Fortnightly Challenge August 6 - 19 : Reflection

[Designer Dale]

Welcome to the Fortnightly Challenge

The purpose of the Challenge is to provide a venue where photographers of all skill levels can work to improve their craft by shooting along a common topic for two weeks - one fortnight. Helpful comments and critiques are key to reaching the intended goal - better photography.

About Your Photos

Shoot for the topics listed on the schedule. You may shoot for upcoming topics, but post photos only to their matching Challenges. Try to avoid using photos from your archives just for participations sake. If you really want input on an older image that fits the Challenge topic, please let us see it.

You may post as many photos as you wish for any one Challenge.

About Your Comments

Comments are critical to the success of the Challenge. If you post a photo, add a comment to another one. If you are only viewing, please add your comments, too.

Comments should be meaningful, something that the photographer can use to improve his/her work. Explain why you like or dislike a photo. Spend a moment looking at a photo before commenting on it. Try to answer the question "I like this photo because…" It really helps the photographer.

The Topic Schedule

August 6-19: Reflection
August 20-September 2: Water
September 3-16: Architecture


Dale

 

[fcortese]

Me 'n my shadow-who's taking whose picture?

Dale, thanks for getting this next phase organized and going. here's my first contribution -

 

[fcortese]

Here's another one for consideration:

 

[BarryJ]

Water lilly.

 

[gnd]

Not shot specifically for the challenge but one of my old favorites ...

45mm, f/9.5, 1/30s, iso200

 

[TheReef]

Not shot specifically for the challenge but one of my old favorites ...

45mm, f/9.5, 1/30s, iso200

Nice! Great light and colours.
PS, congrats on 500 posts

 

[gnd]

Nice! Great light and colours.
PS, congrats on 500 posts

Thanks! Twice
I guess I now need to convince my cat to perform a certain task I have in mind for him ...

 

[Phrasikleia]

I took this during the challenge period, but it only occurred to me afterwards that it was relevant to the challenge. That still counts, right?

 

[TheReef]

^^ Love it, great range of colours and shades, perfect use of the pond


Passing storm light:

Pentax K20D - 1/2s - f/16.0 - ISO100 - 105 mm

It's amazing the difference between exporting PNG and JPEG in Aperture.
Something is going wrong with the JPEG export for me, my pictures turn out soft.
Exporting from PNG -> JPEG in preview keeps detail. Of course that won't bring my oof foreground back to focus in this picture

 

[Keleko]

I took this during the challenge period, but it only occurred to me afterwards that it was relevant to the challenge. That still counts, right?

It certainly does count.

Now it makes me wonder what it would have looked like if you had lowered the camera to be closer to the puddle for more reflection showing.

 

[Phrasikleia]

It certainly does count.

Now it makes me wonder what it would have looked like if you had lowered the camera to be closer to the puddle for more reflection showing.

I do have one like that:

(Click to expand)

I like this one too, but not because of there is more of the puddle, which as you can see doesn't add much of interest beyond the reflection. I went for this composition because I liked having longer lines of corn and road, but then the mountains have less presence in the frame. Maybe it's not much of a loss, though. I'll be interested to hear which one others prefer.

At least, I think this is what you mean by a "lowered" camera (i.e. here it's angled down and zoomed out more). Moving the camera itself lower to the ground caused the corn to obscure more of the church and all of the mountains, so that angle didn't appeal to me at all. I actually had to shoot with my center column fully extended and the camera well over my head in order to see over the corn.

 

[JDDavis]

Here's another one for consideration:

Image

I like this but it's too bad the puddle doesn't go all the way up to the base of the dirt cliff. The one thing I might try is to make the dirt a bit darker, deeper, and have a little more definition. something to put more contrast in the tones so it becomes a bigger part of the image.

 

[JDDavis]

I do have one like that:

(Click to expand)

I like this one too, but not because of there is more of the puddle, which as you can see doesn't add much of interest beyond the reflection. I went for this composition because I liked having longer lines of corn and road, but then the mountains have less presence in the frame. Maybe it's not much of a loss, though. I'll be interested to hear which one others prefer.

At least, I think this is what you mean by a "lowered" camera (i.e. here it's angled down and zoomed out more). Moving the camera itself lower to the ground caused the corn to obscure more of the church and all of the mountains, so that angle didn't appeal to me at all. I actually had to shoot with my center column fully extended and the camera well over my head in order to see over the corn.

I like the first one better for composure with the puddle. I like the second one better overall because of the reasons you stated with the longer lines but I do think the puddle distracts a bit from this image though. I'd rather see this one with a dry dirt road or just a wet dirt road so that the dirt is darker (with no puddle). There are some great analogies (biblical) with the church and the field ready to be harvested so that would be an interesting theme to keep working with. It might make a great image once the corn has all dried up as well.

 

[Phrasikleia]

I like the first one better for composure with the puddle. I like the second one better overall because of the reasons you stated with the longer lines but I do think the puddle distracts a bit from this image though. I'd rather see this one with a dry dirt road or just a wet dirt road so that the dirt is darker (with no puddle). There are some great analogies (biblical) with the church and the field ready to be harvested so that would be an interesting theme to keep working with. It might make a great image once the corn has all dried up as well.

I like your Biblical concept and have no doubt there is a location around here where it could work; seems like churches and cornfields are a package deal in these parts. I wouldn't go without the puddle for this particular composition, however, because I'm not fond of having substantial barriers between the viewer and the subject without something to provide "access." That could mean an opening in the barrier (an open gate in a fence, for example) or, as in this case, the reflection that brings the subject to the other side of the barrier.

Anyway, many thanks for your thoughts, JDDavis!

 

[fcortese]

I like this but it's too bad the puddle doesn't go all the way up to the base of the dirt cliff. The one thing I might try is to make the dirt a bit darker, deeper, and have a little more definition. something to put more contrast in the tones so it becomes a bigger part of the image.

I appreciate the comments. If I have time tonight, I might see if I can tweak the image a bit with some PP to see if I can accomplish what you suggested. The "puddle" was actually a little eddy that resulted from the incoming tide hence a small ripple seen just at the middle of the gray sand border. I had waited for the ebb so that the water was as still as possible before taking the shot.

 

[Phrasikleia]

Just realized that I posted a photo without commenting on any others. My bad! So here we go...

Dale, thanks for getting this next phase organized and going.

I second the thanks.

here's my first contribution -

I'm not sure that a shadow really qualifies as a reflection, but it's similar enough in spirit to be at home in this challenge, I suppose. The contrast of the shadow against the light-colored road really works well here, and the road helps lead the eye deeper into the frame, where we get lost in the shadows of the trees--nice. Next time you might try a more intriguing shadow, with arms or legs doing something unexpected. You might even try using a 2-second timer and hanging the camera in front of you from a camera strap. gnd once posted an image like that, so he may be able to tell you more about how he got it to work.

Here's another one for consideration:

Really nice colors and shapes. It works well as an abstract, so we probably don't need that little window into the distance at the upper right.

Nice composition and a good exposure for some challenging light. It would be ideal if more of the center of the flower was included in the part most lit.

Not shot specifically for the challenge but one of my old favorites ...

45mm, f/9.5, 1/30s, iso200

Ordinarily, a branch sticking up in front of the subject like that would be a distraction, but here it helps to ground the photo and to 'explain' the illusion.

Passing storm light:

A subtle take on the theme. I really like how the swell rising at the right balances with the boat on the left.

It's amazing the difference between exporting PNG and JPEG in Aperture.
Something is going wrong with the JPEG export for me, my pictures turn out soft.
Exporting from PNG -> JPEG in preview keeps detail. Of course that won't bring my oof foreground back to focus in this picture

I presume you've checked your export sharpening settings for JPEG output?

 

[Designer Dale]

Barn reflecting barn.



Dale

 

[Ravaroo]

mother, daughter, and the shoes

 

[bob118]

Disney California Adventure

Sorry I haven't posted any fresh photos, but I had this one in my pile from a tip out to California a couple of years ago, thought it was really reflective and I hope you enjoy it

 

[TheReef]

I presume you've checked your export sharpening settings for JPEG output?

1024px export was only on quality "10", not "12".
I think this ranks up there with the situation of turning my camera on at a location and realising there's no SD card in it, nor the grip

I see you've explored these barns a few times which is great, you've captured them in great light here.
I think the top half of the image works great, the bottom half (foreground) does have alternating colour of light brown and green which adds interest, but I think it stands out a bit repetitive compared to the top half. That water could break it up, perhaps walk slightly forward and zoom out, so it's more prominently captured (atm it appears to me as though it's lost in the flat perspective), or look for an interesting foreground element like a flower, bird, tree, rock etc. That's just my opinion - it's a nice pic.

I can't pick a favourite here, I like how the church is a more prominent subject of the shot taken at a longer focal length, but the wider shot sets the church better in the landscape I think. That said I think the leading line of the field leads away from the church, so it's impact isn't as strong, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as a whole it fits together well IMO.


Here's a slightly different version, I think I prefer this version for it's more pronounced alternating layers, interested as to what others think

 

[Keleko]

Here's a slightly different version, I think I prefer this version for it's more pronounced alternating layers, interested as to what others think

I agree as well. The wave works to your advantage here.

I finally got a picture for the challenge, even if it is a typical water reflection. I wish I had something better than my iPhone for this scene, but when I go running in the morning I'm not carrying a DSLR, tripod and accessories for 13 miles.


Sunrise on the Lake by Gerg1967, on Flickr

 

[mackmgg]

Haven't done one of these in a while, but here's mine:

 

[avro707]

I've never participated in one of these messages before.


ISO6400, F/4.0, 1/4sec, 260mm

I tried to get the reflections of the light and colour, but the water wasn't still enough on that evening to make it work as well as I wanted, otherwise they'd be clearer still.

At that kind of shutter speed, I'll take what I can get however, that plane wasn't stationary.

gnd: That's quite a nice shot, very creative use of the reflections in a different way.

 

[jabbott]

I've been lucky to get some reflection shots recently...

View from White Rocks Trail, Boulder, Colorado
1/320s, f/8, 55mm, ISO 100
Canon Rebel T2i + 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

The photo above was taken on August 7th. Here is another I took in June:

Hot Air Balloons over Boulder, Colorado
1/200s, f/7.1, 24mm, ISO 100
Canon Rebel T2i + 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

Finally, here is one I took in late July... the sky appears much darker because of the different lens:

Blue Lake and Mount Toll, Colorado
1/500s, f/8, 10mm, ISO 100
Canon Rebel T2i + 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

Here are my comments for some of the other photos:

mackmgg, it took me a minute to realize the letters on the side of the boat are actually a phrase. Classic. BTW, it might be worth adjusting the white balance so that the boat is less blue (I'm assuming it should be white).

gnd, I really like your reflection shot. Makes me wonder which way is up.

BarryJ, I also really enjoyed your flower and lilypad shot. The dappled light and dark background really make the flower stand out.

 

[Zh2]

Reflection

Here is my offering... ( I think? )...