Double Vision

Those who are old enough may remember that great old song by the band Foreigner called “Double Vision”. Although I’m pretty sure they were singing about an altered state of consciousness and not photographs of reflections, it seemed a perfect title for this post about photographing reflections.

Reflections are a visual phenomenon unlike anything else. They capture the world and turn it upside down or backwards. Like a mirage, a reflection is an illusion.

Little Redfish Lake, Idaho

Drifting clouds reflecting of a tranquil sea in Hawaii

Heceta Beach on the Oregon Coast

Punalu'u Beach, Hawaii

Reflections have always enchanted me, and over the years I captured some amazing images of things reflecting off of other things. I even published a calendar once entitled Reflections. Along the way I developed some procedures and tricks to get the best results. More recently, I perfected some digital techniques for creating reflections that weren’t actually there – counterfeit imitations of illusions.

Reflecting surfaces come in many shapes and sizes from mirrors, windows and calm water to metallic surfaces like chrome, tinfoil, toasters, Christmas ornaments, sunglasses, a wet beach or any other shiny thing you can think of.

I’ve learned that the angle of view makes a tremendous difference. It is amazing how a wide-angle lens just an inch above the water makes a puddle look like a lake.

Check out my Reflections Gallery and try to figure out which of the reflections were real and which ones I created. Please post your guesses and comments … and try to be reflective.