Picture This

Reflections: Our 10 Favorite Photos from Shutterbug Readers

The Editors | Mar 8, 2018

Twin Lakes Morning

“One of those crazy, magic mornings: It was pretty much totally overcast and even just starting to rain, when the first—and only—rays of the rising sun shot through a hole in the clouds and illuminated part of the mountains with the fall-colored aspens for about a minute,” Christoph Stopka writes. He used a Nikon D810 and a Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 lens at 24mm, f/16, 0.8 seconds, ISO 64. © Christoph Stopka

When you really start to look for them, you’ll find reflections everywhere. For this assignment, we wanted you to capture reflections in a way that brought out their beauty and art.

As we said, reflections are found in all sorts of places, whether they occur in man-made things—mirrors, swimming pools, sunglasses—or in the natural world, such as in lakes, ponds, or pools of rainwater on the ground. Often a popular subject for photographers, reflections can sometimes seem overdone.

We asked that you made sure to find a new or unusual way to showcase reflections so that they truly stood out. We also wanted your photos to, ahem, reflect your personal vision of the world and with these 10 favorites from readers they certainly did.

Winter in Yosemite

“A very cold day after an overnight storm left frost and snow hanging in the trees well into the afternoon,” Douglas Croft says of this shot. “This quiet reflection on the Merced River capped one of the most amazing days I’ve ever spent in Yosemite Valley.” He captured it with a Nikon D7000 and a Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 lens at ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1000 second. © Douglas Croft

Introspection

“Last year I went to Portugal for the first time,” Karen Seginak writes. “I had a wonderful time and fell in love with this beautiful and interesting country, but there were a few unexpected challenges along the way that I had to struggle through also. I stayed in a house with new friends that was adjacent to an abandoned hotel. Somewhat eerie looking if you viewed it in that frame of mind, actually. One afternoon as I walked around the grounds exploring, I decided to simply point my camera into a window where there were also multiple other windows and mirrors that I could see. The unexpected result was this image, which is an introspective view of myself and a reflection of how I had to look within and reveal some inner layers of myself on this adventure. The image was captured with my trusty little Canon PowerShot SX60 HS.” © Karen Seginak

Mirrored Vision

“My camera bag bailed me out by holding these glasses when I went to the lake to shoot a few frames,” Elayne Bean explains. “Usually it only supports me but for this photo, it is the star.” Shot with a Canon EOS 7D and an EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens at ISO 200, 1/60 second, f/5.6. © Elayne Bean

Big and Small

“Snowy and Great White Egrets hunting the same tidal pool at Cattus Island Park in Toms River, New Jersey,” Roger Becker says. “The reflections were almost mirror perfect.” He shot it with a Canon EOS 7D at 400mm, f/10, 1/800 second, ISO 400. © Roger Becker

The Calm After the Storm

“I was out for an afternoon drive just to get out of the house. It had been storming all day and I noticed it was starting to break up,” Joshua T. Moore says about this shot. “I made my way down to a dock on the James River just as the sun started to set behind the mountains in front of me. I had a CPL filter on my lens and it helped keep detail I wanted into my photo.” He captured it with a Nikon D7000 and a Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens at 18mm, 1/13 second, f/22, ISO 100. © Joshua T. Moore

Black Skimmer

“The late afternoon conditions became perfect at Fowler Beach, Delaware, in the north section of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge on the Delaware Bay,” Jon O. Clarke writes. “Clear blue skies; low, bright sun from the rear; still wind and reflective water; plus, most importantly, Black Skimmers feeding. These highly-specialized birds are summertime seasonal migrants to the Mid-Atlantic from as far away as South America. With their long wings and knife-blade beak, they skim over the water at astonishingly high speed trying to contact aquatic life with their lower beak slicing through the water. How do they keep from breaking their necks when they contact something, such as a submerged branch? Answer: They reflexively and instantaneously drop their head so the beak points backward as it snaps shut on the prey, or more often not prey. It is a low-probability feeding strategy, but spectacular to watch.” He shot it with a Nikon D7100 and a Nikkor 600mm f/4 lens at 1/500 second, f/5.6, ISO 400. © Jon O. Clarke

Foggy Reeds

“I ventured out in the early morning heavy fog hanging over the lake,” Lynne A. Kasey recalls of this image. “My hope was that it would burn off and I would have a shot at some interesting colors. That was not what I ended up with. The fog was so thick that everything beyond these reeds was unable to be seen. As I started to pack up to come in, I was struck by the interesting geometric shapes that were created by the reflection of the reeds in the water. This has become one of my favorite images.” It was shot with a Canon EOS 6D and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L lens at 105mm, 1/500 second, f/4, ISO 100. © Lynne A. Kasey

I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat!

“The community cat checking out a most handsome tabby,” Donna Mullins says. She shot it with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II and a 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens at 1/320 second, f/15. © Donna Mullins

Coffee

“Enjoying a cup of coffee in my backyard while reflecting on life,” Randal Hand says. It was shot with a Nikon D3100 at 55mm, f/4, 1/2000 second. © Randal Hand

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