Reflection Photography

I like trying out crazy shoots with my camera, such as flipping the image in Photoshop.  It can make for some interesting images, both intended and unintended. Water, such as puddles and rivers, make a great way to try out reflection shots.

Here is one, with more after the break.

I shot this at Island Park in Grand Ledge, Michigan. I was walking down the middle of the island and I saw these giant puddles. I noticed I could see part of the trees in the reflection, so I decided to try and get a shot and mess around with it in Photoshop. I flipped the image, so that the tree was facing up. This made for a sort of surreal look. One unintended trait was the mirroring of the branch on the left edge of the water.

With this shot, I knew I wanted to make it look like the tree was “growing” out of the grass. I don’t think I had to flip this one, but just position myself so that I found the correct angle of the refection. I made it black and white to try and make the grass and puddle blend a little better.

This was my first try with a reflection shot, and this was taken with my little Sony point-and-shoot. The building here is the old Ottawa Power Station in downtown Lansing, which is being turned into an office building for Accident Fund.

I rotated this shot so that the reflection in the river (on top), was in the same position the building would be in real life from where I was standing. Make sense?

These were all fun shots to take, and they make me feel a bit weird when I look at them, due to the flipping, etc. But I like that. I like that a photo I took can cause such a reaction. Taking chances and experimenting are two of my favorite aspects of photography.