Tortured Reflections 1

[Mark Schaefer]

Comments and critiques are welcome.

The following photos were taken at an old mill dam with a rough cut bluestone surface. I enjoy playing with reflections of fall foliage on the textured surface of the water which is molded by the rough rock surface. Click on any of the photos to enter the photo album. All of the photos are exposed at f/11 with shutter speed of 1/3 to 1/2 second. I am using the small aperture to obtain adequate depth of field. The slow shutter speed is causing some blur in the texture of the water ripples, but at this distance I am still getting adequate definition in the water texture. My tilt lens (which I often use) is less viable here because I am dealing with both a flat dam surface and a perpendicular water fall. More importantly I need a zoom to finely crop out distraction in this image, and I prefer to do that in the camera rather than in post processing. I was using a 75-300mm zoom (using settings 105 to 300 mm) on an Canon XTi (1.6x crop factor). All photos using a tripod. All of the photos are straight out of the camera. The three photos below illustrate different settings of the polarizer filter. I tend to prefer the first which has the polarizer in between the minimum (no) and maximum polarization settings. I believe that the reflected blue sky in the lower right (maximum polarization) became too dark, illustrating that max is not always best. The minimum (no) polarization is the lower left.




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The album has a couple other compositions.

To illustrate raw subject matter I was working with I included two photos of the general scene. The left is the unpolarized (naked eye) view, and the right is polarized to the max. The challenge was to avoid the distractions, find a interesting composition, and then get the tripod positioned without tumbling down the steep embankment. It is also key to be here at a time of the day when the mill dam is in the shadows, and the foliage being reflected is in the bright sun.
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This is the same location as the Tortured Reflection 2 scene, but one week later. I had hoped to photograph more abstract reflections on top of the dam (see the other thread), but from the reflected foliage from that angle of view was now nearly barren, so I needed to find another view. This less abstract view of the mill dam served very well.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

All the reflected images you've posted are pleasing to my eye. I definitely prefer the polarizer versions as it allows the foliage to show through much better.

Tim

 

[Grumpy]

I enjoy your reflection photos and applaud your enterprise in making them. Your discussions are instructive. You have succeeded in persuading me that I should consider adding a polarizing filter to my current kit (I’ve had them in the past).

FWIW, my favorites in the “reflections” series of photos you’ve posted here have been those of the water at the millpond dam’s lip. “Tortured Reflections I” appealed to me most of all, probably because of the diagonal lines making it “feel” dynamic. A large part of the appeal in the dam lip photos is the flowing water: something familiar and recognizable and rendered with enough realism that it provides secure footing from which to examine the more abstract reflections.

Because it is all abstraction, without that realism foothold, I do not especially care for the photo you posted to open the “Crystal Lake Reflection” thread. It is difficult for me to look at. (This says more about me than the photo, perhaps.) I do recognize it as being very well executed, nonetheless, and can appreciate it in that respect.

And then we come to the scene you posted at entry #7 in the “Crystal Lake Reflection” thread. Although nicely done, it looks very “ordinary” – even pedestrian -- when viewed in the company of your abstractions. I think that says something, in and of itself.

G.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Upon further reflection (ha ha ha) I find the actual falling water very compelling, with nearly uniform "zebra" stripes of light and dark. Did you have to do something special to make them jump out like that or is it a natural occurrence possible based on the texture of the stone dam beneath?

Without a neutral density filter I have found my motion blur waterfall shots to easily get whited out

Tim

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Upon further reflection (ha ha ha) I find the actual falling water very compelling, with nearly uniform "zebra" stripes of light and dark. Did you have to do something special to make them jump out like that or is it a natural occurrence possible based on the texture of the stone dam beneath?

Without a neutral density filter I have found my motion blur waterfall shots to easily get whited out

The bluestone slabs on top of this dam essentially have a "perforated" edge similar to a postage stamp. The bluestone is from the Catskill Mountains. Catskill sandstone was deposited in horizontal layers that were quarried into bluestone slabs. To separate a slab off from the remaining piece of horizontal strata, a mallet and spike was used to drive holes into a slab. Once enough perforated holes were created a layer of bluestone could be wedged and separated off. The spike perforations are what cause the zebra stripes in this waterfall.

On the same day I photographed another nearby mill dam at the Vanderbilt Historic Site in Hyde Park NY. That dam was rebuilt a few years ago with concrete. It has a rough edge, but not nearly as rough as the bluestone. Here is a comparison. The bluestone is on the left, the concrete dam slab is on the right. There is a zebra pattern with the concrete also, but it is more smooth.

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Having the mill dam in the shadows helps to keep the water from white washing out. Another factor is that foliage and blue sky are bring reflected in the falling water. In many waterfalls photos only gray/white sky is reflected in the water. Also an overly slow shutter can white wash any waterfall.

 

[kmorgan]

I love the shots. I especially like that oak leaf stuck underwater on the left edge of the fall.

Kevin

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Because it is all abstraction, without that realism foothold, I do not especially care for the photo you posted to open the “Crystal Lake Reflection” thread. It is difficult for me to look at. (This says more about me than the photo, perhaps.) I do recognize it as being very well executed, nonetheless, and can appreciate it in that respect.

This can be a problem with pure abstractions. There may not be anything for the eye to rest upon, or for the mind to feel comfortable with. And many of the Crystal Lake reflections perhaps are more "pretty" or "painterly" without a lot of real strong subject matter. They could almost be a background image on a CD cover, note card, inside book cover, etc. I think they would be more effective if there was something that the mind could grab onto.

And then we come to the scene you posted at entry #7 in the “Crystal Lake Reflection” thread. Although nicely done, it looks very “ordinary” – even pedestrian -- when viewed in the company of your abstractions. I think that says something, in and of itself.

Yes, that photo was added to illustrate the optimal natural setting that enables these reflections photos. In and of itself it is not as interesting as the reflections.

You are very correct in your observation, and it is a point which I did not explain well. A curious aspect of many of these reflection photos is that the natural scenes (the objects being reflected) are often not very interesting. They may be nothing special, nothing you would normally desire to photograph, nothing that would catch your eye, nor cause you to take a second glance. They can even be down right ugly. Yet if the colors are just somewhat nice, and if the surface texture and patterns of motion in the water are interesting, one can perhaps create an interesting image out of almost nothing.

I especially like that oak leaf stuck underwater on the left edge of the fall.

Yup, that is just what Grumpy is talking about. That leaf is something that the eye can rest on and the mind can hold onto. If there was something like that in the more abstract reflections, they might be more interesting to more viewers. I'll work on that.