Added value of turning a picture upside down?

[hiero]

Hi,

recently I made this pic, which became much more interesting when I turned it upside down, because you have to look twice to grasp the image. The reflected trees almost seem more real than the real ones. Also, it is strange to see that the reflection is not a full copy of the real.

What do you think? And do you have any comparable examples of 180 degrees of improvement? I now know this works well for landscape reflection, but there must be other applications....



this is the unrotated version:


It posted this earlier inthe show and tell, but got no reaction. Sorry to those that see this twice.

[jdepould]

Interesting idea, and it works well with that particular image, not sure if it would work as something to use on a regular basis or not. The only nagging thing is that it seems like your white balance is off . . . unless that tree really is that funky shade of green?

[hiero]

Thanks for replying!

Actually the light green colour of the trees is quite natural. This was shot after a very wet period, causing algae to grow on the tree stems, and also shote late afternoon, with the the low rays of sunlight causing the heavy saturation of colours. I now realise that this might indeed add to the strangeness of the image.

[krey]

I like it ! Just maybe a bit bright on the "bottom" ? Here's one of mine ;http://www.pbase.com/krey/image/67876723/medium.jpg

[alangrant]

Whenever I take a shot with a reflection in it, I always try rotating 180 degrees to see which works best. The only drawback is that I find it hard to place myself in the position of someone who doesn't already know what is in the picture - I guess sometimes it could create confusion that would detract rather than add to the impact. In your example I definitely like the rotated version better.

Anyway here are a few of mine, all quite architectural as it happens:




More in my Reflections gallery
http://www.pbase.com/alangrant/atheme_reflections

[hiero]

Hi Alan, I like the top example you showed us here, because you chose the push down the reflection line to the bottom of the picture, even more accentuating the rotation effect. That works out quite well here.

Jeroen

[fayewhite]

I almost always turn a photo upside down - it allows me to see the composition, the balance of light and dark and spot any possible distractions without focusing on the subject matter.

[mikelong]

Another technique I sometimes use is to combine the same image, but reverse one side and merge with the original half. Not the same as turning an image upside down, but can make for some interesting effects.

[sean_mcr]

Well in most cases that you wont be able to see it