Capturing this image taught me a lot about looking beyond calm waters for interesting reflection photos. I was about 1/2 mile away from this location scouting for a completely unrelated shot on a high hillside. The golden reflection shined so brightly that it immediately caught my attention like a beacon. I took a mental note of it's location and the time of day which was near dusk when the rock bluffs were still in warm sunlight while the river was in cool shade. A few days later
I went to this location at the appropriate time and set up searching for my composition. I wanted the ripples to appear silky by using a somewhat long shutter speed, so I used a tripod and stopped down my aperture and ISO. I loved the gold and dusky blue color contrast so I composed to show the contrasting colors with an emphasis on the gold which is usually an inviting color. An unexpected result of the motion blurred ripples, was that the gold and blue mixed to form purple hues.
I'm no Try McClure, but you might remember this color wheel from such blog articles as "Tips for Photographing Architecture", that I wrote on Feb 26. I wasn't thinking about complementary colors at the time I composed my photo. But in retrospect, I think it was no accident that the gold and blue contrasting tones caught my attention. They compliment each other as shown on this color wheel that you can freely use at https://kuler.adobe.com/create/color-wheel/. Just drag the control point to one color, and it's complimentary color is shown on the opposite side of the wheel. Not a rule that has to be followed, but something to keep in mind.
I returned to this location several weeks later to re-shoot the scene without the snow which I find distracting in my original photo. It had all melted by then but the river was much lower this time and there wasn't enough water along the shore at this spot to capture the same scene again. So I quickly went looking for another opportunity nearby. I found these rapids a short distance away and looked for a similar dusky gold and blue reflection scenario. It wasn't terribly interesting with the naked eye. But I thought again that using a tripod and a long shutter speed to blur the water's motion, it would give a similar silky look that would, if nothing else, result in a nice abstract photo. With some trial and error, 1 second gave me an abstract feeling without blurring beyond recognition with the colors creating nice flowing patterns with the water's current. I purposely composed with the S curve shaped wave at the bottom of the frame to lead the viewers eye into the photo. Subtle, but I think it adds some order to chaos and it is another use of a fundamental graphic design element.
The point I'm trying to make is that water doesn't necessarily have to be calm and glassy in order to achieve interesting reflection compositions. In both of these photos, you can't make out what is being reflected. It could be rock, dirt, buildings... When you're near moving water, be on the lookout for simple reflected colors. Think about the way they compliment each other and how they might mix into other hues or create an interesting pattern with long shutter speeds.
Speaking of texture, it can be easily so overlooked. Simple ocean foam usually isn't very interesting sitting still. But visualize it in motion using long exposure motion blurring and you might have something dynamic and compelling even without color.
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-Wayne
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