Reflections on Reflections – Responses
Last week I offered up two pictures of a Purple Gallinule. Each picture was cropped tightly (just on the bird) and wider to include a reflection. I asked members to weigh in on which version they preferred – reflection or no reflection. As a reminder the four pictures are below.
1.1 Reflection
1.2 Reflection Cropped Out
2.1 Reflection
2.2 Reflection Cropped Out
I was surprised to see that the responses were almost unanimous – no reflection! Many elaborated on their response but I think cgeorge said it best:
— In these pictures, the action is interesting. It looks like the bird is trying to balance on top of a too-small lily pad. The picture works better when the viewer is closer to the action.
— The water surface is broken up by lily pads and hence, the reflection is not as pleasing as in unbroken, mirror-like water.
The comment about the poor reflection was echoed by several members so that’s something to consider; a reflection is not as pleasing if it is obscured.
Thanks for all the comments and I hope these little exercises are informative and interesting. Let me know if you have any other ideas for comparison pics!
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