Upon reflection

Knowing that at least one regular contributor to this forum is not that keen on reflections, I have found myself wondering what they add to a picture. My conclusion is that they often do not add a lot. There are certainly some exceptions where they make a picture,usually where the water is extremely still. In many other pictures, all they seem to do is to reduce the size of the actual subject.

I am posting two different crops of a juvenile spotted redshank. My preference is for the first posting, where the reflection is cut, but I am also posting the reflection for comparison. I would be very interested in the views of others.

John, I think I can guess your preference!

David

Nikon D300, 600mm Nikkor, 200iso, 1/1000th @ f5.6

The reflection, same details as my first posting

David, I like the second posting but I do like reflections, my thoughts on this are that the reflection turns it into a "picture" and away from a scientific study, therefore if you desire the first include the reflection if you need the second do not! Only an opinion! Anyway nice shot

I prefer the first one but if the water had of been clear of debris and perfectly still then I'd opt for the reflection every time.

I agree totaly with Justin on this one Dave, evan with the first one Dave if the water was clear it would still make for a better shot!
Its the clear water and no obstructins that makes a good reflection.

Dale

David
Nice shot .
I am not completely against them, by the way, - its just that often in my case I have to loose detail in the bird if I include all the reflection. It virtually halves the size of the bird.
I quite like the second one.!
Cheers

JR

In this specific case, I prefer the first one because the crud in the water impacts less on the image for me. However, if there was no crud, I think I would be voting for the reflection shot.

"I prefer the first one but if the water had of been clear of debris and perfectly still then I'd opt for the reflection every time"

Same here

agree that if the water was perfect I would go with a reflection, still its a good shot David

If the reflection is strong then I would include it for the pictorial element. A weak reflection I agree does not add much if anything to image.

Cheers

Austin

I'm also going to buck the trend here, the first shot is a good competant portrait , but is just too clinical.... its a portrait full stop.

The second shot has more of a "story" feel to it, it conveys the habitat, is well positioned and gives the impression of something about to happen, the bird somehow seems more alert. The fussy reflection doesn't bother me - its the habitat it lives in. It would have to be an avocet or black winged stilt to have a perfect reflection of open water rather than muddy margins.

Hi David,

I have to say I'm in the Mike Smith camp on this one, pic one is a nice portrait, simple as that, but as MS says, the second tells a story. I actually prefer broken reflections myself....

cheers

Colin

Interesting david,the second one is for me a very nice shot.
Keith.