Photographing Pond Reflections

Close-up at Emerald Lake
Close-up at Emerald Lake (Mary’s best)

One of great joys of nature photographing is finding and making photos of reflections in lakes.  You must have great subjects to make a great photo.  We found plenty of fall color along the many lakes and ponds in Vermont.  Here are some of our favorites: There are two keys to making these types of photos.  First, you need a windless day so that the water is flat and glassy.  Usually, dawn is the calmest time of the day.  Second, the timing has to be right so that the “subject” is lit, but the water is still in shadow.  This means you need the right time of day and the sun has to be behind you. There are a few issues to deal with.  The toughest one is exposure.  When you include the sky and the water along with shadows and highlights, you will need to use a graduated neutral density filter, and/or high dynamic range (HDR) processing.

Here is what it looked like at Emerald Lake when we walked up.
Here is what it looked like at Emerald Lake when we walked up.
Here is my favorite from that morning
Here is my favorite from that morning
As usual, Mary sees the world in telephoto and I see in wide-angle
As usual, Mary sees the world in telephoto and I see in wide-angle
Be creative.  Mary loves a little bit of camera movement
Be creative. Mary loves a little bit of camera movement
Shaftsbury Lake telephoto (guess who?)
Shaftsbury Lake telephoto (guess who?)
Shaftsbury Lake
Shaftsbury Lake
Lake Rescue
Lake Rescue
Grout Pond
Grout Pond

We used David Middleton’s, The Photographer’s Guide to Vermont and two Photograph America newsletters from Bob Hitchman. We also bought a Delorme Atlas. You can not imagine how valuable this large paper atlas was.  Most of the places we went to did not have cell service and the dirt roads are confusing and not obviously signed.  I think we are all spoiled with GPS and cell phones now and under appreciate a good road map.  If you really want to go to Vermont, this atlas is a must.

Here is our first Vermont blog and here is our blog about the Jenne Farm. Last week’s blog was Vermont Barns and next week it will be waterfalls and creeks.

To see (and buy) more of our photographs,please go to www.pamphotography.com.

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