Capture It All

My first thought when I saw this scene of the boat and buoys was to try to capture it all by including the buoys, boat and the reflection. You notice I didn’t include any sky or unnecessary clutter. I tried to focus on the boat and buoys and their reflection.

Isolating the Reflection

As I looked at the scene I realized what really attracted me, what made me get the camera out of the bag and put it on a tripod, was the reflection of the buoys. The way the water kept moving and distorting the buoys made it look like a painting. The top picture, “Wanchese Watercolor”is the result of isolating just the reflection of the buoys. I think it’s clear enough what this is a picture of, if you take the time to figure it out. These are the kind of photos I really enjoy. Photos that you look at, but aren’t sure exactly what it is until all of a sudden it hits you.

Included a Hint

In the bottom photo, “Red Reflection” I decided there wasn’t enough information in the reflection alone. At the very top of the image I included a hint, part of the boat that is being reflected. This gives the viewer of the photograph somewhere to start.

Try holding a piece of paper over the top of the image, cover the boat, it makes it almost impossible to figure out what it is a photograph of. Some people are happy with pure abstract images and sometimes they work. I prefer, when the viewer is able to work out what it is a photo of. This is just my personal taste, with photography, it’s impossible to please everyone.

Decide What’s Important

With these photos, I took my time and decided what I wanted to capture and how best to frame and use the equipment available to me to capture that and only that.

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Thanks for taking the time to look at these photographs and read this article.

Dan Waters