JPG Magazine: Stories: Photo Essay: Some reflections on reflection

Some reflections on reflection

By Jay Matusow

30 August 2008

The idea for this collection came from my attempt to decide which of the two versions of the pool chairs image I thought was more interesting, the one which is the main photo or the same image rotated 180 degrees (the way it is seen in actual experience presuming we are not hanging upside down). In these images, the element of reflection, transforms ( at least in this photographer's mind) two mundane objects, into something interesting by creating a semi symmetrical whole. But is it more effective with the actual image in a dominant position, on top, or a subordinate position below. I'm still not sure, but the question has led me, in my typical over-thought way, to ponder the role of reflection in some of my other images. So here are my after the fact thoughts, on the role reflection plays in the rest of these images:

Main photo and #1 - Either way you flip it the symmetry combined with the contrast between dark and light is what caught my eye here.

2. I liked the way the painted image of the monkey, a little strange to begin with, looks totally incongruous with the Paris street behind it.

3. This shot gives the viewer the opportunity to look at the glass door from the the outside of the house, while at the same time seeing the scene that a person in the house would see looking out over the Hudson.

4. A slightly voyeuristic abstract image where the mirrors allowed to incorporate other people who were not aware they were being photographed.

5. Here the voyeuristic view of the riders inside the car appear reflected, kind of ghostlike and merged with the station platform, and the mechanical utilities on the passage wall.

6. Just some street photography where the reflection of the sign in the store window made the grainy portrait more visually interesting to me.

7. In this case there is actually an intentional use of the reflection to try to imply a story, of someone hanging out in in a Vegas hotel room surrounded by the somewhat hedonistic glitz and artifice of the city . This proves, that good or bad, not all my photos happen by accident.

8. this reflection shot was nice, but rather ordinary right side up. Rotating it 180 degrees fools the eye into thinking that the water is somehow resting on top of the rock in an impossibly suspended way, rather than sitting in a depression as is clearly obvious when its flipped the other way.

Analyzing, my own work after the fact like this helps me clarify in my own mind ways to use reflection to change how things look, and where they are in relationship to one another. Hope you found it either interesting or useful as well.