It's hard to believe but fall is well under way and many bird species have been on the move for some time. Before the winter freeze, consider experimenting with birds and their reflections. Properly composed, reflections can create a striking photograph.

There are basically two types of reflections that can occur. The first is the near perfect mirror image that occurs when the water is calm. The symmetry formed can create a powerful image. The second situation occurs when the water is being disturbed, forming an abstract image. When the opportunity presents, first study the reflected image for a millisecond or two. (birds rarely give you more than that !) If the water surface has a lot of waves or ripples, the reflection will be distorted and a mirror image will not be possible. In cases such as this, you will have to decide whether the overall composition will benefit from it's inclusion. If the reflection is very broken up, you will not gain much by including it so you may want to consider other options, such as the Rule of Thirds, discussed in Tips#12. A mirror image is usually hard to come by, but when it does, you must either include all of it, or attempt to cut as much of it as possible out of the frame. It makes for a distracting composition when there is a perfect mirror image, but a portion of the reflection is missing.

These photographs of a killdeer show three examples of cropping the bird's reflection. One is cropped appropriately, another has the head cut-off and the third has the body cut out. Technical information : Photo by Scott Fairbairn, Nikon F5, 500mmf4. Sensia II

Endeavor to get all of the bird and reflection in the frame. Remember to leave a bit of room around the reflection as well. When this is not possible due to the size of the image in the frame, (rarely a problem in bird photography) consider just cutting out the reflected image entirely.

Reflections of background objects whether natural or man-made can also create interesting effects. Fall colors reflected in the water around your subject can create beautiful images. In cases such as these, some water disturbance may be beneficial to break up the pattern so only the colors are captured. Man-made objects can also create interesting effects such as the photo of the Red-necked grebe. Here a fence is reflected around the swimming bird. The water is disturbed and the origin of the reflection cannot be surmised. Obviously, if we could tell it was a fence, it would ruin the "natural" appearance!

Here we have two photographs of a Red-necked Grebe. In the first take note of the symmetry of the reflection. When composing an image such as the first, try to place the image in the exact center of the frame to strengthen the symmetry. In the second, the broken up reflections of a fence and dock give the impression of fall colors in the water. Technical information : Photo by Scott Fairbairn, Nikon F5, 600mmf4 AFS. Velvia

On the technical side of the fence, there are a few problems that can crop up. For the most part, the water will be light in shade and this can cause difficulties. As mentioned in tips #5, on winter photography, the presence of large areas of lighter than average tones will fool your camera into underexposing the image.

Most modern cameras have matrix or multi-segment light meters and can often pick the right exposure when the subject is centered. They do this by comparing different segments and making the assumption that the segments in the center cover your subject. This leads us to one solution for this underexposing problem. First center the bird in the frame and take a meter reading. (Combination of shutter speed and f-stop) Then recompose the image to the way you would like it and take another reading. If the second reading indicates that LESS light is needed, (faster shutter speed or larger f-stop number) your camera is reacting to the brightness of the water and will underexpose the photograph. Knowing this, re-center the subject, and lock the metered reading. This can be done either by using the camera in manual mode or via an accessory "exposure lock" control button, common on many cameras today. Now you may simply recompose and shoot using these settings. (Most birds will give you a whopping 5 milli-seconds to perform this!) There are however, situations where this may not work, such as subjects that are white. But that, as the saying goes, "is another story"! (Or at least another tips column!)

In summary, reflections are a way of "sprucing up" shots of birds in or near water. Often times the foreground and background is very plain and a nice reflection provides a way of adding something new. Next month we will discuss how to meter white plumaged birds.

Copyright Scott Fairbairn and John Reaume