Christmas Reflection

I love playing with reflection in photography. Throw Christmas in as a subject and it only gets better!

I shot this reflection image at a speed of 1/25 sec with an aperture of f/2.8. My focal length was 70 and my ISO was 400.

This is a reflection of our tree in a grandfather clock casing's glass (no actual clock yet). With the f/2.8 aperture, the depth of field was pretty shallow, not allowing both the reflection and the casing to be in focus (my focal choice is obvious). This worked well for this particular image, especially once I added a texture layer and increased the contrast and saturation. It all came together quite beautifully.

Christmas Light

Let's open our curtains and doors and hearts and allow light in and light out this Christmas.
Let us love one another.

Bell Hotel

Shooting on a mild morning, before sun-up, allowed me to take full advantage of the lights' reflection in the puddles. Puddles are an unusual sight in Winnipeg in winter and well worth getting up early to incorporate into my compositions. Puddles add pop to pictures.

I shot this scene at a speed of 1/30 and with an aperture of f/2.8. My focal length was 28 mm and my ISO was 400.

Colouring Outside the Lines

I do like to colour outside the lines. Playing with reflection and flipping photos might just be photography's equivalent.

I shot this picture with an aperture of f/2.8 and shutter speed of 1/400. The melting ice of the skating rink added interesting textures and movement to the image. Not including the source of the reflection added intrigue and mystery to the scene.

Once on my computer I flipped the image vertically and then it was what I wanted it to be! So fun! Try it out sometime and let me know how it goes.

Unexpected

First Snow

Last weekend, the south-east part of our province experienced the first snowstorm of the season. Power lines were down, visibility was poor, bringing much to a standstill for a day or more, especially for those without power.

Contrast can be powerful in an image. Here, the difference between the beautiful golden tamaracks and the white blanket of snow is much greater than if the snow was not present. The contrast is key.

The golden tufts of grasses along the creek edge draws our eye to the patch of tamaracks by way of sameness...sameness of colour. We tend to look for similarities and look at contrast. Both work well together in this image.

I shot this image at a speed of 1/400 and aperture of f/6.3.

Stained Glass Ripples

Reflections Ripple

Reflections do ripple; they are not always so clear.

Water's Faces

Shooting water never gets old. As the clouds in the sky move, so too does the water, or at least their reflection in the water. As the wind blows, so too does the water. It is ever changing.

In the above image, I shot with a shutter speed of 1/200 and f/10. I chose a little greater depth of field so I would have satisfactory clarity in the reflection, sky, foreground and background, all.

I don't often like to split a picture in half but here I have done almost that. Maybe not quite, but close. Sometimes it just works better. There are "rules" in photographic design but let's be real, photographers are a creative lot who like to colour outside of the lines!

Because of the movement of the geese and relative brightness in this shot, I used a faster shutter speed - 1/640.

Having the reflection of the trees reach the geese by way of point draws attention to their evening playfulness.

Summer's Pause

This was magic hour; the light was beautiful; the lake calm. In the quietness, summer paused.

Finding the right angle for this image was important. My aim was to have the best clarity in the reflection while catching the evening's setting sun on the dock. I moved around until I caught the best of both and began to shoot.

Having the dock use up 2/3 of the frame was also more interesting than half or all. Finding the right balance for the composition also involves moving around until we catch it.

Evening Sets

The lake was calm and the light beautiful. Magic hour had come.

There is nothing quite like the time of evening when the light is absolutely magical. If you are near the lake this is the perfect time to get some beautiful shots over the water. Often at this time of the evening, the waters will slow to a stop and echo back the scene above them.

Just a few tips:

Be sure your horizon is straight when you're duplicating images by way of reflection.
You can slow your shutter speed if you want the water to appear as glass. If there is not much for movement, it'll smooth things out beautifully. If there is more movement, slowing the shutter speed will smooth the flow.
If you're wanting to shoot a landscape and its reflection, try to keep some symmetry in the part of your image that will be reflected. Obviously there will be symmetry because of the mirror image but if, for example, the clouds in this shot were extremely imbalanced, all the symmetry in the reflection wouldn't be enough to create balance and calm.

White Petals and Blue Skies

Fun with Reflection

The Path is Narrow

Things are not always as they seem. The reflection in the puddle gives the illusion of a narrow and precarious walkway.

I love to play with reflection. Whether it is in a mirror, on water or a sun-kissed table top, it doesn't matter. There are things to see beyond the surface.

When you are walking about, keep your eyes open for more. What more is in the puddle you're quick to walk around or jump over? Look at it from different angles. There will be something there, especially on a sunny day or when city lights illuminate the more.

Be sure the reflection is as sharp as it can be. Move around if you have to. Change the settings on your camera to allow for a greater depth of field to keep the reflection and its source in focus. Bump up your speed to avoid camera shake. Pull out the tripod if you must. Just do what you can to find that which hides behind the surface.

Refreshingly Reflective

Ah, the fun with reflection! I could while away many hours playing with this kind of light.

My daughter brought home a glass bottle of Sprite yesterday, which I immediately asked for once she downed the contents.

Today, I placed the bottle on my dining table with the morning light behind it. Not satisfied with the initial and predictable shots, I challenged myself to think out of the box, to bring my creative thinking to a different level.

I tried focusing on many different points with my macro lens and in the end decided on this for an abstract feel.  Focusing in where the bottle meets the surface, I used f2.8 and 1/160 shutter speed.

Standing Water

Space Between

There is space between time. Sometimes long and wide. Sometimes short. What fills the space for you?

I took this picture of a vintage spoon. The spoon belonged to my mother. I believe it was part of a set received as a wedding gift.

Many years lie between the day this gift was received and the day I took this image. Much fills that space. Laughter and tears, hardship and happiness, disappointments and dreams.

I think sometimes we can be in a hurry to fill up the spaces with many things but I think we might just lose sight of the fact that there is already something of significance in some of the spaces...quiet. Might I suggest that leaving room for space,    for quiet,    is important every now and again? It allows us room to breathe, to consider, to reflect, to enjoy, to notice, to hear.

I deliberately left space in this shot, hopefully allowing room for you and your reflections.

Using a 60 mm macro lens, I was able to get up close and personal, capturing the textures in the worn edges of the spoon and also the grain in the wood surface it rests on. Adding a layer in processing allowed for additional focus on age and time's passage, without getting too cluttered and distracting. When adding layers, choose wisely. Just as a well chosen digital layer can be a tool to enhance your image, it can also detract if the wrong one is chosen.

Boots

I did not use any photo layering.
These boots were captured as they were.

Using reflection to create an image all on its own can be a great deal of fun and makes for an unusual if not interesting photo.

These boots were sitting on a hardwood floor. I noticed the reflection and began to play. What I ended up with was this image.

Reflection has a way of freeing the imagination to wonder.

Outside In

Walking by the Manitoba Theatre for Young People at The Forks in Winnipeg, this window's reflection caught my eye. The sky was most certainly inside this theatre!

The sky showing through the window seemed just right with all the potential and promise packed into this venue.

Take the time to gaze into the windows as you carry on with your day today. What do you see? Look again. Look closer. Imagine.

Morning Reflection

After my morning coffee and reading, I noticed the light and reflection on my dining table. I grabbed my camera and took a bunch of pictures. Initially, what caught my eye was the golden hue of the sun on the paper's edges. I shot accordingly but when I loaded the files onto my computer, I thought twice and instead chose to process this as a black and white image. The textures and lines are accentuated when the colour is pulled.