Mirrored reflection shots

[purplehaze]

Had the first opportunity in ages to shoot last weekend and I struck gold. Whether I managed to get it out of the ground or not is for you to judge.

Saturday evening on the lake was so gorgeous, even the teenagers spilling onto the beach during the hour or so before the sunset were momentarily struck dumb. There was still a lot of ice in close to shore and the sight of the sun reflecting off the clouds, the ice and the open water was just breathtaking and I felt ashamed for having fallen out of love with the Prairies this winter.

I had deliberately left the tripod behind as I was on a long walk and my route was going to put me close enough to home by sunset that I could run home for it, but in the end, I couldn't bring myself to leave this:

1.


I had my polarizing filter with me but had taken it off for the above shot, having totally forgotten that one of its uses was to eliminate or reduce flare. Doh!

This is the first of the mirrored reflection shots, taken a little earlier from the pier. There was another photographer there, who had all his kit with him and he was really working it.

2.


The rest of these were taken the following night. I had to excuse myself from the dinner table to get them. At the time, I thought the shoot was disappointing, compared to the night before, but since I got these up on the computer, I have changed my mind. My other major mistake (that I am aware of) is that I had forgotten to change my WB from Auto to Cloudy. So some of these have been processed with the cool tones supplied by the camera and others with the warm tones from LR's cloudy WB. My aim in processing was to go more for abstraction than representation. Though I feel a definite pull in that direction, I also feel a pull in the other, as well and I think the upshot is that I end up on the fence, neither here nor there, neither this nor that. Ergo, I would like some feedback. Do these have any appeal at all?

3.


4.


5.


6.

[Digital]

Janis, nice series. You did well.


Bruce

[FrankMi]

Great to see you posting again Janis, and also good to see that you've still got the touch!

[Geoff F]

Yes good shots which have worked well.

Incidentally, I always shoot Raw so it is easy to correct when I get the WB wrong at the time of shooting. In reality, there isn't any set WB with Raw so it is always adjustable. The camera Raw WB settings are merely a starting point for editing.

[thegman]

Very good series and very sharp too,

[purplehaze]

Thank you, Bruce, Frank, Geoff and Gerry.

Incidentally, I always shoot Raw so it is easy to correct when I get the WB wrong at the time of shooting. In reality, there isn't any set WB with Raw so it is always adjustable. The camera Raw WB settings are merely a starting point for editing.

I do shot Raw, Geoff, but always have a bit of a struggle with WB and wonder what I am missing colour-wise by not processing the Raw in Nikon's proprietary software before I ship out to Aperture or Lightroom. I just started processing in Lightroom recently and, with this batch of photos, I played around for the first time with the Colour adjustments, mostly adjusting luminosity, sometimes hue. Great tool! I know I can do the same thing in Aperture, but it seems easier and more intuitive in Lightroom. I hardly ever touch the WB sliders, though. I choose a preset or take a WB off of a neutral and that's as far as I go.

[Brownbear]

Hi Janis,

Just to say that I think #1 & #2 are extraordinarily special - beautiful!

Of the 2nd set I especially like the 2nd (#4) and the 4th (#7) images, ie very appealing. I love the sky, clouds and the golden hues. In #7 I wish the clouds were not quite as dark as they are.

[purplehaze]

In #7 I wish the clouds were not quite as dark as they are.

Thanks, Christina; I'll give it another go.

[Shadowman]

Nice captures, your instincts were right.

[deetheturk]

Very nice series Janis,well captured.