Fun with Reflections - Especially for Mike

[Brownbear]

The reflections of a couple of highrises bathed in beautiful soft colours (sunset) against a patterned building caught my eye. Citified mountains that are easy to get to and haze free. Albeit I wish they would wash the windows more frequently.

For Mike because he loves reflections, but also because I like the tones and colours in this image.

f/8 SS 40 ISO 180 focal length 112 mm




It's different and hopefully fun. No I can't explain the distortion. Yes, I used the lens correction and straightening tools in LR and I'm still not sure if the image is truly straight.

[FootLoose]

Well seen, Christina. I like the tones and colours too. I wish that opaque section didn't run disrupt the main reflection because I think that distorted image would be very interesting on its own.

[Kodiak]

Well seen, Christina. I like the tones and colours too. I wish that opaque section didn't run disrupt the main reflection because I think that distorted image would be very interesting on its own.

+1

[Stagecoach]

It's different and hopefully fun.

Hi Christina,

It sure is, and well spotted ! The tones are very appealing along with both the pattern and reflection.

I'm sure there's a way to sort the distortion if it bothers you.

Grahame

[TonyW]

That's a fun picture. The reflected buildings look like Gaudi buildings but more so. The reflecting glass must be really bent to cause that distortion.

It it were my picture, I think I would have corrected the perspective distortion.

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Christina! This is such an enjoyable image. I definitely like this kind of image but I have rarely if ever noticed a similar scene myself.

I did a few really quick adjustments in Photoshop Elements, some of which aren't possible in Lightroom, to reasonably correct the straight lines even though the top line dips on the right side. I also cloned to separate the two reflections. Sorry, but doing all of that required getting rid of the digital frame and caption.

[FrankMi]

Great eye to see this one Christina, and even better with the text you provided. I usually abhor text in images as they usually distract, but the way you did this one complements the image perfectly.

About the only thing I might have tried would have been to minimize the lighting coming from inside the building but it would be a bit tricky.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[Brownbear]

Thank you to all for your comments and advice. Truly appreciate.

With respect to the opaque section, I too think the image would be especially nice without it but I'm not so sure that the building in the reflection would be so distorted. Simply because I recall taking a similar image once before and the reflected building was pretty normal (as seen and in the image). So I'm thinking that the opaque section might have contributed to the distortion but I'm not sure so one day I will look for a similar photo op in a building with clear glass from top to bottom, during a nice sunset. It may take me a while.

I used the lens correction in LR, and also the vertical/horizontal sliders for distortion but whenever I tugged on one side the other side went off kilter. I will read up on this subject.

Frank... Next time around I will be more aware of the lighting in the building. I didn't think of it at the time. I discovered the text tool in Photoshop and learned how to distort it, seemed fitting!

Tony... Gaudi buildings! Yes!

Thank you Greg, Grahame, Kodiak, John, Tony, and Frank.

[Brownbear]

Hi Mike,

Thank you. It was the sunset colours/light which caught my eye, followed by the wonky reflection, so I thought of you. I think it is a fun image, and no doubt I will try to capture a similar image again.

Trying to make it straight was not as much fun. Thank you for taking the time. Truly appreciated. I will check out the perspective tools in Photoshop CC and see if it is easier to fix. It seems to me that there should be a cropping tool that allows one to crop one side on an angle.

I hope the image made you smile.

Thanks, Christina! This is such an enjoyable image. I definitely like this kind of image but I have rarely if ever noticed a similar scene myself.

I did a few really quick adjustments in Photoshop Elements, some of which aren't possible in Lightroom, to reasonably correct the straight lines even though the top line dips on the right side. I also cloned to separate the two reflections. Sorry, but doing all of that required getting rid of the digital frame and caption.

[Mike Buckley]

Christina,

In a nutshell, Lightroom does not allow you to twist the image (move some parts of the image more than other parts). Photoshop does allow you to do that. I think that's because Lightroom is not a pixel editor and Photoshop is, but I could be wrong.

[ST1]

Well spotted Christina, it works a treat and as stated previously the text that you used in image 1 really compliments the subject matter, well done.

[Kaye Leggett]

Its a great shot - I wouldn't worry about the distortion as it doesn't detract from the image at all - its funky all over so a little distort just adds to that feel.

[Wavelength]

Well spotted; did you get it this way or wiped out from selected rows?

Regards

[Brownbear]

Thank you Kaye, Nandakumar and Peter. For sure I will try this again, and likely on a building where the glass is the same transparency throughout to see if the funny building shapes occur again or not.

Nandakumar... The reflection looked and came out this way. A mystery!

Mike... Thank you for advising. I found those tools in Photoshop. Trying gave me some insight into their use and I gained a better understanding of these tools. Here is my try. If it is still warped it is because of my eyesight. The image is darker because I started from scratch.



Thank you to all!

[Mike Buckley]

That's at least as good as the job that I did. Where mine suffers in the top right corner, yours suffers in the bottom left corner. If we could combine yours with mine, we might be able to achieve perfection. Seriously, the only thing that matters is that you learned about tools that are available to you.

[TonyW]

Not that it is especially important but I think this is fairly square. The left column of windows might not be quite the right width. There was a bit lost with the straightening but it could be fixed with a bit of fiddling.

I did this editing with Photoshop. Nothing changed but the geometry.

[Mike Buckley]

Tony,

It's clear that your skill with those tools exceeds mine.

Nothing changed but the geometry.

I can't tell you how many years it has been since I studied geometry. That's because it has been even longer since I studied arithmetic.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Tony! Very helpful for me to see. Appreciated!

Not that it is especially important but I think this is fairly square. The left column of windows might not be quite the right width. There was a bit lost with the straightening but it could be fixed with a bit of fiddling.

I did this editing with Photoshop. Nothing changed but the geometry.