Same View, Two Compositions in One

Sometimes what we see is not necessarily a straightforward view, especially if a person is “seeing” through creative eyes. We may look, but if we are not mentally open to really “looking” around, a person may miss seeing what is in front of us. I am referring to a lone rock I found in the Wapsipinicon River this morning. Due to the rock’s location relative to current flow, some autumn leaves were catching on the rock while others flowed past on the dark, almost black water. As I composed the scene through my Nikon viewfinder, looking through a polarizing filter, my view was just that - dark water, autumn leaves, and a rock. I accurately recorded image files with that setup (seen below).

Then, by chance, I rotated my polarizing filter and the composition came alive with the reflections of the autumn trees along the river bank! The view was one of those that allowed me to see that which I first featured, but then with the added beauty and almost mystery of the colorful reflections.

This image reinforced why filters are good for some images, but they do have their place. Sometimes a little touch of a filter helps, sometimes a little is too much. I was rewarded by rotating - experimenting as seen in the image that follows.

Since my morning outing was so worthwhile, it is only right that I share a few more images for your review.