Reflection: Same, Different, Better?
Have you ever looked closely at a reflection of something and noticed it’s different from and/or more interesting than the thing it reflects? I do that all the time, especially since working in NYC is a reflective embarrassment of riches with all its glass buildings…
Different and/or more interesting? Let me explain: a reflective surface can be anything — glass windows, a big lake, a small puddle, or any shiny object — but each reflector varies widely in its texture, color, shape, structure, and surrounding material. It may be transparent or translucent. Strong or weak light on the surface of reflector or the reflected thing(s) will alter the reflection! The possibilities and opportunities for reflection are infinite and ever-changing, especially since the sun’s position and weather come into play. The reflected things just sit there, waiting for you to notice them and their reflection…
For example: walking south on the east side of Broadway between 30th and 29th, mid-afternoon with bright sun and a clear blue sky, I looked west at a glass-clad building, and noticed everything above and to my left (which I could not see directly) were reflected in it. West reflecting East… But the glass windows were not a perfect mirror, simply delivering a visual replica indistinguishable from the reflected things — metal beams formed a grid, rippled glass created distortions, and semi-transparency blended interiors with the reflection — imperfect, different, and IMHO better!
What do you think? Here’s the photo I took of the example above…
And here, just for fun (as I often do), is a gallery of my edits on the header image of this post. It seems some of my readers enjoy the edits, so I’m happy to oblige…
Upon reflection; related topics:
- Things are not a “color” — we see them as the color(s) they reflect (my ex-wife hates this one) — and the perceived color(s) change(s) based on the amount of available light.
- And, the angle of reflection, both arriving and departing a flat, reflective surface, is identical, so our POV changes what we see reflected.
Let me know if you have any questions about reflection… 🙂
Camera: iPhone 11pro
Editing: Hipstamatic app
Photographer: Russ Murray aka “remages”
Location: Midtown Manhattan, NYC
See you tomorrow…
russ murray 
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