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And since you know you cannot see yourself,
so well as by reflection, I, your glass,
will modestly discover to yourself,
that of yourself which you yet know not of
-- William Shakespeare

Every photographer I've met loves reflections. There's something about reality reflected on the surface of water, ice, or other reflecting surfaces that alters our perception. Most of us put considerable effort into achieving clear, crisp shots and reflections turn this upside down, at times literally. Instead of sharpness we get blur, motion, distortion, elongation, contraction, randomness, concurrence, replication -- in short, abstraction.

Reflections in a fountain
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)

This shot, from 1970, was taken near the Scottsdale, Arizona, Public Library with my new Pentax H1a SLR and a cheapo Vivitar 135mm lens. It was this photo that hooked me on reflections.

There's a special affinity between reflections and B&W photography. I like colour reflections too but when a reflection works in B&W it sends signals into the brain's symbol processing unit that connects with something undefined but deep. I get those twinges from this shot of trees reflected in a puddle in my driveway.

Puddle with Trees
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)

Likewise, this image of trees and sky reflected on my back deck in the rain grabs my attention and holds it longer than most photographs. It's almost a picture within a picture (and it certainly benefits from the Leica Summicron lens).

Rain on Deck
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)

The city too is rife with reflections. When it rains, I love working the street, catching lights and traffic reflected on the wet pavement of the roads and sidewalks. In a surprising moment I looked down while crossing the TD-Plaza pavement and saw nearby tall buildings reflected on the wet granite walkway. This image has become one of my favourites.

Tall Buildings Reflected on Granite Walkwaybr>(click on image for a larger, sharper view)

I'm always looking for reflections of the Port Credit lighthouse. It's become a game for me to discover new ways of capturing it. Reflections are found, rather than planned. I found this one in the parking lot by the harbour's charter boats.

Lighthouse Reflection
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)

Having started this musing extolling reflections captured in B&W, let me conclude by praising reflections captured in colour. When colour is thoroughly abstracted, it provides a beautiful visual ambiguity.

Reflections in a Pond
(click on image for a larger, sharper view)

This was a particularly pleasing photo for two reasons: it works nicely as an image, and it was taken while I was sitting on a park bench by the pond in Saddington Park, reflecting on the beauty of the day and the peacefulness in the park.

(6-May-2004, Revised 17-June-2004)

www.NorthernJourney.com -- gene@wilburn.ca

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