Part of our trip to Iceland was on a photo tour, and our guide seemed to keep finding us spots to take reflection photos. I wasn’t expecting so many small ponds or boggy areas with standing water for some reason. This one was quite striking with the color and clouds.
Specific Feedback Requested
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Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Sony a7C, 20mm, f/14, 1/80s, ISO 100
I remember that I used the deep sky style brush in Capture One on both the sky and then the reflection so that they mirrored each other. I think I pulled the effect back, but it may still be a bit strong in the water. It brings out detail and texture.
I brightened this up a little overall including lifting the blacks just a little and reducing the strength of the mask some in the water, reducing the effect of the style brush (sky/sky reflection). I don’t know if this is an improvement or not. Maybe it’s better to just brighten the reflection as @David_Bostock did. Comments welcome.
This picture is gorgeous. I love this type of reflections and the composition is very appealing. You also nailed the depth of the water very well. Really nice picture!
It is a little deep in the water, but oh it is pretty great overall. Isn’t Iceland basically a melting glacier overtop a volcano? No wonder so much standing water. Glad they stopped for this one. I like the grandeur.
@Kris_Smith and @David_Bostock Thanks for your feedback. I could lift both the sky and the water a little so that their relationship stays the same but it’s not quite as deep. I think the middle cloud in the reflection is showing some texture from the grasses in the pond that is a little distracting as I see it now. Reducing the sky and water adjustments would probably help that too.
@Kris_Smith - I hadn’t given much thought to a volcano under a melting glacier, but that’s pretty apt.
Karla, the reflection looks great and it’s quite a dramatic set of cliffs in a very inviting sky. It does feel a bit too dark overall for such a fine looking day.
Yes, it works for me too, in fact, I love the very dark reflection of the rock. Maybe this is too obvious, but reflections will always be darker than reality because they never reflect 100% of the light.
I took a closer look at this, Karla, I hope you don’t mind. The water can certainly be brightened up while still retaining the darker look than the sky. I think what you’re seeing @Kris_Smith, may be the plant life just under the water. It would probably lead to a non-smooth blue and center cloud look. Here’s a quick brightening of the lower part:
@David_Bostock No problem at all. Sorry I can’t go over it right now (at work) but I’ll try to do so later tonight. Thanks for your input and another look at it.
Karla, I find the redo much more attractive. I would suggest that when you post a redo, put it ahead of the original, that way it’s the one that shows first.
@Mark_Seaver Thanks for your comment on the repost. I think the second image must have popped in where my cursor was when I clicked to add an image. I’ll try to be more mindful of that. Thanks!
