reflection

Reflections are one of my passions, for the way they merge two different realities, the reflected view and the surface textures of the water. So they are part of my personal visual world, I understand what you are trying to do. We had a meeting a week or so ago for local photographers trying to set up a new group. I asked them[i] why[/i] they took photographs, one said[i] 'To capture what was in my mind as I was looking'. [/i] That seems to sum up a big aspect of photography for me. For me personally, reflections can work very well in b&w, but it's rarer for the more abstract reflections to do that. And here I really do want to see colour, for a greater sense of depth. I suspect that there may be blue sky peeping through the leaves, and that would give a better sense of depth in the water. Or maybe that doesn't exist in the original, and the b&w image is serving its purpose in making me use my imagination. Can you upload the colour as a version or modification please? I hope you are converting to b&w in post-processing by the way, not doing in-camera b&w which cuts down your options massively. A couple of points - I generally reckon that 1/160 second is the slowest shutter speed that will freeze surface movement in water, I would prefer 1/200. And in Manual the minus exposure compensation will have had no effect. I suspect that it was left over from a previous shoot, always zero that setting after you have finished. I hope to see the colour image, I shall have a little play with this to try to add a bit more brightness. Moira

Reflections are one of my passions, for the way they merge two different realities, the reflected view and the surface textures of the water. So they are part of my personal visual world, I understand what you are trying to do.

We had a meeting a week or so ago for local photographers trying to set up a new group. I asked them why they took photographs, one said 'To capture what was in my mind as I was looking'. That seems to sum up a big aspect of photography for me.

For me personally, reflections can work very well in b&w, but it's rarer for the more abstract reflections to do that. And here I really do want to see colour, for a greater sense of depth. I suspect that there may be blue sky peeping through the leaves, and that would give a better sense of depth in the water.

Or maybe that doesn't exist in the original, and the b&w image is serving its purpose in making me use my imagination.

Can you upload the colour as a version or modification please? I hope you are converting to b&w in post-processing by the way, not doing in-camera b&w which cuts down your options massively.

A couple of points - I generally reckon that 1/160 second is the slowest shutter speed that will freeze surface movement in water, I would prefer 1/200. And in Manual the minus exposure compensation will have had no effect. I suspect that it was left over from a previous shoot, always zero that setting after you have finished.

I hope to see the colour image, I shall have a little play with this to try to add a bit more brightness.
Moira

Do you shoot RAW files, Charles? While I often use in-camera B/W, I always have a RAW file with all the colour data so that I can do a software conversion if I’m not happy with the camera JPG file. An important point is that Sony in-camera B/W files seem to be particularly good, for some reason. Like Peter, I’d really like to see a colour version of this, and look at how are playing with if the different colours in Photoshop would affect some of the darker tones when converted to a monochrome. Focus when reflections are involved is often beyond the AF mechanism of a camera. Hours the reflections flicker it may dodge about between reflection and underwater detail. Manual focus and a magnified live view can help. There’s darkness and mystery here!

Do you shoot RAW files, Charles? While I often use in-camera B/W, I always have a RAW file with all the colour data so that I can do a software conversion if I’m not happy with the camera JPG file. An important point is that Sony in-camera B/W files seem to be particularly good, for some reason.

Like Peter, I’d really like to see a colour version of this, and look at how are playing with if the different colours in Photoshop would affect some of the darker tones when converted to a monochrome.

Focus when reflections are involved is often beyond the AF mechanism of a camera. Hours the reflections flicker it may dodge about between reflection and underwater detail. Manual focus and a magnified live view can help.

There’s darkness and mystery here!

Thanks for uploading a colour image, I've added a modification based on it. I agree with Willie's point: [quote]the trick I think is to let the very bright reflections blow a little.[/quote] It's how reflected light really looks! [i]However[/i] I did disguise the really white blob by cloning over it at reduced opacity. I cropped to square for a more abstract feel, less easily read. Then I worked the b&w in Nik Silver Efex (free download now from Google). I darkened the green channel, lightened the yellows, which gave a little more tonal variety. Then I did some dodging to push those highlights. I really would advise against in-camera b&w, because it limits the possibilities afterwards, but where the image is essentially one colour, as here, it probably doesn't create problems. Moira

Thanks for uploading a colour image, I've added a modification based on it.

I agree with Willie's point:

Quote:the trick I think is to let the very bright reflections blow a little.

It's how reflected light really looks!

However I did disguise the really white blob by cloning over it at reduced opacity.

I cropped to square for a more abstract feel, less easily read. Then I worked the b&w in Nik Silver Efex (free download now from Google). I darkened the green channel, lightened the yellows, which gave a little more tonal variety.

Then I did some dodging to push those highlights.

I really would advise against in-camera b&w, because it limits the possibilities afterwards, but where the image is essentially one colour, as here, it probably doesn't create problems.
Moira