I've long been fascinated by the boldness of water lilies, but one day it struck me how vivid even their reflection could be in still water. So, I began to focus on these reflections, spot-metering for their proper exposure and rotating the images 180 degrees so that the flowers would appear to be pointing upward. Many look quite indistinguishable from direct photographs of the flowers, except that the lighting is subtly unusual, and the upward angle on some offers a perspective that would otherwise be physically almost impossible with the camera. I discovered, too, that the backgrounds could vary widely and curiously, and when roots, leaves, and other objects were visible under the water, they could show through with an apparitional translucence and create a complex and layered effect.


An un-rotated/cropped image from May 18, 2019

 

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