "manly" under the circumstances and didn't panic. Instead, I went to Plan B: wide angle lens to cover the broad gorge and an ISO of 500 to get a fast enough shutter speed that would counter the swaying motion of the gondola. Click.

Luckily, the operator took us safely back to the gift shop area that day. 

There is another historic structure in Colorado-- Crystal Mill. It is a really cool reminder of the state's mining history. The mill is surrounded by a creek and is situated up in the beautiful Colorado mountains. One year I decided to wait for autumn colors, which usually show off toward the end of September/early October.

For most vehicles, it is impossible to navigate across the steep, narrow, and rocky gravel road that takes folks to the mill. I decided to pay a Jeep company near the mill. I'm glad I did. The ride was scary, extremely bumpy, and just wide enough for one vehicle, but used as a two-way road! This photo will give you an idea. The Jeep we were in and the vehicle next to us barely fit. If you look ahead of the open-air Jeep, you can see how narrow the road is! We were on our way back.  

As incredibly uncomfortable as the ride was, at least for me, it was definitely worth it. See below. 

The beautiful state of Utah is also known for its LDS (Mormons), or Latter Day Saints history. The 210' high LDS Temple in downtown Salt Lake City is something to behold. I have several photos of it, but here is a frontal view of its facade. Across the street is a beautifully-designed pool with a thin layer of water that reflects the temple. The twilight hour gave the image a strong and dynamic feel.

My hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas is known for its famous Bathhouse Row. From the 1920s until the 1950s, folks like Al Capone went to the "City of Vapors" to get their natural hot water treatments in the bathhouses that lined Bathhouse Row. Today, there are still eight of the original bathhouses standing. They are part of Hot Springs National Park. Only two still provide natural hot springs water treatments. The others now serve as restaurants, gift shops, or art venues. One of them is a museum and the national headquarters for the state's only national park, which surrounds the city.

I have a collection of all eight bathhouses, but below is the majestic Quapaw Bathhouse, with its elaborative and decorative Greek architecture. It opened as a bathhouse in 1922. The clouds were on my side that day.

This next historic structure is outside the box. The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas is one of the most famous and iconic structures in the United States. Although I have several images of it in my collection, for this one I thought I'd try something different. Across the street and a few yards from The Alamo is a large obelisk on a large marble slab. Infantrymen like James "Jim" Bowie and David "Davy" Crocket are engraved on the large piece of slab. Basically, they are relief sculptures.

It occurred to me to create a double exposure, one with some of the infantrymen superimposed over the Alamo itself. The whole idea started with me thinking, "What would it look like if they were coming back from the dead through the Alamo?" 

I mentioned at the beginning that sometimes I will stage a historic shot. I did that with the state of Arkansas' oldest bar, the Ohio Club, in downtown Hot Springs. I knew that if I took a picture of it from across the street, it would look like a very good snapshot. I wanted more. I had an idea.

I talked to the owner and told her I had an idea for a shot, and if she would allow me to create it. Not only did she oblige, but she said, "Tell me when you're gonna do it and I'll make sure to place a couple of (traffic) cones in front so nobody will park there."

Al Capone used to frequent Hot Springs. It was his getaway from his Chicago, shall we say, culture. The Ohio Club was one of his favorite haunts. Like today, it was a restaurant and lounge. 

Now that I had the owner's approval, I then contacted the owner of a beautiful classic 1929 Ford I had seen around town--the same era as Al Capone's visits. 

So, I coordinated a shoot with the two owners. I planned it early in the morning so we wouldn't get much traffic. When the owner of the '29 arrived, I politely gave him specific instructions as to exactly where I wanted the car. As he maneuvered the car to the right position, he told me, "This isn't easy. I don't have power steering." Click. You can see "Al Capone" sitting and smoking a cigar in front of the Ohio Club.

 So, start with your own town first and see what you can find. You can also do what I like to do, which is take a 60-mile radius day trip and see what you find. And, when you have the time and resources, visit other states as well. Have fun finding historic downtowns, buildings, and structures!