Reflections, and reflecting on reflections

On day 2 of our October cruise we set off from Wrenbury towards Wales. After the sun burned off the mist there was a period when the water was still glassy smooth, making for great reflection photos. Above is Wrenbury Church Lift Bridge.


Two views of Wrenbury Wharf; the lower photo showing more of the electrically operated Wrenbury Lift Bridge, where I had my bike had an "incident" on our return.


You want me to tell you about the incident? OK, I will. But not today. Can you wait until tomorrow?

Meanwhile here's Shadow gliding through still waters.


Have you noticed how the sky always looks better when reflected in water, either a smooth canal as here, or a puddle?

I think this might be the reason: No surface reflects perfectly - some light is scattered by imperfections - and so the reflected light is slightly less intense than the incident light. This must equate to a stop or two in photographic terms. So if the picture is exposed for the subject - the boat, in this case - then the sky tends to overexpose. But any reflected sky tends to be darker, allowing the colour to be more saturated.

The sky in the above photo appears almost white; but its reflection is blue. And you can see vapour trails, which are impossible to make out other than in the reflection. Well, actually, I have cropped the photo slightly, so you can't see the bit of sky where the vapour trails are. But you can take it from me that I can't see them in the original.