As seen in Outdoor Photographer
(November 1999)
Text and Photographs by Nancy Rotenberg
Autumn Reflected
Find the colors of fall in the mirrors of water
When autumn and water meet, threads of reflected blue weave through patchworks of amber, crimson, ochre and ginger. Symbols of the fall season, the ever-changing shapes, lines, textures and colors of reflections can have powerful visual impact. These liquid echoes of autumn allow photographers to make images that depart from pure description and travel into the realm of mood and interpretation.
Light: What looks resplendent and dazzling to your naked eye is often difficult to capture on film. Exposures can be very tricky, as the highlights of reflections may fool your camera’s meter. Find something that’s middle-tone in your image as a starting point for exposing that scene. Bracket exposures from that point, compensating a 1/2 to 1 stop on either side of your meter reading.
Vantage Points: The colors and patterns of reflections shift dramatically as you change camera positions. By stepping just a few feet to one side or crouching to a lower height, your image changes in composition and combination of colors. Take the camera off the tripod and walk around the subject. You may be amazed at the different images that are possible within a very small area.
Go the extra frame. Even standing in the same position, color combinations are constantly changing. You can bracket composition as well as exposure. The smallest tweak can result in a very different image. Then decide at the light table which you prefer.
Tripods: Reflections are often found in places requiring some maneuvering on the photographer’s part. Using a tripod with legs that can be set at different angles allows flexibility while still providing necessary stability. Imagine a situation in which beautiful reds and oranges are flowing around one particular rock, and that rock is situated in such a place that every leg of your tripod has to be at a different angle. You’ll be glad to have a tripod that allows you to set the legs accordingly.
Warming Filters: The 81-series warming filters accentuate oranges, reds and yellows, and are perfect companions for fall photography. I prefer the 81A, as its effect is more subtle than the stronger 81B or 81C, especially if you’re using the more saturated films such as Fujichrome Velvia or Kodak Ektachrome 100 SW or VS.
Polarizers and warming filters may be stacked together, but be mindful of how this affects your image. Watch for vignetting (cutting off the edges of the image), caused by the thickness of two filter mounts. There are also warming polarizers that will allow yu to avoid the stacking problem altogether.
Polarizers: When working with reflections, you can use polarizing filters to saturate colors, though be careful not to eliminate the reflection entirely with too much polarization. Slowly turn the filter while looking through your viewfinder until the desired effect is achieved.
Filters can have a great impact on your photography, both artistically and technically. Their optical quality is no less important than that of your prime lenses. For this reason, buy the best filters that you can afford. You don’t want to compromise the quality of your lens by placing cheap glass in front of it!
Shutter Speeds: As the kaleidoscope of color flows by, experiment with shutter speeds. Shutter speeds faster than 1/250 sec will freeze the motion of water, while slower speeds will create a more ethereal image of flowing water and color.
Sometimes, there’s too much available light to allow the use of longer shutter speeds. In these situations, use a neutral- density filter or polarizer to decrease the amount of light striking the film. A polarizing filter will remove about two stops of light at full polarization and a 0.9 neutral-density filter about three stops.
Focal Points: Include one or more stationary elements in your image, such as a rock or leaf, to give the viewer’s eye a place to rest. Compose your image so that the shimmering reflections float in rhythm and movement around the rocks or leaves. Look for repetition, patterns and compositions that suggest energy and motion. Combine soft curves and circles with jagged, hard edges to create interesting graphic relationships.
Abstractions: Abstract images become windows into alternative realities. They encourage imagination and are both enchanting and mysterious. Set free from the world of recognizable objects, abstractions are a means of communication through their arrangement of patterns, colors and shapes.
Simplicity adds impact to an abstraction; the fewer details, the better. Through an abstraction, we’re trying to convey the essence of a particular characteristic of a subject-form, color, etc. Ask yourself what attracted you to the scene, and you’ll most likely start to simplify and concentrate your composition.
Visual Metaphors: Reflections can be photographed as metaphors of the themes of autumn and nature. For example, a fallen leaf might imply the surrounding forest, or a small mosaic of oranges and blues can reflect and represent the colors of foliage and the clear, blue sky overhead.
Eliot Porter, photographer and master of detail in the natural world, has said, ”A detail is quite capable of eliciting a greater intensity of emotion than the whole scene evoked in the first place…because the whole of nature is too comprehensible…” Through reflection images, you can provide that kind of intimacy. You’ll also start to see worlds that you forgot or didn’t know existed.
Be Childlike: Often, the emphasis in learning photography is on teaching techniques and mechanics. Creativity is a tool that we don’t use as often as we could in our everyday lives. Sometimes, the sensibilities of our training keep us from leaving comfortable territories. Surrender preconceived notions and start to think like a child – filled with magic and mystery. As you become open to discovery and adventure, your fall images will resonate with awareness and harmony.
