Lakeside

Lake Glenville here in Western North Carolina is an interesting place, absolutely stunning in form. The lakes waters are often rippling heavily in the mountain breeze, or with the roar of a motor boats motor. Sometimes though, you may capture a glimpse of a mirrored surface, and it’s stunning in the right lighting. Seeing the houses nestled up against the rolling hills overlooking the mountains as the spring bloom builds around it, it can be breathtaking. A moment in time, captured and brought back to life.

I remember this day well. I had crawled over rocks, framed several scenes and couldn’t find my scene. Finally, after I had tried and failed over multiple attempts I pulled my kit down, got it all back in my bag and decided to investigate another part of the lake. The light was really intense in the sky, and the only place I could get this particular scene was out on a floating dock.

So, how does one walk out onto a floating dock, setup a camera, and capture a scene, with admittedly beautiful light, without disturbing the water? You cannot, you will disturb the water, create ripples and potentially ruin your perfect reflection. My solution was fairly simple, setup the camera, choose the lens, get your CPL on and walk out onto the dock. Now we wait, as long as we can at least. The light was failing as the minutes ticked by, and I had to hit my shutter button or risk loosing the shot completely. The point of this, slow down, be patient, and problem solve on the scene. Don’t get frustrated, don’t give up, you can get the shot if you slow down and think about it for just a moment.

Aperture: f8
ISO: 160
SS: 1/15th
Focal: 16mm

Fujinon 16-55mm