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.
