Use Reflections To Improve Your Cityscape Photography
Skyline Reflections
Add Interest To Your Photography
Combining Reflections and Cityscape Photography In Melbourne
Reflections are a brilliant way to add more interest to your photography. At blue hour the way city lights reflect in water can look amazing and really help to enhance a composition, especially when the sky is a bit flat. To demonstrate how reflections can be featured in your images we’ll be looking at the beautiful city of Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is a very photogenic city with plenty of great locations to capture the skyline. Many of these locations feature water elements which we can take advantage of to showcase the city in all its reflected glory.
The Melbourne Skyline Reflected In Albert Park Lake
There are two really special locations in Melbourne where I would recommend experimenting with reflections. The 1st is around Albert Park Lake, which at the southern end allows for fantastic views of the Melbourne skyline. I head to this spot regularly as it is quite close to home and the view is amazing.
Sunset Colours And Reflections In Melbourne
In the first of my Albert Park Lake images, the orange glow from the sunset was lovely but there were no clouds for the sun to catch on and I wasn't sure if there would be a decent image on the evening I captured this. I decided to wait until the city lights started coming on but while the colour of the sunset was still vibrant. Putting the water line at the mid-point of the frame meant the reflection of the skyline became a central part of the image.
The Bright Lights Of The Melbourne Skyline
This second image was taken a lot closer to the skyline on the northern side of the lake, deep into the blue hour and towards the end of the sunset colours. I love how vibrant the city light colours are when reflected in the water.
Melbourne Sunset After The Rain
In this third shot I had just been caught out by a band of rain that swept across the lake. As the rain cleared I was pretty happy to see some colour appear in the sky that reflected nicely in the rippled water. I could hear thunder in the distance so wasted no more time and took this shot before heading home. They say that the nicest light comes after a storm and I think this was one of those occasions. I do like how the sunset colours are reflected in the lake which means the water is more than just a silvery, blue colour.
Yarra River City Reflections
The second location in Melbourne where reflections can be a key part of the composition is down by the Yarra River. As with Albert Park Lake, there is a fantastic view of the Melbourne skyline which can be framed quite nicely by the trees and reeds that grow along the riverbank.
This final shot of Melbourne shows the Melbourne CBD lit up just after sunset on a fairly calm evening in the city. I used an 8 second exposure to smooth the water out which helped emphasise the reflections. Streaky clouds came with the longer exposure which helped to frame the top and bottom of the image - I love this long exposure effect.
Reflections Of Melbourne And Beyond
As the skyline continues to expand and change i’ll be able to revisit these locations and capture new images of Melbourne. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of heading out to shoot images in this great city because whether caught in a reflection or not, Melbourne is a stunning place to photograph.
It isn’t just Melbourne that benefits from a little reflection photography either. On a trip to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia I spent some time in the central park area finding interesting compositions of the Petronas Towers. There were some water features that, when not running, created a glass-like reflection which provided a perfect reflection foreground for my shot.
Where are your favourite locations to photograph in Melbourne, or any other city for that matter?
