Reflections in a Mountain Lake

You need to be where the picture is to get the picture—that’s a truism of all photography. You can visit the same place a dozen times and get a dozen different results, down to the weather conditions, time of day and time of year (thus light angle and intensity) and so forth. This is Loftier Gardens, the botanical gardens behind Mount Lofty summit, above Adelaide, South Australia, and I’ve shot the lake many times over the years. But on this day –January 24^th, 2025—the angle and quality of light were just right. There was little breeze, so the lake was quite calm, thus the potential for mirror-like reflections was there. I shot a series of frames from the hill walk on the east side, near the public shelter, and the quality of the colour was quite amazing. At altitude the gardens remain green despite South Australia’s harsh summers, and are a haven from conditions on the plain. This is a simple snap, no cleverness involved, other than an eye for composition, and while it could be better—less clutter at the foot of the frame perhaps—it’s satisfying as a snap goes. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

Placid Waters

A simple shot but it has the feel of a classical painting—the composition of the far shore and island, reflected in the barely-rippled surface... This is Playford Lake at Belair National Park, South Australia, a frequently-shot destination, and though the scenery remains more or less the same, time of day can dramatically change how the lake looks. Light, is, after all, everything, and the lake can often demand to be photographed by the sensitive observer. I captured this frame during a hills meander on May 9^th, 2023, looking east from the top end of the lake. Frame-up and keeping the image level were the keys here. Minor adjustments to contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

Brooding Clouds

The Southern Ocean can always turn on dramatic skies, and any day on the south coast of South Australia can yield a broad canvas of light. I recorded this frame in a sequence at Clayton Bay, down on the Alexandrina Lakes system, on May 26^th, 2018. I’ve posted from this shoot before. The weather was changing dramatically as a front moved up, May typically being the tail-end of the warm weather down here (though this year the hills weren’t green until June!) No particular photographic effects; this was how the chip handled the high contrast of looking into the brightest part of the sky. I adjusted colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview, plus some squaring up with fine rotation; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

The Silver Sea

Sometimes it all just comes together, and in the middle of a long string of so-so pictures, one flashes out as having just what you were after. This is the far end of Hindmarsh Island, Lake Alexandrina, South Australia, the area known as the Murray Mouth, where Australia’s greatest river meets the Southern Ocean, on September 20^th, 2018. The right degree of telephoto, a nice, level horizon line, the right quality of light through and against the overcast... The afternoon light made the whole arc of the lagoon silver, and just to look at the picture brings back the tug of the sea wind, the endless rush and race of the waves and the cries of gulls. There are dozens of other pictures from that moment but none quite grabbed the intensity in such an aesthetic package. There was no clever photographic trickery, other that seeing the conditions and zooming into the area where the light was working its magic on the waters and the wet sand of a falling tide. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

Sombre Evening Sky

The south end of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, is “big sky” country, long and flat, conducive to appreciating those amazing South Ocean cloudscapes that roll in. This is Clayton Bay, in the lakes region, in the late afternoon of May 26^th, 2018, and a weather front was coming up fast. The scene had a moody atmosphere, spectacular but sombre, and I captured several interesting studies of these clouds over the water. The image is sharpened a tad, squared-up with custom fine rotation, and contrast and colour have been adjusted slightly. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

Converging Reflections

Anywhere there’s water, there are reflections, and Playford Lake, at Belair National Park, is a place one can photograph over and over, as the changing weather and differing times of day and year conspire to make the precise nature of the pictures different every time. I took this one on a fairly blah day, May 9^th, 2023, an expedition that took us a few interesting places in the Hills region. The weather had been cloudy and the light soft until the sun broke through at this point, and I was able to grab some studies with far more substance—better colour and contrast, with defined shadows and, above all, reflections. These are the trees on the small island in Playford Lake, a haven for waterbirds, and surely one of the most-photographed islets of its sort. Minimal enhancements, via Irfanview. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

In the Garden of Calm

This is another frame from Himeji Garden, Adelaide, South Australia, which I captured on October 20^th, 2016, when I took a day in town with my sister in law, on a visit Down Under. Nothing clever from a photographic aspect here other than composition perhaps—just a beautiful place that’s always so nice to see. Minimal enhancement. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

Painted Reflections

 

Reflections in water are one of my favourite things to photograph. They’re ever-changing, completely dependent on the light and wind conditions, and the artistic effects are always pleasing. This is Playford Lake, at Belair National Park, South Australia, which I‘ve shot many, many times over the years. Depending on the time of day, the most amazing studies can be taken from the path that circles the lake. If I remember correctly, this is a long telephoto shot from the west end of the lake, looking back to the western end of the island, and the light angle suggests quite early in the day. This shot was one of many taken when the light was just right on November 15^th, 2023. Minor tweaks to contrast and colour only. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

A Winter's Afternoon

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The low sun tells you how far north Stockton, Cleveland, UK, is: this was early afternoon and the sun is behind the trees of Ropner Park, whose skeletal boughs reflect the early December date and the fact they will be covered with snow very soon. It was a raw day in winter, 2006, filled with dramatic light and colour, the sort of photographic opportunities that are perhaps rarer in Australia. Sharpened and contrast-balanced, and, stark as this image is, extra colour was added. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Waterbirds in Grey Light

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These swans were photographed on the lake at Ropner Park, Stockton, Cleveland, UK, in December, 2006. It was a day of changeable weather, alternately grey or sunny, rainy or dry. The birds on the lake, ducks, swans, geese, are expert wranglers for food and flock to any visitors. They make unusual photographic subjects, especially in the quite steely light of the moment. This shot was cropped from a larger frame, sharpened and the colour enhanced slightly. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Alien Organisms

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These huge, bizarre plants were photographed at the lake at Loftier Gardens, in the Adelaide Hills, in April, 2009. They are so strange, rising so imposingly from the waters, that they evoke thoughts of lush alien jungles, when of course they are very much terrestrial. The exotic plants gathered in botanic gardens are often eye-opening in their sheer unfamiliarity. This was a simple frame-and-shoot, looking more or less into the sun quadrant of the sky but the transparency of the vegetation creates almost the illusion of side-and front-lighting. Sharpened only. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Autumn Mirror

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This is a delightful study of the lake at Loftier Gardens, east of Adelaide, taken in April, 2009. Viewed from the south side, this was a zoom shot of the northern bank. The image was cropped to draw the attention tightly to the trees and their reflection, and create a palette of pure fall colours. Sharpened, colour- and contrast balanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic, telephoto. Image by Mike.

Reflections in a Rippled Lake

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The subtly-shifting surface of a calm lake makes an amazing reflector, and while a glass-smooth lake at the foot of a fall forest in New England or wherever makes for the ultimate in reflection shots, the infinite variability of the interplay of light with the surface of water makes any such scene visually interesting. This is the lake at Flinders University, south of Adelaide, on a bright, calm day in April, 2009. Note the mixture of both Australian eucalypts and European willows. Telephoto was used to exclude unwanted background and frame the trees and their reflections. The image was sharpened only for publication. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Life in the Waters

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Life finds its niche anywhere, and calm waters will always throng with organisms. This simple shot looks into the pond at the Flinders Medical Centre rainforest garden, one of Adelaide's little-known treasures. Plants installed to fill out the ecosystem are complimented by the natural algae that provides food for the many ducks that use the waterway, and a high afternoon lighting angle sets the flare of the sun among the plants that depend on it for life at the base of the food chain. The chip did an excellent job of capturing the background while nestling the sunflare into the organic broth. The picture was sharpened and the colour intensified slightly. December, 2007. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Summer at Myponga

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A summer's day at Myponga Reservoir ... a very simple shot to capture, difficult to actually do anything with, because what the viewer doesn't realize is that the full frame is something of a disaster! There's a rubbish bin at bottom right and a dilapidated bench at bottom left. There's graffiti just out of the frame to the right, and the tree in the foreground is broken away, just out of the frame at the top! The public loo is just out of frame to the left ... all of which makes this image an exercise in cropping. Shooting at 5MP or more, you'll get a picture which is big enough to get in there and crop out the useful part, and discard the rest. A little enhancement of color and sharpness, and you're done! Photo by Mel, 2007.

Lakeside illusions

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I became interested in panoramic images some time ago, when I found I had a pile of photos where the interesting material was at top, bottom or middle, while the remaining two thirds of the pictures were so boring, there wasn't much you could do with the overall "raw" frames. This one is slightly different. You have a beautiful lakeside shot ... a magical grove, utterly perfect. The problem is, there was a concrete pathway in the top of the shot, and a handrail and standpipe in the bottom of the shot! This image was captured at Loftia Gardens (South Australia) a few years ago, and as glorious as Loftia is, it's not quite a natural environment. Paths, signs, people, park benches, cars, standpipes -- it can be tough to keep them out of the shot. So I played with radical cropping and came up with this super-panorama, which is quite striking! Photo by Jade, 2006.

An aviation icon of the north

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A lot of pilots will tell you that the DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver is the easiest plane in the air to fly, and watching this one skip in and out of Lake Hood -- which is the world's busiest float plane harbor, in Anchorage, Alaska -- I can believe it. The Beaver has an amazing history and is an icon in Arctic Canada. The skies in the north are still full of them. This one is operated by Rust Flying Services, and is still in the air, still working -- you can see it on Rust's website's homepage! This photo was captured in 1997, on a glorious day in August. The weather was warm, which is very unusual for August in Alaska (folks said I'd brought the good weather with me; and wouldn't you know it? It quit just as I left). I was shooting on 200 speed film, which was all I had left when I got this picture. Because the film was not so fast, you'll notice the background blurred as I tracked with the aircraft ... which adds to the effect. The film was not developed till I got back to Australia, and I discovered the undeveloped roll had been damaged by going through about nine airport x-ray machines. All the images have an overall yellow cast. To get around this, the old print was scanned at 600dpi and deeply enhanced for sharpness, contrast, brightness -- and color. Then it was touched up to get rid of about forty "ufos" -- faults in the photo paper on which it had been printed, so long ago. The result is very nice -- and for me, full of memories. The integrity of the shot tells me the camera was one of my Pentax K-1000s, and the film was certainly Kodak Royal Gold 200. Photo by Mel, 1997.

Ripples in a Pond

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This was simply an opportunistic frame -- the play of reflections of trees and sky in pond water, rippled by wind. Nothing clever, just point and shoot, but look at the texture, the motion of the water -- there is beauty in the simplest thing. This was an afternoon at Mt. Crawford Forest, May 2008; Fuji FinePix S5600, on automatic. Photo by Mike, 2008.

Reflections

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You can tell this picture was taken a wile ago ... there's water in the river! It's the Onkaparinga River, where it runs through the wetlands behind the Clarendon cricket field. Lately, it's dried up to a few puddles in the drought that's showing no signs of abating. This was a glorious day in winter ... in Australia, winter is the time to be out and about if you want cooler temperatures, greenery, and -- water in the streams! Major rivers have begun to dry up lately ... summertime. This was an easy photo to capture in terms of exposure, and focus was simple; the magic of this shot is in the composition, and in the harmony between the colors. The picture appears uncropped (full frame), but some enhancement was done at the software level later. Photo by Jade, 2007.