Reflections (Photography)

Our first photography assignment!  How did it go?  Not great.  Our task was to take five photographs for the theme of 'Reflection'.  I've compiled my favourite five from the ones I took.  So what did I come up with?

I called this picture 'The Hardest Part'.  Which has two meanings.  Firstly, it was my first one.  And the first step is often the hardest.  The second reason was because this image really reminds me of the sensation of waiting, be it in a hospital waiting room, or wherever.  I think the clinical white colours contribute to that.  This one was not my best, but it was an important first step.  I can be scared to take that first leap, and I need to learn to embrace things a little more.  I'm sure that'll be a common theme throughout my posts.  In terms of reflection, this was really more a test to see what I, and the camera were capable of.  The geometric shapes, the rectangles and the circular watch face really add to the methodical and clinical feel of this photo, with the glowing bright reflections adding to that mood of a waiting room.

I'm all about cars.  I spend a lot of time driving them.  It was important to me to incorporate driving into this theme.  With reflection as the driving force, it was obvious to me to try something with the mirrors.  I tried a few VERY different versions of this, including the rear view mirror instead of the side view.  Honestly, none of them came close to what I had in my head, but this one I think is composed better.  I tried to adhere to the rule of thirds by using the cars pillar to split the image.  The name of this one is "Know where I've been", a reference to the rear view mirror itself.

'Routine'.  I know I hate that word.  As much as I hate mornings.  The idea for this one was simple.  This is what my mirror sees every morning.  I took this photograph multiple times over several different mornings.  This is the only one I yawned in.  The blurred effect is actually due to steam from the shower, which was not intentional, but I feel it adds to the blurry sensation of how I view most mornings.  This image is also a lower resolution, simply because I used my front facing camera to better frame the image.  ...Please don't call this a selfie.  I hate that word.  

This was my favourite one to take.  Initially, some classmates and I just wanted to find a large body of water, so we could look at some reflections.  I tried to get as close to the surface of the water as I could without taking the plunge.  I love the peacefulness of this image.  But the more I stare at it, the happier I am with it.  I call it 'Hidden'.  Firstly because this river is completely quiet, devoid of civilisation, yet it is buried within an urban environment (which you'd never know from the image).  And also because I can't help but wonder about the hidden history of the river.  How was that metal beam bent, what event led to that?  How has this area gone unscathed?  Again, I've tried to frame it to adhere to the rule of thirds.  The reflection being drawn from the literal reflections on the water, and also how this image just really makes me think of the past.  There's something about slow moving water I think we all just find so peaceful.

The blues and greens in this image really pop for me.  It almost looks like a painting, especially through the reflected ripples.  'Colourwaters' as I call it was really an attempt to catch my own reflection through the water.  I'm still new at this, and this image really was just a test.  However the colours and arrangement really won me over, to the extent that not only did I include it, but also cite it as my favourite.  The contrast of the reflection and unclear shape really draw the eye.  The triangular shape at the bottom is the reflection of one of my classmates trying something similar directly above me.  Although it isn't relevant at all to the picture, I had an incredibly fun time taking this image.  No one but me will know that, but it means the image sparks that fun feeling in me.

Overall, I'm happy with some of these, but I feel I'm struggling a little to really throw myself into things.  I think a lack of understanding is making me fearful of trying things.  A lot of the time I simply don't know what I'm doing.  And when I do, I find it hard to capture an image as it is in my head.  Hopefully I can improve.